Google aims to take a bite out of Apple’s tablet market share

GOOGLE has popped out fresh smartphones and tablets and a new Android system as Apple launches new versions of the iPad tablet.

Google takes on Apple.

GOOGLE has popped out fresh smartphones and tablets and a new version of its Android system as fierce rival Apple launches the latest versions of the iPad tablet.

Google made its move just a day before Apple rolled out its new iPads, trotting out a new Nexus 6 smartphone and Nexus 9 tablet and a new version of Android called Lollipop. The Google gadgets will do battle with Apple’s iPhone 6 and the latest versions of the Apple iPad Air and iPad Mini tablets, announced today.

The Google Nexus 6 phone is made by Motorola Mobility and has a 5.9 inch screen, slightly larger than Apple’s new iPhone 6 Plus, which measures 5.5 inches.

It comes in Midnight Blue or Cloud White, has a screen resolution of 2560 by 1440 pixels and sports a quad core processor.

The Nexus 9 tablet is made by HTC, has a 8.9-inch screen and starts at $US399 ($455). An optional keyboard cover is available for $US129. Google believes the keyboard option will turn the Nexus 9 into a light duty laptop substitute.

The tablet has a 2048 by 1536 pixel display and comes in Lunar White, Indigo Black and Sand.

Google Australia had no local pricing information on the Nexus 6 or Nexus 9. It said the gadgets would be able to be “pre-ordered” next month.

The latest Nexus mobile gadgets will use a new version of the Android operating system, called Lollipop, named for a sugary treat, like every version since the ­Android 1.5 Cupcake of 2009.

Lollipop was built to run both on the most powerful and weakest devices in the Android universe and features a whole new look with high contrast, bright colours and more animation, which Google calls “Material Design”. It is also claimed to offer better security, faster and smoother performance and better battery life than Android KitKat, its predecessor.

Notifications such as call reminders can be seen with a lockscreen on and responded to without having to unlock; security has been beefed up by turning data encryption on by default and strengthening protection against malware and vulnerabilities.

Google’s Android system has 85 per cent of the global smartphone operating system market, compared to Apple’s iOS’s 12 per cent, according to researcher IDC.

In markets like Australia that are more oriented to premium phones, the spoils are more evenly divided. Local researcher Telsyte estimates there were 16 million smartphone users in Australia as of June, of which Android smartphones have 51 per cent of the market and Apple 42 per cent.

additional reporting: WSJ