Google's Nexus 9 Lollipop tablet is its best yet, but it's far from perfect.......

THE NEXUS 9 is Google's latest shot at taking on the iPad, and this time round it has roped in HTC to help.

With the Apple tablet set firmly in its sights, Google has made sure its Nexus 9 sounds just as good on paper, equipping it with a high-resolution 1536x2048 display, 64-bit Tegra K1 chip and, of course, Android 5.0 Lollipop.

DesignGoogle's decision to pick HTC to build the Nexus 9 was not surprising, given the high-end build quality of the firm's HTC One and One M8 smartphones.

Unfortunately, unlike HTC's flagship smartphone family, the Nexus 9 doesn't come clad in metal. Instead, the tablet features a polycarbonate plastic rear, similar to that on last year's Nexus 5, with a metal trim round the edges.

The plastic rear is comfortable in the hand and the aluminium edging is a nice touch, although it doesn't feel as luxurious as the iPad Air 2 which is encased fully in metal. 

We got our hands on the white Nexus 9 - it's also available in black and sand versions - which is certainly more distinctive than the dark-hued model. However, the white rear proved a nightmare for picking up fingerprints and grease, which can be quite difficult to remove.

The Nexus 9 measures 228x154x7.9mm, and tips the scales at 425g. It's hard not to compare it with the iPad Air 2, which is a touch heavier and skinnier than the Nexus 9 at 6.1mm thick, despite packing an extra inch of screen space. 

While the Nexus 9 is by no means a chunky device, we can't help but think that Google could have streamlined the device a little, especially given the tablet's price.

ScreenOn paper, the Nexus 9 screen is one of the best on the market with an 8.9in 1536x2048 IPS LCD display.

The display, which comes with a pixel density of 288ppi, produces good colours and great viewing angles thanks to the onboard IPS technology.

However, it didn't blow us away. The 8.9in screen isn't laminated to the glass like on the iPad Air 2, and we noticed that the backlight can sometimes bleed into the edges of the screen - a feature usually reserved for cheaper, non-Google branded slates.