HTC Flyer Review

They may have been late to the tablet game, but HTC wasn't going to let everyone else have the fun. HTC's first, as well as our first review of an, Android Tablet is a step away from the current crop of Honeycomb 10.1-inch as it's running Android 2.3 with Sense for tablets and has a 7-inch form factor. We will try to see if going with Gingerbread is the right decision and whether or not the Scribe technology is enough to overlook other Android tablet offerings.

HTC Flyer 4G now available from Vidéotron

The HTC Flyer with AWS HSPA+ bands had passed by the FCC a while ago and a ROM made for Vidéotron was spotted on XDA. This all leads to the release of the HTC Flyer 4G, an HSPA+ capable version of the Flyer. Today we get official news that the Flyer 4G is now available to Vidéotron for $499.95 on agreement for a data plan. Unfortunately the Scribe pen isn't included. Keep it locked on Android Bugle for our review of the Flyer and check out the full press release after the break.

First Screenshots of HTC Flyer running Android 3.2 Honeycomb with Sense UI

Last Friday, we started getting reports of an early beta build of Android 3.2 Honeycomb for the HTC Flyer being leaked to Paul from MoDaCo. As this leaked build made its way to XDA members, one person has managed to get the ROM to boot on their 32GB 3G Flyer (apparently the only version that will work with the leaked ROM right now). The user, globatron has graciously posted up some screenshot for us to examine. Check them out after the break.

HTC Flyer early Honeycomb build gets leaked

Back in June when we got the rumored change log for the Android 3.2 Honeycomb update, one interesting addition was support for Qualcomm Chipsets and lower res screens. We believed this would be a key improvement as it would allow the HTC Flyer (which we will review shortly) to get a true Tablet experience. While the Tablet-centric version Sense UI does a great job optimizing Android 2.3 for tablet use it doesn't compare to the Honeycomb optimized apps available on the Android Market. It now seems that HTC has an early build of Android 3.2 Honeycomb for the Flyer and it has been leaked to the astute modder Paul O'Brien from MoDaCo. Hopefully will we see the same Sense UI enhanced version of Honeycomb that will be found on the HTC Jetstream.

HTC Flyer making its Canadian debut via The Source

A long awaited tablet is just about to hit to make its grand entrance to Canada, the Flyer will be hitting shelve as of today. The tablet is running Android 2.3 with a Tablet oriented version of Sense. With Android 3.2 adding support for Qualcomm chipsets we expect the Flyer to be in line for an upgrade to Honeycomb 3.2. Unfortunately, unlike in the US where Best Buy is now including the scribe pen with the Flyer free of charge, Canadians will have to fork over the extra $80 to get in on the handwriting action. Official press release after the break.

Android 3.2 to be the last Honeycomb update before Ice Cream Sandwich

Look like This is my next, has some dirt on the the next iteration of Honeycomb. Apparently Android 3.2, the last update for Honeycome before Ice Cream Sandwich, will feature mostly bug fixes and optimization for existing 10.1 tablets with Tegra 2 SoCs. But an important part of this update will be applied to pre-Honeycomb 7-inch tablets as well as upcoming 7-inch tablets.

HTC looking to continue its crusade into Canadian hands

HTC has slowly but surely emerged as, not only, one of the top mobile device manufacturers but one of the top tech companies in the world. Their conquering of the mobile tech world has been one for the ages, but Canada seems to be one of the hard markets for it to break into.

HTC Flyer 7-inch Tablet to "fly" into TELUS

According to a MobileSyrup tipster, the newly annouced HTC Flyer, a 7-inch Tablet, will be hitting TELUS in the near future. This tablet is packing a 1.5GHz single-core CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 7-inch 1024 x 600 resolution screen, is running a tablet version of HTC Sense and is apparently compatible with an HTC pressure sensitive stylus.

Unfortunately the HTC Flyer will only be running Android 2.4 (a tweaked version of 2.3) and not the fabled Android 3.0 Honeycomb that is optimized for tablets. This is somewhat an odd move by TELUS as they decided to pass on the Samsung Galaxy Tab, a similar tablet in hardware and form factor, because the upgrade path was uncertain and Google had stated that 2.1 (as well as 2.2) weren't made for tablet. While Android 2.3 wasn't stated to be optimized for tablets either, I guess Gingerbread was good enough for TELUS to jump aboard the Tablet craze.

Check out the video after the break.