So, everyone was expecting LG to make the next Google Nexus tablet, or maybe ASUS since they’ve also been one of the part Nexus tablet partners. However, you’d be wrong to assume either of those are correct since the next Nexus 9 tablet looks to be coming from HTC and it looks like its going to be a real competitor. The new Nexus 9″ tablet codenamed Volantis (not to be confused with Lady Gaga’s flying dress) was outed by Android Police today with a full image and spec drop of the device. And based upon what we’re seeing, it looks like Nvidia booted Qualcomm out of the latest Nexus tablet as a tit for tat when Qualcomm booted them out of the Nexus 7 in 2013. This 9″ tablet appears to be a direct competitor to Apple’s iPad Mini and will likely pre-empt any updates Apple brings to it with higher resolution or a faster processor.

The Nexus 9 tablet is expected to sport an 8.9″ 2048 x 1440 resolution display which will be a 281 PPI display, higher than any tablet Apple currently offers. It will weigh only 418 grams for the Wi-Fi version and 427 grams for the LTE version, although the LTE modem is still TBD. What else is known about this tablet is that it will have an NVIDIA Logan 64-bit processor, which is Nvidia’s 64-bit custom ARM dual-core SoC. Lots of people have been waiting for this SoC from Nvidia and after some delays it may finally be coming here in the shape of a Nexus device. Interestingly enough, it will only have 2 GB of RAM, somewhat low for a tablet with such a high-end processor. It will, thankfully, have stereo front-facing speakers like most of HTC’s latest phones and NVIDIA’s Tegra Note 7. It will also have a 3 Megapixel front-facing camera and an 8 Megapixel back main camera which appears to look a lot like the Nexus 5 camera.

Nexus 9 Volantis rumored specs courtesy of Android Police

The Nexus 9 will come in 16 and 32 GB flavors which will cost $399 and $499 (more pricey than the 7″ version) and will have an aluminum zero-gap construction. This means that it will be the most premium looking, premium feeling and premium performing device Google has put out to date. The expected launch for this tablet is somewhere around Q4 of 2014, so don’t expect this thing to come out any time soon. If anything, it will probably be a lot like the Nexus 5 launch, a mad dash that is a result of some leaks.

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Verizon’s new XLTE service is merely a new branding scheme for the company to promote their new 2×20 MHz AWS band of data service. As of right now, most users are on Verizon’s 700 MHz frequency which is slowly getting overcrowded, so naturally Verizon would want to deploy a second frequency (which they have available). They are doing this by utilizing their 1700 MHz frequency AWS block  (similar to what T-Mobile has) in a 2×20 MHz implementation which ultimately results in speeds at or exceeding 80 Mbps. Right now, on Verizon’s 2×10 MHz block in their 700 MHz spectrum block most users are getting around half that, at 40 Mbps or less. Some users are getting more, but not much more.

So, Verizon’s XLTE as of yesterday has launched in a few dozen cities on a handful of devices and you don’t have to do anything other than live in the right city and have the right phone in order to get these faster AWS speeds. We would name the exact cities, but there are literally too many to name in order to not just give you a list of like 50 or 60 cities. The link above will let you know if your city is on Verizon’s XLTE list or not. However, even if you’re in an XLTE area, you will still need to have an XLTE enabled device and those aren’t necessarily that common since they have to be newer devices with the right modems inside. A full list of devices can be found on Verizon’s website.

In terms of smartphones, you have the following phones:

iPhone 5S, LG G2, Nokia Lumia Icon, Samsung Galaxy S5, Droid Mini by Motorola, HTC One M8, Apple iPhone 5C, DROID Maxx by Motorola, Moto X, LG Lucid 3, Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Samsung ATIV SE, HTC One Max, Samsung Galaxy S4, Blackberry Z30 and the Blackberry Q10

if you have a Verizon LTE tablet you need to have the following tablets to have XLTE service:

LG G Pad 8.3 LTE, Apple iPad Air, Apple iPad Mini, Samsung Galaxy tab 2, Samsung Galaxy Note Pro, Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1

And if you have a Verizon hotspot or USB modem you need to have  the following devices:
Verizon Jetpack 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot MiFi 5510L, Verizon Jetpack 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot MHS291L and the Verizon 4G LTE USB Modem UML295

While we haven’t had a chance to test these speeds quite yet, we’ll be sure to report back to you relatively soon with our Verizon HTC One M8 (which is capable of XLTE) and since we’re usually between San Diego and San Francisco, both markets are capable of supporting Verizon’s new XLTE service. Do keep in mind, however, that this is not LTE-Advanced, which is the next version of LTE service that is already running in places like Korea where they are able to get speeds in excess of 100 Mbps over commercially available devices. LTE-Advanced brings a whole host of features to smartphones, many of which are already inside of those phones, but the networks are simply not ready for quite yet. We know that Verizon is already working on their LTE-Advanced network and that this is likely a step forward in that direction in order to help them prepare for the jump.

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