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All posts tagged "htc flyer"


Tuesday, June 7, 2011

"Spilling Ink" on the HTC Flyer Tablet

Posted by Michael Knutson in "Other Slates & Tablets" @ 11:30 PM

http://www.gottabemobile.com/2011/0...ing-experience/

"As an ink blogger, the feature I’ve been most enthusiastic about testing on the HTC Flyer is ink. The Flyer is designed for pen input in a way unlike other pen tablets before it. What I’ve found is the experience breaks out into quantity vs. quality. It’s easy to spill a lot of ink, but it ain’t always pretty."

"Spilling Ink" is the author's term for writing in digital ink, or writing and drawing with a digital pen on a screen. An early gotcha is reported, in that the stylus can only write or draw, and not be used to click or drag, or manipulate the tablet's UI. A pen is a pen in this case, and not a finger substitute.

The bottom line is that this is a good start, but there is plenty of room for improvements.


Thursday, May 19, 2011

HTC Takes a Flyer With Their New Tablet

Posted by Kevin Jackson in "Android Slates/Tablets & Accessories" @ 01:00 PM

http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/16/...c-flyer-review/

"Yes, we're talking about the 7-inch Flyer, the most unique of this year's Android tablet offerings, opting for a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a sturdy aluminum construction that doesn't even try to compete in the race for extreme thinness, and a Magic Pen to make you forget it's running Gingerbread and not Honeycomb (yet). Also set for release under the EVO View 4G moniker on Sprint in the US, this tablet is the sum of a set of bold choices on the part of HTC."

HTC has really made a name for themselves in the Android marketplace, coming up with some innovative designs and features and their Flyer tablet is no exception. Check out this review to see if it's the right tablet for you. As far as I'm concerned, this one is right up there on my wish list.


Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Engadget Reviews the HTC Flyer: 12 Hours of Battery Life? Yowzers!

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Other Slates & Tablets" @ 06:00 AM

http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/16/...c-flyer-review/

"Over the past couple of years, HTC has rapidly built up an enviable reputation (and bank balance) in the smartphone space with a succession of feature-rich, smartly designed, and innovative handsets...Today, the company's Android assembly line is turning out yet another groundbreaking device, though this one's closer in size to the Athena than the Aria. Yes, we're talking about the 7-inch Flyer, the most unique of this year's Android tablet offerings, opting for a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a sturdy aluminum construction that doesn't even try to compete in the race for extreme thinness, and a Magic Pen to make you forget it's running Gingerbread and not Honeycomb (yet)."

I have a soft spot in my heart for HTC products - I've watched this scrappy company grow from being a fairy small ODM making Pocket PCs for the likes of HP to being a powerful phone brand making phones for practically every carrier in the world. It was with great interest that I read this review of the HTC Flyer, because I've been wondering how this latest foray into the bigger-than-a-phone world would go for them this time. This isn't their first time at the plate - remember the HTC Advantage? Or the HTC Shift? Both were products that had a gem of awesomeness at their core but were ultimately limited by the hardware at the time.

So did the Flyer do any better? Yes and no. I was relieved - and quite impressed - that the battery life of the Flyer was tested at being 12 hours. There were rumours for the past couple of months that they battery life on the Flyer was a meagre four hours...I read it time and time again in forum comments, Tweets, etc. Why HTC didn't step up and correct this fallacy is beyond me - I was initially quite interested in the Flyer because I'm a fan of the 7 inch tablet form factor, but when I read about the four hour battery life I immediately axed this from my list of potential non-iPad 2 options.

It looks like the HTC is a strong contender in a field of competition - can it stand out, and can HTC slim it down in the next generation?


Tuesday, May 10, 2011

10 Inch HTC "Puccini" Tablet on the Way?

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Laptop Thoughts News" @ 10:00 AM

http://pocketnow.com/android/htc-pu...-tablet-for-att

That itty-bitty picture above is supposedly an image of the forthcoming 10 inch HTC tablet, code-named "Puccini". The rumour is that this tablet will be one of the first to work on AT&T's forthcoming LTE network, making it a true 4G device. Nothing is known of the specs, though one can safely assume it's based on Android Honeycomb 3.x and will very likely feature the same HTC Sense interface we saw on the Flyer. My hope? That it gets into the 10 hour battery life range that has become the norm for tablets of this size - the four hour battery life of the HTC Flyer kept me from even considering that tablet.


