We’ve been looking forward to HTC’s entry into an already crowded tablet space, and their freshly announced HTC Flyer tablet serves up an interesting mix of features – including pen input – in what could be the best note taking tablet out there.
Encased in a smart aluminum unibody design, the Android-powered tablet features a 7-inch 1024 x 600 resolution Super LCD touch screen, backed by a 1.5GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon single-core processor, 1GB of RAM plus 32GB of flash storage.
Onboard there’s a 4,000 mAh battery (removeable) and a custom microUSB port, while battery life is listed at a massive 820 to 1470 hours of standby – that’s over 61 days – with video playback pegged at up to four hours.
Measuring a compact 7.68 inches long by 4.92 inches wide by 0.51 inch thick and weighing just under a pound, there’s also a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera, 5-megapixel rear camera, HSPA+ support, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi and, interestingly, a pressure-sensitive capacitive stylus.
Running Android Gingerbread 2.4, the Flyer will offer the company’s custom user interface, HTC Sense, which has been whizzed up for tablet use, along with a carousel of widgets and other enhancements.
Pen input for taking notes
Coming with HTC’s Scribe and digital ink technology, it’ll be possible to use the pen to take notes, draw pictures, and sketch directly on the tablet, and there’s built-in synchronisation to the popular note-taking app Evernote onboard too.
Audio notes can also be taken – and synced up with written notes – with an app called Timemark:
A feature called Timemark enables you to capture the audio of a meeting in line with your written notes, so tapping on a word in your notes instantly takes you to that exact place in time in the audio recording of the meeting. Notes are also integrated with the calendar so when there is an appointment reminder you are automatically prompted with an opportunity to begin a new note or in the case of recurring meetings, to continue where the last meeting left off.
Notebook-sized (as in a paper notebook) and coming with old fashioned pen input to supplement the touchscreen, this could prove to be a really great note taking device.
The tablet is scheduled for a Q2 release, but there’s been no mention of the all important price tag yet. Price it right HTC and we’re in!
Update: Official site launched
Press release
HTC UNVEILS HTC FLYER™, THE FIRST TABLET WITH HTC SENSE™
Aluminum unibody design with touch and pen interaction make HTC Flyer unique
First tablet with HTC Watch™ video service, HTC Scribe™ Technology and OnLive® cloud gaming
BARCELONA, SPAIN – Mobile World Congress – February 15, 2011 – HTC, a global leader in mobile innovation and design, today announced its first tablet, the HTC FlyerTM. HTC Flyer blends HTC’s trademark design language with an all-new HTC Sense user experience that has been reimagined for the tablets. Using an intuitive and innovative approach to tablets, HTC Flyer combines natural touch and pen interaction. HTC also announced HTC Watch, a new connected video service that will debut on HTC Flyer tablet, and will collaborate with OnLive, Inc. to launch the first cloud-based mobile gaming service on a tablet.
“Clearly, smartphones have transformed our lives but as we observed how people use smartphones, computers and other technologies, we saw an opportunity to create a tablet experience that is different, more personal and productive,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation. “We are progressing down a path as an industry when people will no longer be in a single device paradigm, but have multiple wireless devices for different needs; this is the direction we are moving.”
Encased in a sleek aluminum unibody, the HTC Flyer tablet exudes the iconic style and build quality HTC is known for. It is also ultra-light, weighing as little as a paperback book, and compact enough to fit in a jacket pocket only. With a seven-inch display, lightning fast 1.5Ghz processor and high-speed HSPA+ wireless capabilities, the HTC Flyer tablet is perfect for those who have been waiting for a tablet that is both compact and powerful.
HTC Sense for Tablet
HTC Sense revolutionized smartphones by placing the person at the center of the experience. HTC Flyer’s tablet-focused HTC Sense experience focuses on surprising and delighting people with its gorgeous 3D home screen. A unique carousel of widgets puts a user’s most important content and information at the visual center of the experience. The HTC Flyer tablet also offers uncompromised Web browsing with Flash 10 and HTML 5.HTC Scribe Technology
Touch interaction lights up the HTC Flyer tablet experience, but it also offers a groundbreaking pen experience. With the new HTC Scribe Technology on the HTC Flyer tablet, people can rediscover the natural act of writing. HTC Scribe Technology introduces a wave of integrated digital ink innovations that make it easy and natural to take notes, sign contracts, draw pictures, or even write on a web page or photo.HTC Scribe Technology on the HTC Flyer tablet transforms traditional note-taking into smart note-taking by integrating natural onscreen writing with thoughtful and integrated innovations. A feature called Timemark enables you to capture the audio of a meeting in line with your written notes, so tapping on a word in your notes instantly takes you to that exact place in time in the audio recording of the meeting. Notes are also integrated with the calendar so when there is an appointment reminder you are automatically prompted with an opportunity to begin a new note or in the case of recurring meetings, to continue where the last meeting left off. In an industry first, the HTC Flyer tablet also features built-in synchronization with Evernote™, the world-leading notes application and service.
Streaming Mobile Movies with HTC Watch
The HTC Flyer tablet premieres HTC Watch, HTC’s new video download service. The HTC Watch service enables low-cost on-demand progressive downloading of hundreds of High-Definition movies from major studios. The intuitive, natural design of the HTC Watch service makes it easy to find the latest movie and video content, while advanced technology on the back-end enables instant playback over the HTC Flyer tablet’s high-speed wireless connection.Mobile Cloud Gaming with OnLive
HTC takes mobile gaming to an entirely new level by being the first mobile device in the world to integrate OnLive Inc.’s revolutionary cloud-based gaming service. OnLive is leading in the home gaming market by letting people play top video games on their televisions and computers without the need to buy expensive gaming hardware or software. When integrated fully, the OnLive service will enable customers to pipe the OnLive service through the HTC Flyer tablet’s broadband wireless to their television sets, or let them play directly on the tablet. When integrated on the HTC Flyer tablet, people can play a variety of games, including hits like Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood™, NBA 2K11 and Lego Harry Potter™.Availability
HTC Flyer will be available to customers globally during Q2 2011.
Specs:
