Nexus 9, overhyped flop

brosko

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Yup. Much better then going into a purchase blind. Its not so much what is said on the forum but what one makes of it. You have to take the info from the forum and use it to educate yourself, not just aimlessly follow it. What these forums have done is expose some of the flaws/possible weaknesses of the n9 nothing more, nothing less.
 

kansasandroid1

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I'm just saying people need to take into account all those who don't have this problem because they don't need to post on this forum saying they have 0 problems with a tablet. People see someone bring up an issue on these forums and think everybody has that problem. I have had 0 problems with my Nexus 9 and I'm sure many others also haven't had any either

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brosko

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I'm just saying people need to take into account all those who don't have this problem because they don't need to post on this forum saying they have 0 problems with a tablet. People see someone bring up an issue on these forums and think everybody has that problem. I have had 0 problems with my Nexus 9 and I'm sure many others also haven't had any either

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That's what I mean, take the info here to educate yourself not just blindly follow it. To me that means understand that the issues/defects/problems discussed on here are merely something you might be slightly more likely to encounter on a particular device, but by no means are definite.
 

TraderGary

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I'm just saying people need to take into account all those who don't have this problem because they don't need to post on this forum saying they have 0 problems with a tablet. People see someone bring up an issue on these forums and think everybody has that problem. I have had 0 problems with my Nexus 9 and I'm sure many others also haven't had any either.
0 problems here. I've never had a problem with any Google Nexus device.
 

Habiib

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So you would buy a product that's priced only $100 less than the leading brand after doing your homework and discovering there's been known defect issues on the hope that you don't get one of those units? Interesting approach you have there. I guess that's why KIA sales seem to be doing OK.

I did love their old commercials though. ”AIIIIIEEEEE!!" ������

What the what?! My question was simple, very simple. Is a Nexus 9 tablet that is defect free still considered to be overpriced and/or non-premium? All it took was a simple yes or no response. I thought it was pretty straight forward.

However, I'll gladly answer your question. Yes I would pay $100 less if I'm getting more value for my money compared to the leading brand. I'm not naive enough to just hope I don't get a defect with anything I buy, I accept that the possibility is there. There will always be a good possibility of encountering a defect (this should be obvious when a manufacture provides a factory warranty for their product(s)). I have enough common sense to realize that anything that is mass produced (electronics in particular) will have a good chance of being defective, regardless of who makes it. I'm even aware that the first production run/lot of a mass produced product will incur a higher percentage of defects until the manufacturing process either matures or is modified to reduce the amount of defects. Sans a recall or production-halt being issued, I will make an informed decision based on the severity of the reported issues.

So again, is a Nexus 9 tablet without defects considered overpriced or not?
 

kansasandroid1

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What the what?! My question was simple, very simple. Is a Nexus 9 tablet that is defect free still considered to be overpriced and/or non-premium? All it took was a simple yes or no response. I thought it was pretty straight forward.

However, I'll gladly answer your question. Yes I would pay $100 less if I'm getting more value for my money compared to the leading brand. I'm not naive enough to just hope I don't get a defect with anything I buy, I accept that the possibility is there. There will always be a good possibility of encountering a defect (this should be obvious when a manufacture provides a factory warranty for their product(s)). I have enough common sense to realize that anything that is mass produced (electronics in particular) will have a good chance of being defective, regardless of who makes it. I'm even aware that the first production run/lot of a mass produced product will incur a higher percentage of defects until the manufacturing process either matures or is modified to reduce the amount of defects. Sans a recall or production-halt being issued, I will make an informed decision based on the severity of the reported issues.

So again, is a Nexus 9 tablet without defects considered overpriced or not?

In different people's opinions it may or may not be. I don't believe it is. This tablet should be compared to the iPad mini 3 which is the same price. In that case the nexus 9 provides with a larger screen. The more I think about the more I believe the price is completely reasonable

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TraderGary

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I've owned mine since Christmas. It is free of defects and in my opinion is very fairly priced. I would definitely buy it again without hesitation. I have the black 32GB WiFi model.
 

brosko

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The Answer is compared to an n7 the n9 is overpriced. If it wasn't for google spoiling us with almost giveaway nexus devices in the past I would say the n9 is fairly priced. Google has distorted my perception of a good buy.
 

Klaus Piontek

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What the what?! My question was simple, very simple. Is a Nexus 9 tablet that is defect free still considered to be overpriced and/or non-premium? All it took was a simple yes or no response. I thought it was pretty straight forward.

However, I'll gladly answer your question. Yes I would pay $100 less if I'm getting more value for my money compared to the leading brand. I'm not naive enough to just hope I don't get a defect with anything I buy, I accept that the possibility is there. There will always be a good possibility of encountering a defect (this should be obvious when a manufacture provides a factory warranty for their product(s)). I have enough common sense to realize that anything that is mass produced (electronics in particular) will have a good chance of being defective, regardless of who makes it. I'm even aware that the first production run/lot of a mass produced product will incur a higher percentage of defects until the manufacturing process either matures or is modified to reduce the amount of defects. Sans a recall or production-halt being issued, I will make an informed decision based on the severity of the reported issues.

