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htc
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. The HD2 introduced us to the 4.3-inch form factor, the EVO 4G ushered in the era of 720p video recording, and the Legend wrapped itself inside a never-before-seen aluminum unibody enclosure.
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). 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. To see how well those decisions have come off, click past the break for our full review.
Thinking back to the first time we saw the Flyer in person -- at a pre-MWC briefing back in February -- we have to say this tablet didn't make the happiest of first impressions. It's a weighty old thing (420 grams / 14.8 ounces) that looked thick even before we laid eyes on the subsequent iPad 2 and Samsung Galaxy Tab super-slimsters. In fact, we had a 7-inch Galaxy Tab on hand and the Flyer was instantly humbled by the slicker, lighter, and far more refined slate from Samsung. HTC's choice of a tri-color palette also dashes any chances of the Flyer appearing sophisticated. The white plastic elements at the top and bottom don't really blend in well with either the grey aluminum shell or the black bezel around the screen. Adding insult to injury, the lower one of those plastic inserts actually protrudes from the body, giving an already chunky tablet some extra junk in the trunk.
You'd hope, after such an inauspicious start, that form has been sacrificed at the altar of function here and we can happily report that to be the case. Though we found the Flyer's weight unwieldy at first, we adapted to it over time and would now actually describe it as reassuring. A big portion of that heft comes from the tablet's unibody metal enclosure -- one uninterrupted chunk of aluminum wraps around most of the Flyer's rear and sides, protecting it from bumps and scrapes and lending it an excellent feel of rigidity and stoutness. If we had a prize for ruggedness among tablets not specifically designed for rough terrain, the Flyer would win it with, ahem, flying colors. That's not mere rhetoric, either -- we were clumsy enough to drop our review unit onto a cement floor and you'll spot the resulting scuffs on its back in our hands-on gallery.
The Flyer's curved sides are classic HTC and help make it easy and comfortable to handle. You might end up with stronger forearms from the effort of holding it up, but you won't be causing yourself injury from awkward or annoying ergonomics. Taking it out for a day-long stroll around London, we found this slate a joy to tote around in one hand or -- as unbelievable as it may sound -- stashing it in a pocket. Contrary to any of the 8.9-,9.7- or 10.1-inch tablets that are currently staking a claim as the mainstream's favorite form factor, the 7-inch Flyer is truly portable enough to carry around without either a dedicated carrying case or some other pouch to slot it into. Even so, HTC has decided to bundle a sparkly white case in the retail package, which is of an above-average quality, fits snugly around the tablet, and provides an all-important holder for the Magic Pen accessory. Some might (rightly) argue that they'd rather have a cheaper tablet than more goodies in the box, but the Flyer's case provides an extra layer of protection and a very neat way to transport it together with the stylus. The flap is kept closed by nature's own awesome technology: magnets.
Tablet PCs
HTC Flyer review
By Vlad Savov posted May 16th 2011 11:00AM
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. The HD2 introduced us to the 4.3-inch form factor, the EVO 4G ushered in the era of 720p video recording, and the Legend wrapped itself inside a never-before-seen aluminum unibody enclosure.
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). 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. To see how well those decisions have come off, click past the break for our full review.
HTC Flyer review
Hardware
Thinking back to the first time we saw the Flyer in person -- at a pre-MWC briefing back in February -- we have to say this tablet didn't make the happiest of first impressions. It's a weighty old thing (420 grams / 14.8 ounces) that looked thick even before we laid eyes on the subsequent iPad 2 and Samsung Galaxy Tab super-slimsters. In fact, we had a 7-inch Galaxy Tab on hand and the Flyer was instantly humbled by the slicker, lighter, and far more refined slate from Samsung. HTC's choice of a tri-color palette also dashes any chances of the Flyer appearing sophisticated. The white plastic elements at the top and bottom don't really blend in well with either the grey aluminum shell or the black bezel around the screen. Adding insult to injury, the lower one of those plastic inserts actually protrudes from the body, giving an already chunky tablet some extra junk in the trunk.
Flyer vs. iPad... fight!
You'd hope, after such an inauspicious start, that form has been sacrificed at the altar of function here and we can happily report that to be the case. Though we found the Flyer's weight unwieldy at first, we adapted to it over time and would now actually describe it as reassuring. A big portion of that heft comes from the tablet's unibody metal enclosure -- one uninterrupted chunk of aluminum wraps around most of the Flyer's rear and sides, protecting it from bumps and scrapes and lending it an excellent feel of rigidity and stoutness. If we had a prize for ruggedness among tablets not specifically designed for rough terrain, the Flyer would win it with, ahem, flying colors. That's not mere rhetoric, either -- we were clumsy enough to drop our review unit onto a cement floor and you'll spot the resulting scuffs on its back in our hands-on gallery.
