Google Nexus 8 Release Date is Sept 2014 as 8.9-Inch Vanilla Android Tab Sighted Bearing ‘Flounder’ Codename – Reports
More evidences are pouring in that Google is working on a possible Nexus 8 release date in the second half of 2014, the latest of which was spied on the Google Chrome bug-monitoring site.
According to CNET, leak trackers from Myce stumbled upon the possible traces of an Android slate that is currently in the testing phase. It is labelled Flounder, which is an oceanic creature.
The codename, said the same report, appears to solidly point to an upcoming Nexus device basing on Google's previously used pattern. During its development stage, the Nexus 10 was internally referred to as Mantra, CNET recalled.
At best, this latest Nexus 8 discovery is not accompanied by solid information that would define the tablet but BGR noted in a report that "the Chromium issue tracker reveals Flounder runs an AA branch build which is the development build for the Android SDK tools."
The 8.9-inch Nexus 8 is tipped as Google's replacement for the 7-inch Nexus 7. The reason given for the shift in screen size is to properly equip the Android device in its fight against the industry leader iPad Air.
Analysts offered too that the Nexus maker opted for the mid-point 8.9-inch screen profile as a way of consolidating its battle with the iOS tablets that come in two variants - the 9.7-inch regular iPad and the 7.9-inch iPad Mini.
In short, Google will attempt to challenge anew Apple's tablet supremacy with a single near-9-inch slate that is powered by its latest and native Android.
In the process too, Nexus 8's market entry will lead to the retirement of the 10.1-inch Nexus 10. Recall that Google had hinted of a possible refresh for the full-sized tablet in the mid-part of 2013 but to date, the device remains missing in action.
In the continued absence of the Nexus 10 2, reports emerged that Google has inked a deal with HTC to assemble a high-end Android table that would rival the beauty and capabilities of the iPad Air and iPad Mini combined.
Android watchers greeted that development as Google setting the stage for the arrival of the Nexus 8, which according to unconfirmed reports will be powered by Intel's Atom-based Moorefield processing chip.
The chipset is touted as more powerful than Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 CPU, originally reported as the Nexus 8 powerhouse.
The Nexus 8 release date is seen to happen in July or August 2014, which is after the perceived Android 4.5 or 5.0 unveiling in late June but CNET claims that touchdown is actually on September at the earliest as Q3 2014 is mostly the production period for the 8.9-inch slate.