HTC Flyer review – Pen pal

Introduction

Considering the avalanche of tablets now on the market one could be forgiven for thinking “How will this one be any different?” The HTC Flyer, though, is nothing if not unique.Yes, it's an Android tablet; but one which has decided to zig when every other droid tablet out there has zagged. It doesn't feature the stock Honeycomb for tablets and goes with Gingerbread instead. It’s topped with the HTC Sense UI 2.1 for tablets , which looks equally good upscaled to the bigger 7” screen, and has the brand new lockscreen from Sense 3.0.

There’s a 1.5 GHz single-core processor instead of a dual-core Tegra-or-something chip. The Flyer boasts HTC’s Scribe technology giving you drawing powers on any screen on the tablet. The aluminum unibody has the trademark HTC feel all over it. Oh yes… It's a cool gadget by any standards.

HTC Flyer official shots

Facing very tough competition, the Flyer relies on its user experience and innovative drawing/imaging technology to up the scales and get on your wish list. While it certainly can't compete with dual-core-powered slates in terms of FullHD 1080p video or the latest games with Unreal 3D engine and whatnot, it can still give users a rich, fun experience. The fact is it’s really pocketable and no burden to handle for longer than 10 minutes. You can literally take it anywhere without having to carry a special bag for it.

And here’s what the Flyer will bring along.

Key features

• 7.0" 16M-color LCD capacitive touchscreen of WSVGA (600 x 1024 pixels) resolution
• Single-core ARMv71500MHz CPU, 1GB RAM, 16/32GB of user-available storage
• Android 2.3.3 (Gingerbread) with HTC Sense 2.1 UI
• Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 and tri-band 3G 900/1700/2100 support
• 14.4 Mbps HSDPA, 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n with hotspot functionality
• GPS with A-GPS support; digital compass
• 5 MP 2592x1944 pixels resolution autofocus camera
• 1.3 MP front-facing camera
• 720p HD video recording @30fps
• microUSB port and stereo Bluetooth v3.0
• microSD slot (up to 32GB)
• Flash 10.1 support
• DivX/Xvid support
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Document viewing and editing out of the box
• HTC Scribe technology with Magic pen (separate purchase for the Wi-Fi only model)
• Aluminum unibody design
• Two sets of touch-sensitive controls for landscape and portrait use
• 4000 mAh Li-Ion rechargeable battery

Main disadvantages

• Weighs almost as much as an 8.9" tablet
• Charges only with the supplied HTC charger
• Non-replaceable battery
• Lower resolution than current crop of droid slates
• Lack of dual-core processor
• Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread instead of 3.0 Honeycomb
• 5 MP camera has obvious lens issues
• No telephony

This 7-incher makes you feel HTC didn’t want to shout out loud about their first tablet. At least, they tried to cover almost of the major features users look for in a tablet. When you hold it in your hands you immediately feel the HTC touch; like a steroid-enhanced HTC Sensation. And you can bet that Angry Birds looks good on that lovely big screen.

Choosing Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread instead of Honeycomb gives the Flyer the advantage of using a custom user interface and full support for the majority of apps out there. (Some regular Android apps have compatibility issues with Honeycomb slates).The downside is absolutely no support for Honeycomb apps, which are the ones meant for tablet use to begin with.

With the Flyer, you choose between a 3G-enabled and Wi-Fi-only version. Either way, phone calls are not available.

So much for raw specs and expectations. What we're here for is the actual performance. We’re back after the break and eager to see how the Flyer handles pressure.

HTC Flyer at ours