The Flyer's curved sides are classic HTC and help make it easy and comfortable to handle. You might end up with stronger forearms from the effort of holding it up, but you won't be causing yourself injury from awkward or annoying ergonomics. Taking it out for a day-long stroll around London, we found this slate a joy to tote around in one hand or -- as unbelievable as it may sound -- stashing it in a pocket. Contrary to any of the 8.9-,9.7- or 10.1-inch tablets that are currently staking a claim as the mainstream's favorite form factor, the 7-inch Flyer is truly portable enough to carry around without either a dedicated carrying case or some other pouch to slot it into. Even so, HTC has decided to bundle a sparkly white case in the retail package, which is of an above-average quality, fits snugly around the tablet, and provides an all-important holder for the Magic Pen accessory. Some might (rightly) argue that they'd rather have a cheaper tablet than more goodies in the box, but the Flyer's case provides an extra layer of protection and a very neat way to transport it together with the stylus. The flap is kept closed by nature's own awesome technology: magnets.
It's ironic to think that this fatty of the tablet world would offer more convenience on the move than all the supermodel skinny slates, but we've found ourselves slowly falling in love with the Flyer's screen size. 7 inches feels like our perfect bowl of porridge -- neither too small for satisfactory web browsing nor too large to use discreetly. In particular, thumb-typing on the software keyboard in portrait orientation is an absolute dream. This shouldn't come as a surprise if you've read our coverage of Samsung's original Galaxy Tab, as we also praised that 7-incher for having the ideal size for thumbing your way through missives. An additional benefit in HTC's case is that our concern about its Android onscreen keyboard being a little cramped is entirely dispelled by the enlargement to the Flyer's proportions. It is now an unqualified delight to use and our typing speed on this tablet was matched only by the device's responsiveness and preparedness for more input. An additional nod of approval should be directed at HTC's prediction algorithm, which exhibited more intelligence than we're used to seeing and almost always knew the word we were trying to articulate before we were done writing it out.
When strapped with a 3G radio (compatible with T-Mobile in the USA), the Flyer provides a very intriguing potential usage scenario: it can actually serve as your smartphone replacement. Admittedly, the "phone" part of that equation can't be readily substituted, but hear us out. Our daily smartphone use revolves almost entirely around having a data connection and most of our communications are done via web services such as Google Talk, IRC, Twitter, and simple old email. Hell, the only time we remind ourselves we're still using a phone is when we send the occasional SMS, but the Flyer has a fully fledged messaging app to deal with those instances. We tried living with the Flyer in the place of a smartphone for a couple of days and, quite frankly, found little downside to it. We wouldn't yet argue abandoning the more compact and versatile smaller handsets, but we definitely feel the 7-inch form factor has more to offer than merely a stopgap device between a phone and a laptop -- circumstances exist where it will be able to usurp those stalwart devices' roles entirely, even if only for limited periods of time.
HTC won't confirm this for us, but we're almost certain we're looking at another Super LCD on the Flyer. Color fidelity at oblique angles is too good for this to be just some run-of-the-mill TFT display. We enjoyed our use of the Flyer immensely, it has plenty of brightness (which never overwhelms the picture), vibrancy, and sharpness to go around. Going outdoors was an especial highlight, as the Flyer dialed things up and did a superb job of overcoming natural light to provide us with great usability. Web browsing, movie playback, Angry Birds, nothing was hampered unduly by the influence of the sun. We also haven't been able to spot flaws of any sort, whether they be an inconsistent backlight, improper color reproduction, or touchscreen sensitivity deficits. It's just a very, very good screen. If you look closely enough, you'll spot a grid of dots uniformly applied to the entire display, which we're guessing is there as part of the N-Trig stylus recognition hardware setup. You'll only spot that array with the tablet turned off, though, as it becomes imperceptible once the lights come on.
You get 1024 x 600 pixels to play around with, a reasonable number given the Flyer's size, though it doesn't move things forward from the Samsung Galaxy Tab of yesteryear.
