Bellevue, Wash. — Google’s HTC-made Nexus 9 tablet, the first tablet available out of the box with the Android 5.0 Lollipop, became the latest tablet to get the 4G LTE treatment with a launch by T-Mobile.
T-Mobile is the first U.S. carrier to offer the LTE Nexus 9 tablet, which is HTC’s first tablet in the U.S. in years. The device is available through the carrier’s web store, which priced it at $599, or $0 down with $24.99 monthly payments for 24 months.
Tablet purchasers can add it to their Simple Choice voice plan for $10/ month and match the data on the voice plan, up to 5GB/ month, for use on the tablet. All tablet owners also get 200MB/month of free data per life as long as the device is used on the T-Mobile network.
The tablet features a 8.9-inch screen, two front-facing speakers, Nvidia Tegra K1 2.3GHz 64-bit processor, 2GB RAM, 4:3 QXGA 2,046 by 1,536 display, 8- and 1.6-megapixel cameras, Wi-Fi 802.11ac with 2×2 MIMO, and Bluetooth 4.1 with NFC.
A separately sold magnetically attached keyboard will let users type at different angles.
Lollipop enables a consistent user interface across phones and tablets, and it connects a user’s Android devices, enabling users to move from device to device and pick up where they left off. Songs, photos, apps and recent searches on one device can be immediately used across devices, the company said.
Content is also said to respond to touch and voice in more intuitive ways, and transitions between tasks are more fluid, Google said.
Consumers will also be able to adjust settings so that only certain people and notifications get through at specific times. When such a notification comes through, users will be able to see it from the lockscreen.
A new battery-saver feature extends the life of a device by up to 90 minutes, and multiple user accounts and guest-user mode are available to keep personal information private. Users can also secure a device with a PIN, password, pattern, or by pairing a device like a smartwatch or car with Smart Lock.
Additional Lollipop details are available at Android.com.