So again, is a Nexus 9 tablet without defects considered overpriced or not?

I will answer, yes it is.
We all know there will be possible defective products out there, but with quality control (which is something you paid for!) it should be minimal.
Apple of course has defective iPad Air 2 units out there, but they set aside a number of tablet for easy warranty exchanges, you even could exchange iPhones 6 and 6+ when they were first launched. When I tried to exchange my N9, no such luck. When other people on this forum contacted HTC about light bleed on their N9s they were told to send it in for repair and wait weeks to get it back. Great warranty, isn't it? But guess what you paid for premium quality control and warranty service that you didn't receive, even with your pristine N9.
Then, why always excuse everything on a "first production run"? Were is the evidence that there have been changes? That people get some pristine N9?
When you first bring out a new model, you try to get the production as perfect as you can, with the good/best representations going to reviewers, for marketing purposes. Skewed? Yes but a lot is dependent on that. What did reviewers get? Squishy backs, light bleed etc. Not a good start.
So why is the N9 overpriced/not premium even if you get one that is perfect? How do you even know it is perfect? You paid for good quality control, which is clearly missing when squishy backs and bad light bleed were evident on a lot of units. What else did they miss? Great/premium warranty/service, which is missing when you have to send your unit back and have to wait for it to be repaired. Aluminum might be cheap compared to other metals, but what is plastic if not even cheaper? HTC used an aluminum frame with plastic back to cut costs to stay just below Apple pricing, plain and simple. There is no wireless charging in the N9. Charging times are pretty long. Battery life adequate but not outstanding. Are the slowdowns that many people experience due to software bugs and/or hardware problems like inadequate/cheap NANDs?
Amazon and BestBuy had to absorb probably a good amount of money by taking back N9s or exchanging them, which they then had to sell cheaper as open boxes. And then we compare only MSRPs. You can get, even as recently as the beginning of January, the iPad Air 2 16 GB for $399 at Microcenter. Bigger screen, better built quality, better warranty, faster. And in the holiday season, there were plenty of opportunities to pick up an iPad Air 2 cheaper than the N9 16GB or the 64GB version for $20 more. Where were the N9 sales?
Now true, Amazon dropped the price for the N9 16GB to $349 but I'm not convinced that is enough.
I had/have several Nexus devices in the past, N5, N7 2012 and 2013 which were all great or had shortcomings that could be overlooked because of the pricing.
The title of this thread is "Nexus 9 overhyped flop".
So lets look at the evidence.
Wasn't it called an iPad Air killer? It is a little faster in single core benchmarks but falls short in multi core. Graphic benchmarks are good but not enough to beat the Air 2 in general. To sum it up, it is close but does fall short. But I would say that overhype is small.
"HTC will build the N9 which is known for great built quality". I purchased the N9 at BestBuy the day is came out, without prior reviews, because of the "HTC built quality", premium price but with premium quality to match. And that's where the overhype really was. Mine had a super squishy back, like many if not all reviewers. I liked the feel of the material a lot but what are you touching when you hold the tablet each single time? Move on to the worst offense, the light bleed, like all the review units out there. Mine was evident at all times, with brightness set to ~40%. In the corners but also when watching a movie, the rows/columns adjacent to the border were noticeably brighter even in bright scenes, really distracting. And I compared the screen to my N7s, the N5, my wife's iPad Air 1, all set to maximum brightness, and it wasn't even a contest. My "premium" tablet fell short of the "cheap" tablets, it wasn't even close.
So I tried to exchange it but guess what, they would have to order a new one as all BestBuy had received was 2 units, a 16GB one and a 32GB one. Other stores also didn't have any. At that point I decided to return my unit, as I had paid for a premium device without receiving any of the premium benefits.
I have kept an eye out for a decent price drop that would warrant the risk of playing the Nexus 9 lottery but the $50 drop at Amazon is not enough for me as I seriously doubt that there have been real improvements in the production runs. The N9 received pretty bad press from even the Android fan sites like AndroidCentral, and it was well deserved. It is nearly impossible to erase that negative perception that's out there now, clearly not without great cost, and I don't think HTC is willing to do so.
Which brings us to the "flop" part. We will never know for sure, as Google doesn't release any sales numbers for their Nexus devices but the fact that Amazon dropped the price by $50 couple with the fact that there are plenty of Amazon warehouse deals available are probably good indications that the N9 isn't selling too well.
I don't mind that the current crop of Nexus devices received a big price bump, but the quality (including quality control and warranty) has to match the premium price, and it didn't for the N9.
 

Habiib

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So why is the N9 overpriced/not premium even if you get one that is perfect? How do you even know it is perfect? You paid for good quality control, which is clearly missing when squishy backs and bad light bleed were evident on a lot of units. What else did they miss? Great/premium warranty/service, which is missing when you have to send your unit back and have to wait for it to be repaired.

If I get a device that doesn't have the issues people deemed to be unfit for a device to be premium (squishy back, light bleed, flush buttons, etc) that's how I'd know it's perfect. Also, unless HTC has a service center of some type or a third-party equivalent, how else would you get a warranty claim resolved. What part of that process for having repairs or replacements from HTC is different from what other OEMs do per standard procedure? If HTC didn't honor their factory warranty (for defects) that would be another story.

