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A day of Android goodies: A look at Google's Nexus 6, Nexus 9, Nexus Player and Android Lollipop 5.0

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Google announced a slew of new products on Wednesday, including the Motorola-built Nexus 6 phone, the HTC-built Nexus 9 tablet, the Nexus Player entertainment box and the newest avatar of Android: version 5.0, dubbed Lollipop.

Nexus 6
Pulling out all stops, this new phone packs some of the most stellar hardware available today. The Nexus 6 features a 5.96-inch AMOLED display packing a 1440 x 2560 resolution, 3GB of RAM, 32/64GB of internal memory, a 13 megapixel rear camera with optical image stabilization and a 2 megapixel front camera. The main camera is capable of capturing video at a 2K resolution of 2160p @ 30fps. 


Powering this show is a Quad-core 2.7 GHz Krait 450 processor and Adreno 420 graphics processor. This is one of the first devices that will run the newest Lollipop operating system. It is interesting to note that the phone packs a 3220 mAh Li-Po battery, which is likely to lend it enough juice to sail through even a long work day. And yes, it is multi-band LTE capable as well, making it well-poised for next-gen 4G networks. 

Interestingly, this phone is almost identical in specifications to Samsung's newly-launched Note 4; they share the same processor, amount of RAM, screen resolution and battery capacity. The battle will truly be decided once the price of this phone is announced, although the hefty Rs 58,300 price tag of the Note 4 is more than likely to tip the scales in favour of the Nexus 6.

Nexus 9
The Nexus 9 tablet looks to have its sights squarely set on the entertainment and gaming community. This 8.9-inch tablet features an IPS LCD screen with a 1536 x 2048 resolution, 2GB of RAM, 16/32GB of internal memory, an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 1.6 megapixel front camera. But upping the ante on the graphics front is a new-generation Nvidia Kepler DX1 GPU and a Quad-core 2.3 GHz processor which should together make it one of the most capable portable gaming platforms. This tablet is also LTE network capable.

Nexus Player
Lending firepower to the home entertainment space, the Nexus player is a diminutive box that plugs into a television to deliver a casual gaming and streaming audio/video experience. Its voice-activated remote (say the name of a TV show and it'll locate it for you) aims to make it easy to navigate through online TV and radio services, and the box also synchronizes with other Android devices enabling you to start viewing on your TV and finish it on your tablet. It has out-of-the-box support for video services like YouTube, TED, TuneIn, Vevo, Plex and more. However, not all of its bundled services have a presence in India (Netflix and Hulu Plus, for example). 

This box is powered by a 1.8GHz Quad Core Intel Atom processor, an Imagination PowerVR Series 6 Graphics 2D/3D Engine, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. It features an HDMI out port for 1080p video, Micro-USB 2.0,  WiFi 802.11ac 2x2 (MIMO) and Bluetooth 4.1.

Android 5.0 Lollipop
The next version of Android aims to extend the familiar Google experience beyond the phone and tablet, toward a wider spectrum of devices including smart watches, TVs and even cars. The user interface is based on their Google's new Material design language, which aims to provide more tangible interaction and tactile response. Lollipop will enable information to appear in tandem across synchronized devices, with relevant notifications and views appearing on connected watches, phone and tablets. The new OS also lends greater flexibility over what notifications are shown and hidden, so only the most important ones appear. 

Many enhancements have been made to power management; it is now possible to view the estimated time before charging is needed, and there is a battery saver feature that supposedly extends device run time by up to 90 minutes. On the security front, you can now use the Guest User mode that locks out access to your private information, and the Android Smart Lock feature can secure your Lollipop-powered phone or tablet by pairing it with another one of your Android devices, such a smartwatch or even a car.

Stay tuned as we bring you more news and hands-on reviews on these new products, and on upcoming devices running Android Lollipop. Which of these products would you buy? Tell us in the Comments below or on our Facebook page.

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