HTC unveiled its Flyer tablet PC on February 15, 2011 at the Mobile World Congress 2011. The sleek looking tablet packs some great features. HTC also introduced some new upgrades and new services with the tablet PC.
Display: HTC Flyer comes with a 7-inch display with 1024 x 600 resolution. Compared to recently released 10.1-inch Motorola Xoom, Flyer’s display resolution is not that good, but still users should reportedly be able to watch Youtube videos, movies and play games without much hiccups.
A pressure sensitive stylus would also come with this tablet which would make the navigation easier for the users.
Processor, Memory and Storage: HTC Flyer would feature Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 1.5GHz single-core processor. Though many reported that the processor is pretty much fast, but this single-core processor may come short on multi-tasking compared to the tables like Xoom featuring dual-core processors.
Flyer will also have 1GB of internal memory (RAM) and 32GB of flash storage.
Camera: This tablet from HTC would feature two cameras- a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera and a 5 megapixel camera on the back. The good side of the front-facing camera is that users can make video phone calls. The rear camera will have LED flash and facial recognition technology.
Connectivity and Port/s: HTC Flyer supports 3G and features HSPA. Users will reportedly get download speed of 144 Mbps and upload speed of 576 Mbps. The device will have a HDMI port and feature DLAN for wireless internet access.
Design: The heavily-built design of HTC Flyer would attract those who are looking for a tablet PC for rough use. Its aluminum-built exterior would make it a durable device and users would love to carry it while travelling. However, it is not very light compared to other 7-inch tablets mainly because of its processor.
OS:
HTC Flyer will come with Android 2.4 Gingerbread. The problem with the Gingerbread is that it is not optimized for tablet PCs. Well, the good news is: Flyer will launch with 2.4 and then upgrade to Honeycomb in Q2.
Software
The tablet will support OnLive Inc.’s cloud-based gaming service. Customers can get this service via broadband wireless. HTC Watch, a video download service will offer HD movies. HTC Scribe is a great feature of the HTC Flyer tablet. It features “integrated digital ink” that allows people to take notes, sign contracts or draw pictures. Here is another video clip of HTC Flyer.
HTC Flyer comes with the upgraded version of HTC’s Sense UI. CNET UK reports:
Sticking to the older version of Android has given HTC the time to customise the interface significantly. We haven't seen the Flyer's user interface in action yet, but HTC told us that it's tweaked all of its apps to take advantage of the tablet's extra screen space. For example, the email app will have two panels, showing your inbox and an email at the same time.
Another major feature of the HTC Flyer tablet PC is its digitizer technology. HTC worked with a company named N-Trig that provides digitizers for convertible PCs. HTC also developed its own writing software called HTC Scribe. HTC Flyer comes with a capacitive touchscreen and pressure-sensitive stylus. HTC Scribe is a great addition. HTC Flyer also integrates Evernote, the note taking app. Users can take notes and change the color of the ink. You can also scribble over images in the image gallery. Here is a video clip:
Launching:
According to DigiTimes, the HTC Flyer will become available in the U.S in March followed by worldwide release in the second quarter.
Battery life and Price: Since HTC Flyer has not come to the market yet, detailed information about its battery or its price is not available. According to some websites, battery power is disappointing: “. The Apple iPad offer 10 hours video playback, while the Flyer can only manage 4 hours.” As for the price, it will be somewhat cheaper than iPad. And according to Cnet, the price will be around $674.
Flyer vs iPad
Whenever a new tablet comes it is natural to make a comparison with the iPad. It can be easily said that HTC Flyer will not be an iPad killer. In fact, we think that they will address totally different markets. HTC has good market visibility in many countries of Asia and Europe. So, HTC may try to make its tablet popular in countries where Apple is not strong. In the US market, we don’t think that Flyer would be able to pose any threat for iPad.
Flyer vs other Android Tablets
Flyer is going to face serious competition against other Android based tablets. Of course, the name of Samsung Galaxy Tab comes to my mind and Galaxy Tab is already popular in some parts of Asia including Korea. Motorola has already launched Xoom and it is running on Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS. So, people who can afford would go for something with Honeycomb perhaps. HTC needs to find its own niche as soon as possible. We wish that HTC focuses on the price issue. Still, it is too early to rule Flyer out as HTC has already proved in the smartphone market that it has some amazing capabilities to shine with Android.
Availability: Our suggestion to HTC is Flyer should be made available in as many countries as possible. After HTC has good global coverage with its handsets.
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