Really, really impressive. We unplugged the Flyer at 9AM one morning, spent the full day throwing everything we could think of at it -- push updates from Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, and a news feed of Engadget and BBC updates, plus extensive camera testing, web browsing, music playback, and a solid hour of Angry Birds Rio gameplay -- and by 9PM in the evening we still had over 20 percent of juice left. For a 3G device whose cellular connection was regularly put to use, that was a spectacular performance.
Looking at Android's battery-tracking graph, the camera was the main culprit for eating into the Flyer's energy reserves. It looks to be one of the few tasks that require the tablet to run at full throttle, and the briskness with which it depleted the battery illustrates how taxing that 1.4GHz speed is. All the same, we managed to get 12 action-packed hours out of the Flyer's cell and have no doubt it'll last for two days' worth of regular use. HTC also throws in an optional sleep mode, which shuts down wireless radios when the tablet's locked. You can set specific time periods for when this is on (e.g. 11PM to 6AM) and the tradeoff for extended battery life is obviously that you won't receive any push alerts without turning the tablet on. Of course, if you're actually sleeping during that period, that's no downer at all. Naturally, this is in addition to the company's familiar power saver feature that tweaks screen brightness and other settings when a given threshold of battery reserves is passed.
Etc.
Stereo speakers remain something of a novelty on mobile devices, but alas, the pair that reside on the Flyer's back aren't of the greatest quality. They produce a tinny, unsatisfying sound, which is highlighted when you plug in a pair of headphones and get to hear the real richness of audio coming out of the tablet. HTC's inclusion of SRS sound enhancement is really good stuff, providing a wider sound stage and bringing out more detail in whatever we were listening to, but you'll definitely need a set of cans to appreciate it.
While you're busy connecting those headphones, you might notice something curious about the power button sat right alongside the 3.5mm output -- it has the Flyer's status LED integrated inside it. That's right, the power button itself emanates a dot of light when the tablet wants to notify you of something. Very slick. Additionally, the capacitive Android keys are made available in both landscape and portrait mode, with a set of them built into the bottom and left-hand bezel of the Flyer. When not in use, they become nearly invisible, but they come to life just as soon as you re-orient the slate to match them -- notably, the Flyer can only do two orientations, which match up to its Android buttonry, and it won't rotate if you try to hold it "upside down." You get Home, Menu and Back keys for your digits and a dedicated stylus menu key that can only be activated with the Magic Pen. We like this distinction as it precludes any accidental taps into pen functionality when you're without said scribbler.
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). 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. To see how well those decisions have come off, click past the break for our full review.
Thinking back to the first time we saw the Flyer in person -- at a pre-MWC briefing back in February -- we have to say this tablet didn't make the happiest of first impressions. It's a weighty old thing (420 grams / 14.8 ounces) that looked thick even before we laid eyes on the subsequent iPad 2 and Samsung Galaxy Tab super-slimsters. In fact, we had a 7-inch Galaxy Tab on hand and the Flyer was instantly humbled by the slicker, lighter, and far more refined slate from Samsung. HTC's choice of a tri-color palette also dashes any chances of the Flyer appearing sophisticated. The white plastic elements at the top and bottom don't really blend in well with either the grey aluminum shell or the black bezel around the screen. Adding insult to injury, the lower one of those plastic inserts actually protrudes from the body, giving an already chunky tablet some extra junk in the trunk.
You'd hope, after such an inauspicious start, that form has been sacrificed at the altar of function here and we can happily report that to be the case. Though we found the Flyer's weight unwieldy at first, we adapted to it over time and would now actually describe it as reassuring. A big portion of that heft comes from the tablet's unibody metal enclosure -- one uninterrupted chunk of aluminum wraps around most of the Flyer's rear and sides, protecting it from bumps and scrapes and lending it an excellent feel of rigidity and stoutness. If we had a prize for ruggedness among tablets not specifically designed for rough terrain, the Flyer would win it with, ahem, flying colors. That's not mere rhetoric, either -- we were clumsy enough to drop our review unit onto a cement floor and you'll spot the resulting scuffs on its back in our hands-on gallery.
The Flyer's curved sides are classic HTC and help make it easy and comfortable to handle. You might end up with stronger forearms from the effort of holding it up, but you won't be causing yourself injury from awkward or annoying ergonomics. Taking it out for a day-long stroll around London, we found this slate a joy to tote around in one hand or -- as unbelievable as it may sound -- stashing it in a pocket. Contrary to any of the 8.9-,9.7- or 10.1-inch tablets that are currently staking a claim as the mainstream's favorite form factor, the 7-inch Flyer is truly portable enough to carry around without either a dedicated carrying case or some other pouch to slot it into. Even so, HTC has decided to bundle a sparkly white case in the retail package, which is of an above-average quality, fits snugly around the tablet, and provides an all-important holder for the Magic Pen accessory. Some might (rightly) argue that they'd rather have a cheaper tablet than more goodies in the box, but the Flyer's case provides an extra layer of protection and a very neat way to transport it together with the stylus. The flap is kept closed by nature's own awesome technology: magnets.
