HTC Nexus 8 Release Date Set For 'Before End Of Year' In Taiwan: Report

The Nexus 8/9 tablet will be released in Taiwan before the end of the year, an HTC executive confirmed Wednesday, Focus Taiwan reports.

The HTC-designed 8.9-inch tablet is part of "HTC's commitment" to make a resurgence in the tablet market.

HTC has not designed a tablet since 2011 or hooked up with Google for a Nexus device since 2010, but the partnership between the companies is apparently back on - good timing for Google considering HTC's recent successes with the designs of the HTC One and HTC One M8.

The Wall Street Journal reports that its sources confirmed that HTC engineers have been making trips back and forth from Taiwan to Mountain View to collaborate on the construction of the Nexus 8.

With the Nexus 8 rumored to be set for an unveiling as soon as next week alongside a new Nexus smartphone, it would seem like a good bet that the device will release in the United States in time for the holiday shopping season, as well.

The tablet surfaced earlier this week in a purported photo uploaded by leaker @upleaks.

As Android Community notes, the tablet shown in the photo does not appear to feature the aluminum body previously rumored for the Nexus 8, instead offering what looks like a matte plastic design similar to the LG Nexus 5.

T1 pic.twitter.com/yfxumLP1J7

- @upleaks (@upleaks) October 6, 2014

Recent alleged screenshots also tipped the tablet for the Nvidia K1 64-bit Denver chip, Android Geeks reports.

The screenshots, which were posted to Youtube by TKTech News, reveal the 64-bit uses two ARMv8 architecture compatible 2.5 GHz Denver CPU cores. The GPU, meanwhile, is a 192-core Kepler.

@evleaks previously revealed that the device will pack the Tegra K1, 64GB of internal storage, and either a 5MP or 8MP rear-facing camera.

What do you make of the rumors about the new Nexus tablet? Let us know with a comment.