Monday, March 21, 2011

HTC Flyer Launching in April in the UK

Posted by Kevin Jackson in "Android Slates/Tablets & Accessories" @ 05:30 PM

http://androinica.com/2011/03/htc-flyer-gets-pre-order-page-in-uk-and-an-april-release-window/

"It's different in a number of ways: it's packing a single-core CPU (though 1.5 GHz is still snappy); it's running Gingerbread with Sense UI, with Honeycomb coming in Q2; it has a stylus and a number of handwriting/note taking features (hence the codename Scribe); and, it will be launching with the OnLive gaming service"

HTC's Flyer tablet will be launching soon (sometime in April, most likely) in the UK. Pricing is a bit high compared to the other tablets coming out, but the £500.00 (about $813 USD) is marked a preliminary price, so we can only hope that it drops quite a bit. No word on a US launch, but can it be too far behind?

This tablet seems to buck the trend of most of the newer tablets coming out with a single-core processor, Gingerbread, and a stylus, but it looks intriguing nonetheless. Anyone excited about this device, or are you waiting one of the others on the horizon?


Tuesday, February 15, 2011

The HTC Flyer Caught on Video

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Other Slates & Tablets" @ 05:30 PM

http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/15/...z-7-inch-flyer/

Lots of videos about the new HTC Flyer are popping up, so here are a few to satisfy your curiosity...


HTC Flyer: The Andriod Tablet I've Been Waiting For?

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Other Slates & Tablets" @ 04:07 PM

http://www.htc.com/www/press_produc...o.aspx?p_id=395

"BARCELONA, SPAIN - Mobile World Congress - February 15, 2011 - HTC, a global leader in mobile innovation and design, today announced its first tablet, the HTC FlyerTM. HTC Flyer blends HTC's trademark design language with an all-new HTC Sense user experience that has been reimagined for the tablets. Using an intuitive and innovative approach to tablets, HTC Flyer combines natural touch and pen interaction. HTC also announced HTC Watch, a new connected video service that will debut on HTC Flyer tablet, and will collaborate with OnLive, Inc. to launch the first cloud-based mobile gaming service on a tablet."

I've been watching the Android tablet market carefully, looking at every new tablet coming out, and have been pretty underwhelmed by many of them. Some of them, like the Motorola Xoom, have impressive hardware - yet the software leaves much to be desired. I'm not an expert on Android so it's hard for me to say what's stock Android and what's not, but much of what I've seen is summed up by the word "Meh". It just doesn't seem to have much style.

The HTC Flyer, however, has caught my attention in a big way: as an HD2 owner (the phone is now retired) I'm very familiar with HTC Sense and the overall design language and functionality of their software has impressed me for the most part. Sure, some of it is silly fluff that does nothing but use CPU cycles and battery life, but I for one like a good UI as long as it doesn't feel slow. With a 1.5 Ghz single-core CPU, the HTC Flyer should be anything but slow. The 7 inch capacitive screen offers a 1024 x 600 resolution, and is pressure sensitive, which allows HTC to bring something interesting to the table that I haven't seen elsewhere yet on an Android tablet: a stylus. Engadget has more details on that, but suffice it to say that I think it brings a unique advantage to the table. It also synchronizes with Evernote right out of the box, which is killer if you're an Evernote user.

Rounding out the hardware spec is HSPA+ wireless (I have to assume WiFi is in there as well), 1 GB of RAM, 32 GB of storage (with expansion via microSD), a 5 megapixel rear camera, and a 1.3 megapixel front camera. It's said to weigh "as little as a paperback book", and the 4000 mAH battery will allow for up to four hours of video playback. Four hours doesn't sound very impressive to me - Engadget says the Samsung Galaxy Tab does just over six hours of video playback with the same sized 4000 mAH battery.

No word on pricing, but it will be available globally in Q2 2011 - I suspect that means there won't be a WiFi-only version initially, and it will be sold via carrier partners with data contracts. What that probably means is that it won't be able to compete with the WiFi only $499 iPad - which is a real lost opportunity in my opinion.

Oh, did I mention it can't make calls either? For some that may be a deal-breaker, though I personally don't think it would matter to me - that's what I have a cell phone for, and it's not like I'd leave the house with my HTC Flyer and not my cell phone. Frankly, I think a bigger problem is where do you put that stylus when you're not using it? It looks too big to be stored inside the device - and if it's not kept inside the device, it's something that might get lost easily.

The remainder of the press release, along with more images, after the break. Read more...


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