Tablet PCs
HTC Flyer review
By Vlad Savov posted May 16th 2011 11:00AM
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. The HD2 introduced us to the 4.3-inch form factor, the EVO 4G ushered in the era of 720p video recording, and the Legend wrapped itself inside a never-before-seen aluminum unibody enclosure.
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). 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. To see how well those decisions have come off, click past the break for our full review.
HTC Flyer review
Hardware
Thinking back to the first time we saw the Flyer in person -- at a pre-MWC briefing back in February -- we have to say this tablet didn't make the happiest of first impressions. It's a weighty old thing (420 grams / 14.8 ounces) that looked thick even before we laid eyes on the subsequent iPad 2 and Samsung Galaxy Tab super-slimsters. In fact, we had a 7-inch Galaxy Tab on hand and the Flyer was instantly humbled by the slicker, lighter, and far more refined slate from Samsung. HTC's choice of a tri-color palette also dashes any chances of the Flyer appearing sophisticated. The white plastic elements at the top and bottom don't really blend in well with either the grey aluminum shell or the black bezel around the screen. Adding insult to injury, the lower one of those plastic inserts actually protrudes from the body, giving an already chunky tablet some extra junk in the trunk.
Flyer vs. iPad... fight!
You'd hope, after such an inauspicious start, that form has been sacrificed at the altar of function here and we can happily report that to be the case. Though we found the Flyer's weight unwieldy at first, we adapted to it over time and would now actually describe it as reassuring. A big portion of that heft comes from the tablet's unibody metal enclosure -- one uninterrupted chunk of aluminum wraps around most of the Flyer's rear and sides, protecting it from bumps and scrapes and lending it an excellent feel of rigidity and stoutness. If we had a prize for ruggedness among tablets not specifically designed for rough terrain, the Flyer would win it with, ahem, flying colors. That's not mere rhetoric, either -- we were clumsy enough to drop our review unit onto a cement floor and you'll spot the resulting scuffs on its back in our hands-on gallery.
The Flyer's curved sides are classic HTC and help make it easy and comfortable to handle. You might end up with stronger forearms from the effort of holding it up, but you won't be causing yourself injury from awkward or annoying ergonomics. Taking it out for a day-long stroll around London, we found this slate a joy to tote around in one hand or -- as unbelievable as it may sound -- stashing it in a pocket. Contrary to any of the 8.9-,9.7- or 10.1-inch tablets that are currently staking a claim as the mainstream's favorite form factor, the 7-inch Flyer is truly portable enough to carry around without either a dedicated carrying case or some other pouch to slot it into. Even so, HTC has decided to bundle a sparkly white case in the retail package, which is of an above-average quality, fits snugly around the tablet, and provides an all-important holder for the Magic Pen accessory. Some might (rightly) argue that they'd rather have a cheaper tablet than more goodies in the box, but the Flyer's case provides an extra layer of protection and a very neat way to transport it together with the stylus. The flap is kept closed by nature's own awesome technology: magnets.
It's ironic to think that this fatty of the tablet world would offer more convenience on the move than all the supermodel skinny slates, but we've found ourselves slowly falling in love with the Flyer's screen size. 7 inches feels like our perfect bowl of porridge -- neither too small for satisfactory web browsing nor too large to use discreetly. In particular, thumb-typing on the software keyboard in portrait orientation is an absolute dream. This shouldn't come as a surprise if you've read our coverage of Samsung's original Galaxy Tab, as we also praised that 7-incher for having the ideal size for thumbing your way through missives. An additional benefit in HTC's case is that our concern about its Android onscreen keyboard being a little cramped is entirely dispelled by the enlargement to the Flyer's proportions. It is now an unqualified delight to use and our typing speed on this tablet was matched only by the device's responsiveness and preparedness for more input. An additional nod of approval should be directed at HTC's prediction algorithm, which exhibited more intelligence than we're used to seeing and almost always knew the word we were trying to articulate before we were done writing it out.
