Talks about two new Nexus flagship models have been lighting up the smartphone market recently. Reports of HTC producing a nine-inch tablet, codenamed "Volantis," first surfaced in late June. More recently, it has been reported that Motorola is producing a Nexus-branded phone. The 5.9-inch smartphone, which is codenamed "Shamu," is said to provide improved user experience with the new Android L.
Android and Me published a spec list for Volantis, which, in paper, reads like the Nexus tablet is a premium product. The features include an 8.9-inch display with 2048 x 1440 px resolution, an NVIDIA Logan 64-bit processor, 16 and 23 GB variants of internal storage with 2 GB RAM, an 8 MP OIS main camera and a 3 MP front-facing camera. The external features include aluminium zero-gap construction, an 8.9 x 5.98-inch body, and 0.79 cm thickness.
Motorola has not made any announcements about the features of Shamu, but a couple of reports about its specs have been going around online. Motorola's Nexus 6 is said to feature a 5.9-inch display and a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor. BGR quotes Marques Brownlee's suggestion to improve image processing capability and take advantage of Sony's camera technology to make Shamu a device to be reckoned with.
No release date has been confirmed for both devices, but rumors suggested that the devices will be released later this year. It has been predicted that the release of the Nexus 6 will be around or a little past fall. Google confirmed with Tech Radar that the Nexus 8 is on its way, but the release may be put on hold due to remaining Nexus 7 stocks. No additional announcements have been made.
Google has also been in the news recently with the increased usage of Android. According to AppleInsider, Android OS use grew by 96.4%, which puts pressure on Apple to maintain its OS position. According to IDC, Android and OS were the only two platforms that grew this year.
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