Announced officially from CTIA Wireless in Orlando this morning, the much anticipated HTC Flyer tablet will go on sale this Spring in the US – and the wi-fi only model will launch exclusively with Best Buy. HTC is likely in talks with mobile carriers in the US around the 3G version, but no announcements have been made.
Also at CTIA, Samsung unveiled the next two sizes of its Android powered Galaxy Tab at 8.9 inches and 10.1 inches, which will go on sale June 8 (this is compared with the 7 inch Galaxy launched last year). The Galaxy is currently the world’s thinnest Android powered tablet.
Also today, just a month after hitting store shelves, claims by Taiwanese suppliers suggest that Motorola will completely halt and cease production of their Xoom tablet by June. At a high $799 price point compared with the iPad 2‘s $499, this supposed halt in production begs the question if other non-iPad devices trailing Apple’s first mover advantage — tablets like the Flyer — will at all be fiercely sought after by consumers. The iPad 2, which hit US stores just two weeks ago, will go international in twenty-five countries across the globe this Friday.
Keeping all this news in mind, which should you buy and how does the Flyer tablet stack up to Apple’s iPad 2, the Galaxy, and (a likely soon to be discounted) Motorola Xoom? Here’s what the world knows and doesn’t know about the upcoming HTC Flyer, starting with HTC marketing it as a gaming device and perfect for travel:
Sweet, Sweet Honeycomb
As far as the operating system on the Flyer, the tablet is running off from Google’s Android platform. The question is which version. Some predict the Flyer will be powered by Honeycomb (Android 3.0), the same version of Android used for Samsung’s Galaxy Tab. Honeycomb is optimized for tablets and would make sense, but other sources point to Gingerbread (Android 2.3) — the Android version which supports Near Field Communications (NFC), the technology poised to make mobile payments a reality in the US. Other top industry analysts expect the Flyer to launch with Gingerbread, and come out with an update to support Honeycomb later on.
Sense the Scribe
HTC will layer its Sense touch interface onto Android, as well as Scribe (although Scribe has not been mentioned specifically). Scribe is an interface that allows you to physically write on your screen with a digital pen instead of using your fingers on the touch pad — perfect for note taking and mark up on the go.
Non Flash-y Camera and Other Hardware
Weighing in at just under 15 pounds with an aluminum shell, the Flyer sports a 7-inch screen with a 1024 X 600 resolution. As far as CPU speed and memory, the Flyers hits 1.5 GHz and includes 33 GB of storage and 1 GB RAM. As for its camera, it will come with a 5 mega pixel camera, without a flash, that will allow owners to take 720p video. The Flyer also includes a front facing 1.3 mega pixel camera for things like video chat.
Release Date and Price
We know the Flyer will be released this spring, but the exact date is still unknown. The tablet could hit shelves anytime between now and the end of May. The 3G Flyer will launch in the UK next month. As for price, HTC has not officially released numbers either, but like the Xoom will be two-tiered: a higher price point without a data plan, and a lower price point if you’re willing to commit to a 2 year data contract.
Check out HTC’s preview of the device in the video below, which will give you a sense of this tablet’s feel:
What excites you most about the Flyer? Do you think it has a chance to succeed among the Galaxy, Xoom, and iPad 2?