Then, why always excuse everything on a "first production run"? Were is the evidence that there have been changes? That people get some pristine N9?

Statistically speaking, the probability for having defects in the first lot of production runs are higher for any mass produced product. The same evidence that's used to indicate that defects exist (user reviews and testimony) is the same evidence that's used to indicate that their Nexus 9 is free of defects. If no changes were made then the number of defect free reports in conjunction with the serial or lot number of their device is an indication that modifications or improvements to the manufacturing process has occurred.


HTC used an aluminum frame with plastic back to cut costs to stay just below Apple pricing, plain and simple.

HTC didn't have 100% creative control in the design and implementation of the Nexus 9. It was a joint effort between them and Google. For you to say with certainty that the reasoning was due wanting to stay below the starting price of Apple's, means you have inside knowledge of the entire design and engineering process. Google itself stated that the Nexus 9 wasn't made to compete with the iPad.

There is no wireless charging in the N9. Charging times are pretty long. Battery life adequate but not outstanding.

It's odd that you continue to bring up the iPad which lacks the same features in addition to not having outstanding battery life, yet you don't ding to for the same things but claim the Nexus 9 is trying to compete with it.

You can get, even as recently as the beginning of January, the iPad Air 2 16 GB for $399 at Microcenter. Bigger screen, better built quality, better warranty, faster. And in the holiday season, there were plenty of opportunities to pick up an iPad Air 2 cheaper than the N9 16GB or the 64GB version for $20 more. Where were the N9 sales?

Wait wait. Which is it that the Nexus 9 is supposed to be competing agains, the iPad 2 or the iPad Air? So I'm supposed to consider this a deal by purchasing an older device with comparatively inferior and outdated hardware, not to mention that there's very little the iPad 2 does better than the Nexus 9?

I don't mind that the current crop of Nexus devices received a big price bump, but the quality (including quality control and warranty) has to match the premium price, and it didn't for the N9.

So your conclusion is that a defect free Nexus 9 isn't premium because of the warranty. A warranty that requires you to send a device to the manufacturer for repair. In like manner, sn iPad is considered premium mostly because of it's aluminum unibody construction and the ability to exchange or have the device at a service center or Apple store that's accessible. Is that about right?

Well I'll tell you what I've observed. I've checked the ratings on Amazon since the initial release, and the overall rating value has increased over time, likewise for the best buy site

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chyeo1979

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Statistically speaking, the probability for having defects in the first lot of production runs are higher for any mass produced product. The same evidence that's used to indicate that defects exist (user reviews and testimony) is the same evidence that's used to indicate that their Nexus 9 is free of defects. If no changes were made then the number of defect free reports in conjunction with the serial or lot number of their device is an indication that modifications or improvements to the manufacturing process has occurred.

That is true, but just wonder why they even give such lousy units to reviewers (those who received the product to do a review). Even before the first consumers started getting it, these defects were already highlighted extensively.

All in all, just felt that HTC is not trying their best to make a good tablet for Google, probably related to the rumour that they are going to make a tablet of their own that is very similar to Nexus 9.
 

Habiib

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That is true, but just wonder why they even give such lousy units to reviewers (those who received the product to do a review). Even before the first consumers started getting it, these defects were already highlighted extensively.

All in all, just felt that HTC is not trying their best to make a good tablet for Google, probably related to the rumour that they are going to make a tablet of their own that is very similar to Nexus 9.

I suspect that this tablet wasn't field tested extensively. Most of these problems could have been caught early and the assembly process would be modified before mass production started. I do suspect (along with some technical writers) that HTC's hands were tied somewhat during the creation of the N9 and that Google had more say so in the end result than HTC. All in all I agree 100% that the Nexus 9 doesn't represent HTC's full capability.

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GoBigRed4

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Lots of comparisons being made to ipads here, but let's not forget that ipads run ios and the nexus 9 runs android. I don't care how much more premium an ipad is to the nexus 9, I don't want an ios device.

By the way, I bought my nexus 9 at the end of December and it has 0.0 of the defects being reported here. Seriously doubt I just got lucky. It appears the production process has indeed improved.

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ollieg

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Flop!?

If the thread title had simply read "overhyped" rather than flop, I would tend to agree.

Considering the "hype", part of this thread reads like Google and HTC promised us the quality of a $600+ phone in the body of a $400 tablet. Thinking back, the tablet was pretty hush hush, it was even only rumor that HTC was the manufacturer. So, which hype statements can be attributed to Google or HTC, and which were actually media drum roll and click-bait combined with a large dollop of fanboy wishful thinking?

I generated most of my own hype. I wanted an out and out iPad killer so I would have a solid, and objectively undeniably "better" device and wouldn't have to listen to Apple-centric rhetoric anymore.

All of those hopes and wishes aside, this tablet really is nice. If it's true the best thing about the tablet is Lollipop it's a very pretty and lightning fast showcase for the latest OS.