When strapped with a 3G radio (compatible with T-Mobile in the USA), the Flyer provides a very intriguing potential usage scenario: it can actually serve as your smartphone replacement. Admittedly, the "phone" part of that equation can't be readily substituted, but hear us out. Our daily smartphone use revolves almost entirely around having a data connection and most of our communications are done via web services such as Google Talk, IRC, Twitter, and simple old email. Hell, the only time we remind ourselves we're still using a phone is when we send the occasional SMS, but the Flyer has a fully fledged messaging app to deal with those instances. We tried living with the Flyer in the place of a smartphone for a couple of days and, quite frankly, found little downside to it. We wouldn't yet argue abandoning the more compact and versatile smaller handsets, but we definitely feel the 7-inch form factor has more to offer than merely a stopgap device between a phone and a laptop -- circumstances exist where it will be able to usurp those stalwart devices' roles entirely, even if only for limited periods of time.
HTC won't confirm this for us, but we're almost certain we're looking at another Super LCD on the Flyer. Color fidelity at oblique angles is too good for this to be just some run-of-the-mill TFT display. We enjoyed our use of the Flyer immensely, it has plenty of brightness (which never overwhelms the picture), vibrancy, and sharpness to go around. Going outdoors was an especial highlight, as the Flyer dialed things up and did a superb job of overcoming natural light to provide us with great usability. Web browsing, movie playback, Angry Birds, nothing was hampered unduly by the influence of the sun. We also haven't been able to spot flaws of any sort, whether they be an inconsistent backlight, improper color reproduction, or touchscreen sensitivity deficits. It's just a very, very good screen. If you look closely enough, you'll spot a grid of dots uniformly applied to the entire display, which we're guessing is there as part of the N-Trig stylus recognition hardware setup. You'll only spot that array with the tablet turned off, though, as it becomes imperceptible once the lights come on.
You get 1024 x 600 pixels to play around with, a reasonable number given the Flyer's size, though it doesn't move things forward from the Samsung Galaxy Tab of yesteryear.
Really, really impressive. We unplugged the Flyer at 9AM one morning, spent the full day throwing everything we could think of at it -- push updates from Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, and a news feed of Engadget and BBC updates, plus extensive camera testing, web browsing, music playback, and a solid hour of Angry Birds Rio gameplay -- and by 9PM in the evening we still had over 20 percent of juice left. For a 3G device whose cellular connection was regularly put to use, that was a spectacular performance.
Looking at Android's battery-tracking graph, the camera was the main culprit for eating into the Flyer's energy reserves. It looks to be one of the few tasks that require the tablet to run at full throttle, and the briskness with which it depleted the battery illustrates how taxing that 1.4GHz speed is. All the same, we managed to get 12 action-packed hours out of the Flyer's cell and have no doubt it'll last for two days' worth of regular use. HTC also throws in an optional sleep mode, which shuts down wireless radios when the tablet's locked. You can set specific time periods for when this is on (e.g. 11PM to 6AM) and the tradeoff for extended battery life is obviously that you won't receive any push alerts without turning the tablet on. Of course, if you're actually sleeping during that period, that's no downer at all. Naturally, this is in addition to the company's familiar power saver feature that tweaks screen brightness and other settings when a given threshold of battery reserves is passed.
Etc.
Stereo speakers remain something of a novelty on mobile devices, but alas, the pair that reside on the Flyer's back aren't of the greatest quality. They produce a tinny, unsatisfying sound, which is highlighted when you plug in a pair of headphones and get to hear the real richness of audio coming out of the tablet. HTC's inclusion of SRS sound enhancement is really good stuff, providing a wider sound stage and bringing out more detail in whatever we were listening to, but you'll definitely need a set of cans to appreciate it.
While you're busy connecting those headphones, you might notice something curious about the power button sat right alongside the 3.5mm output -- it has the Flyer's status LED integrated inside it. That's right, the power button itself emanates a dot of light when the tablet wants to notify you of something. Very slick. Additionally, the capacitive Android keys are made available in both landscape and portrait mode, with a set of them built into the bottom and left-hand bezel of the Flyer. When not in use, they become nearly invisible, but they come to life just as soon as you re-orient the slate to match them -- notably, the Flyer can only do two orientations, which match up to its Android buttonry, and it won't rotate if you try to hold it "upside down." You get Home, Menu and Back keys for your digits and a dedicated stylus menu key that can only be activated with the Magic Pen. We like this distinction as it precludes any accidental taps into pen functionality when you're without said scribbler.
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