There was very little fan fare and the details of its launch were announced just one day before it was  made official, but there is no doubt that that Nexus 9 is Google's official answer to the iPad

So much so, in fact, that the two products are available for pre-order on the same day as each other. With this new tablet coming out so soon, it is important to recognize all of the subtle specifications that it carries to determine whether it is going to strike a chord with consumers when it launches in time for the holiday season.

The processor of Nexus is a veritable powerhouse, no two ways about it. The NVIDIA Tegra K1 (2.3 GHz Dual Core) is going to allow this device to stand up to anything else on the market. For comparison's sake, the current iPad Air tops off at 1.4 GHz. While Apple does have a slight leg up in this case thanks to 64 bit graphics processor, the Google tablet will be more than up to the task of graphics processing thanks to the Tegra K1. 

2 GB of RAM is also critical to the devices success, as will be the expanded storage. 32 GB as a maximum for internal memory is a disappointment, but the fact that it can be expanded gives it something of a leg up on the competition from Apple.

The screen is not the biggest from tablet options at 8.9 inches, but the resolution is still strong at 2048x1536 so it should be fine for apps, reading and movies.

Somewhat puzzling is the battery life. 9.5 hours is nothing awful, but considering that the competition lasts a full three hours more than that, it is something of a disappointment. Thankfully the camera is going to be receiving an upgrade, thankfully to 8 MP rather than the previous 5.

While pricing has not been shared, it is likely to be sitting at around $400 when it launches later this year.It is also critical to not that while the Nexus 9 has the iPad Air  most out matched, Apple just played a card that it has been holding for some time. The iPad Air 2 is able to match if not surpass many the capabilities of the Nexus 9.

Time will tell if Google is able to gain any ground in the tablet market, especially since Apple's iPad has been slipping in sales for the last several business quarters. However, they appear to be on the right track with this announcement and new product