In recent years we have come to appreciate the HTC smartphones with the Android operating system. They have successfully challenged the established players and it is no wonder that HTC has ventured into the new tablet market that has taken the world by storm.
The HTC Flyer is a seven-inch tablet based on the Android 2.3.3 (Gingerbread) operating system. It comes with a 1.5 GHz Snapdragon single-core processor, 1 GB of RAM, a WSVGA 1024x600 capacitive touchscreen, 16/32 GB internal storage, a 5 megapixel main camera and 1.3 megapixel front camera, a Magic Pen, GPS, Bluetooth 3, b/g/n Wi-Fi and 3G mobile connectivity.
The tablet looks and feels sturdy but chunky as a result of its aluminum unibody. It is heavy compared to other similar-sized tablets but will take bumps and keep working. There is a small drawback to this: to access the micro-SD card slot and SIM card slot you need to slide out a small flap and it’s not that easy.
HTC decided to provide a charming white case in the package (which other manufacturers don’t).
The size seems to be a perfect balancing act as the screen always looks the best compromise between size and portability, making the Flyer look like a giant phone. And the display is very good and is one of the best screens for tablets around.
The capacitive screen is very responsive and HTC decided to adorn the tablet with a unique feature: the Magic Pen. This is a pen that connects wirelessly to the tablet to do scribbling work with some apps. While other tablet manufacturers have derided pens for tablets, there could be life for this pen with some particular segments of users, like artists. There is no space for the pen inside the tablet. It must be kept in an outside attachment to the white case.
Changing from portrait to landscape mode is very responsive and some digital buttons, like ‘home’ and ‘menu’ move from one side of the tablet to another.
Although the Flyer has Android Gingerbread installed, at its core there is HTC Sense 2.1, HTC’s graphical user interface used throughout its range of smartphones. It’s still unclear why the company decided to stick to Android 2.3 instead of going to Android 3 (Honeycomb) which is optimised for tablets.
The battery performs decently. After a full day’s use of e-mail, social networks, watching videos and staying connected to the internet, there was still some battery power. It took around four hours to recharge to 100 per cent. It seems the camera, and not video or internet, is the most power-hungry feature of the tablet.
Listening to music and watching videos was good.
Storage space is adequate: adding a micro-SD card (up to 64 MB) gives even more space. There is a USB port but it’s not the standard port but HTC’s own design that is not compatible with standard cables.
Wi-Fi and 3G mobile internet access was simple to get and reception was good in both instances. This is not a phone so the SIM Card is used for data only.
This is one of the best 7-inch tablets around, with many good features and very few weaknesses. Users of HTC smartphones will like it.
Vodafone Malta gave a re-view copy of the HTC Flyer toi-Tech.