US$183 Google Nexus 9 Tablet – Tablet Extinction coming as @googlenexus Strategy needed for Content Creation Tablet Market

It's been a long time since I wrote an article about the Google Nexus Tablet, their flagship Tablet.

So long in fact, that the last article was back in September 2012 about the Google Nexus 7 as noted in my blog article entitled “Google Nexus 7 Tablet to upgrade to 3G or LTE - Google Nexus 7 is a ParaNorman Bladerunner to kill the Amazon Kindle Fire 2”.

Their sin is equally onerous; they had launched the Google Nexus 9 Tablet two (2) months ago but only recently updated the OS to Google Android 5.1.1 Lollipop Update as reported in the article “Two months after launch, Android 5.1 finally hits Google’s flagship tablet”, published May 7, 2015 by Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica. 

This announcement come to us courtesy of Google Nexus Twitter feed, which curiously has been inactive since this tweet was posted informing Americans customers of the coming of the OTA (Over the Air) Update scheduled to occur over the next few weeks. 

Starting today, #AndroidLollipop update 5.1 will be rolling out to a #Nexus9 near you. pic.twitter.com/oxOvrujzmB

— Nexus (@googlenexus) May 7, 2015

To be honest, I did do an update when it finally got 4G LTE in July 2015 as per as noted in my blog article entitled “Google launches a 4G LTE Google Nexus 7 and Google Chromecast Streaming Device - Uninspired Tablet upgrades but US$35 Google Chromecast is the Streaming World's Blue Jasmine”  but to be honest, it has slipped off my radar since then.

But if you can forgive me for not remembering, then perhaps you can also forgive Google as well.  After all, the Google Nexus 9 Tablet does look rather average on the outside, despite bristling with specs and sporting Google Android 5.0 Lolipop.

While it surprises the folks at Ars Technica as to why Google's forgotten, it hasn't surprised me; for a Google Nexus 9 Tablet with an 8.9” screen and 16GB of RAM it's just too expensive at US$183, £199 or JA$21,011 based on the article “At £199, Google's Nexus 9 finally makes sense”, published May 7^th 2015  by Nick Summers, Engadget.

For Americans, British and us poor sods in Jamaica to even consider buying, much less shipping down in a barrel for my family and friend this Summer of 2015, is a bit silly, really!

US$183 HTC Google Nexus Tablet is too expensive – Why Google late to Update because Tablets are going extinct

Right now, as of writing this article, if I choose to brave the stench of Downtown Kingston  a described in my blog article entitled “KSAC and NWC and the Raw Sewage problem in Downtown Kingston – How to restore order by making Downtown safe for Vendors and Shoppers”,  I can get non-branded Chinese Tablets for as little as JA$9000, which works out to US$78.80 or £50.97.

The American and the British might as well come to Downtown Kingston to shop to get a Tablet, as we're a Developing World Country that has similar sized Tablets with the latest OS for cheaper.

Plus, the Google Android 5.0.2  update might not be compatible with the newly minted Nexus 9 Tablet made by HTC, as there are reports of it bricking some Tablets it has been installed on as reported in the article “Android 5.0.2 update bricks random Nexus 9 tablets: How to fix”, published May 8, 2015 By Vinod Yalburgi, International Business Times. 

Analysts Gartner, IDC and NPD have been predicting doom and gloom for Tablet sales from June 2014 to December 2014 respectively thanks to the rise of phablets and cheaper “White Box” Chinese Tablets like the ones here in Jamaica as per my blog article entitled “Gartner and IDC Forecast Tablets, PC fall, Smartphone rise - How Tablet's 3-Year Lifespan means Sub-US$199 Smartphones, Chrome OS to Dominate” .

Then in February 2015 analyst IDC all but declared the Tablet market dead as noted in my blog article entitled “IDC Stats suggest Tablet Freefall in 2015 – How to sell Tablets using built-in Keyboards and Carrier Unlocked SIM Cards”.

Bluetooth Keyboards and Carrier Unlocked SIM Cards – Strategy to tap Premium Content Creation Tablet Market

In that article, I'd suggested the idea of including a free Bluetooth keyboard along with the Tablet to encourage content creation as well as Carrier Unlocked SIM Cards similar to those described in my blog article entitled “The Netherlands makes Carrier Unlocked SIM Cards Legal - Apple's Idea revived heralding M2M and the Internet of Things, a financial Boon to Telecom Providers” with offers for subscription to a Data plan as a solution. 

After all, Apple had already started shipping the Apple iPad Air 2 with Carrier Unlocked SIM Cards since October 2014, albeit Telecom Providers have been slow to catch onto this idea as noted in my blog article entitled “Apple SIM in the Apple iPad Air 2 - How iOS 8.0 Carrier Unlocked SIM sells Apple iPads in Year of the Sheep 2015”.

Tablet makers need to make their Tablets with the same capabilities as a Laptop in terms of computing power to create as well as offer the option of an unlocked SIM Card so that customer can choose which Telecom Provider's Data Plan they wish to use.

Cheaper Google Chromebook alternatives -  Google Nexus 9 is the Poster boy for Tablet Extinction

Tablet makers are still trying to segment the market between what they perceive as lower end Tablets from the more premium Laptops. But Google Chrome OS Laptops, Google’s own Product, is slowly chipping away at that Laptop market as it’s a hit with the K-12 High School administrators as noted in my blog article entitled “IDC Stats say Google Chromebooks dominates U.S. K-12 School System - 1 TB Free Google Drive as Microsoft HP Stream and 12.9-inch Apple iPad in 2015”. 

In fact, Google on Wednesday April 1^st 2015 launched the Google Chromebit, a HDMI compatible flash drive sized computer along with three (3) new Chromebooks, the 11.6" Haier Chromebook, the 11.6 Hisense Chromebook  and the Asus Chromebook Flip as  detailed in my blog article entitled “@Google launches Google Chromebit, Haier and Hisense Chromebook and @Asus Chromebook Flip - @Microsoft Productivity vs @GoogleChrome OS low Price”.

At the time of launch, no prices were announced, save for the sub-US$100 Google Chromebit, but in terms of value for money, many Americans reason they’d better save their pennies. They instead purchase one of the devices and avoid upgrading for another two (2) to three (3) years. This is much cheaper than spending US$183 or £199 on a Google Nexus 9 Tablet and be obligated to upgrade every time Google Android goes up the food chain.

Otherwise, the Google Nexus 9 Tablet will not just be a flagship Tablet, but a poster boy for what's wrong with the Marketing of Branded Tablets that still aren’t seeking to sell to more premium customers who are more willing to pay for a more powerful Laptop-like Tablet.

More Jamaicans (and I suspect Americans and British peeps!) will choose to buy a cheaper JA$9000 “White Box” Chinese Tablet in Downtown Kingston or their version of Downtown, despite the stench, instead of paying JA$21,011 for a branded US$183 or £199 Google Nexus 9 Tablet made by HTC that Google apparently doesn’t believe will be a winner.