[Nexus 9 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] TenderloinShadow:
Ok, so I'm just another major Android power user, but I've never had an Android tablet before, just smartphones. Well, that's not entirely true, I had the HP Touchpad back during the firesale days of 2011, but that was... well, not so great (very hack-y port of CM9).

Anyway, so before I commit to shelling out $500 for this tablet, I have some things I'm looking to learn. I'm doing a ton of research on my own, but there are a few things I would love to talk to folks about.

PRODUCTIVITY

So if I'm going to get this tablet, I'm going to use it like a portable computer. I have a laptop, but it's a big, heavy gaming rig, so this would be my go-to portable computer.

A big part of that usage is productivity. I want to be able to use this device for work, and that means being able to edit Word & Excel docs. So I'm looking for the best option.

I know that Google Drive is great, but I've only ever used it on a smartphone, and I hate the interface. Is a tablet going to be better for interface-purposes?

Other than Google Drive, what app would folks recommend for Word & Excel editing that has the best tablet interface and the most options? I've already got a few candidates in mind, but I'm curious about others.

TEST APPS WITH EMULATOR

So because I'm so curious about how certain apps would be on a tablet, I would love to use the Android Emulator in the SDK to test them. Can I do this properly? Would it allow me to test apps and see how they work on the N9 before I get it, especially so I can test those productivity apps?

CLOUD SYNC

This is something that I've just never needed to do with my smartphone, but I will definitely do with this tablet if I get it. I will want something along the lines of what Dropbox or Google Drive do on the PC. Namely, to have a directory on my tablet that anything put inside of it will automatically sync to the cloud, and anything in the cloud will automatically be synced to it.

Bonus points if there's a way to do this where the files won't be permanently saved in that folder. So if I have "Document A," and I'm editing it on the go when I don't have internet, and I save it in this directory, when I next connect to internet it'll be synced with the cloud and then deleted off the Hard Drive to save space.

USB OTG

I've already asked about this in other threads, and gotten a good response. I have a 2TB external HD with TONS of media on it, and I'll want to be able to plug it into my tablet and watch things on it.

From what I've found out, to make this work I'll need 1) an adapter plug, and 2) a custom kernel that supports NTFS file systems.

Will custom kernels that support NTFS definitely be available for this device? Are there any other obstacles that would stop me from using my HD with this device?

STYLUS

I like the concept of having a stylus with the tablet for quick note taking, but is there any real point? Especially because the tablet doesn't have a slot to store the stylus, so it'll be just one more thing to carry around with the device.

So would anyone recommend having a stylus, or can I just live without it.

CLOSING

I know this is a pretty thorough questionaire, but I consider myself a tech enthusiast, and while I love new gadgets, and have the money to blow on this, I want to be absolutely certain this is the right purchase for me before I make it.

Thank you all so much in advance for all of your help.