Review HTC Flyer 7 inch WiFi+3G Tablet/MID

The small, ( vgp-bps13/s battery )slim HTC Flyer almost looks like an Apple product. Silver, white and black make up the device's basic colors. HTC hasn't yet equipped its product with the latest Android 3.0 Honeycomb in terms of operating system. Instead, Gingerbread runs on the tablet. ( battery vgp-bps13a/s ) The Taiwanese manufacturer thus still relies on Android 2.3.3 at the moment. However, it has a modified HTC Sense surface. An update to Android 3 is to be available for the HTC in the near future.

HTC also does its own thing in terms of processor.( apple a1185 battery ) While an Nvidia Tegra 2 processor was installed into most test devices that Notebookcheck had reviewed until now, HTC uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 for its Flyer. This CPU runs with a maximum clock rate of 1.5 GHz. The CPU is also responsible for the tablet's graphics output.

HTC's first 7 inch tabletAs it's appropriate for a 7 inch tablet, the HTC's dimensions are also quite handy. ( battery vgp-bps13as ) The device fits in every jacket or pants pocket with 12.9x195x125 mm (height x width x depth). However, you should be careful to not accidentally sit down on the device in the latter alternative since the case isn't that stable. The HTC Flyer is composed of an aluminum unibody case that has been shaped from one block. ( sony vgp-bps13s battery ) The case is made of three parts: the 7 inch display (17.78 cm display diagonal) on the front, two plastic parts and the aluminum unibody case.

The case weighs about 430 grams and doesn't feel heavy after longer use.( hp 452057-001 ) Thus, the HTC Flyer is a bit heavier than the Ziio by Creative, but roughly 25 grams lighter than the Streak 7 by Dell in terms of weight. The case's workmanship isn't that great. It creaks practically everywhere at the material transitions, even when we only apply light pressure.

Slots for SD and SIM cards are protected in the deviceHTC ( battery vgp-bps13b/b ) hasn't provided the Flyer with much in terms of the interfaces and external controls. A laterally placed USB port, a headphone socket and two keys for volume control are the first things we see.

On the one hand, the built-in battery is charged via the USB port. ( sony vgp-bps13b/s battery ) On the other, the port also serves the Flyer as an interface for data exchange. The included data cable can also be used as a charge cable with the PC or notebook.

Both Windows 7 and Vista detect the data drive without difficulties.( battery sony VGP-BPS13 ) The transfer rate is far beneath the anticipated USB 2.0 transfer rates, but it could be worse. Transferring data, pictures and videos is faster than with the Motorola Xoom in the test. Nevertheless, the data transfer was very elongated particularly with larger amounts of data. ( vgp-bps13/b battery ) Bigger video files should preferably be shared via a microSD card by means of an external card reader.

The slots for the microSD card and for a SIM card for mobile Internet access are found beneath the plastic cover on the flipside – where the digicam is also located. Removing the cover is a bit tricky. The instructions for this aren't of much help, ( battery sony VGP-BPS13 ) so you will have to try a bit until it opens. After all, you don't want to destroy your HTC right away. ( battery VGP-BPS13A/B ) Opening is fairly easy when you get the trick. Closing it is easier. The lower area on the flipside can't be removed and thus doesn't reveal any other interfaces.

The HTC Flyer has Wireless LAN ( battery vostro 1520 ) (WiFi) standard IEEE 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0 for communicating with the world. A SIM card can be inserted for Internet access in the models with WiFi + 3G. GSM, 3G and HSPA in the bandwidths 850, 900, 1800 and 1900 are supported. ( battery Compaq CQ42 )All connections can be disabled via a hot key and thus put the Flyer in the flight mode.

The PC's Internet connection can also be shared via HTC software.( battery HP Compaq 8510P ) Data is transferred via the USB cable. The HTC tablet can also be utilized as a modem for an access point (tethering). This allows other computers or tablets to use the Flyer's 3G Internet connection.

A GPS receiver is also installed into the Flyer.( battery hp probook 4510s ) It turns the tablet into a navigation device. The GPS data can be used with Google Maps or the installed navigation software, among others. The maps have to be downloaded before initial use in the latter case, though. As in a "genuine" navigation unit, the synthesized voice can be selected. ( ibm 40Y6795 ) Several languages can be installed on the HTC Flyer – all with a feminine or masculine voice.

Two cameras are also built into the HTC Flyer. ( lenovo Thinkpad T60 Battery )The webcam that is located above the display in the center has a resolution of 1.3 megapixels and has been mainly conceived for chats. A 5 MP camera with digital zoom is found on the flipside. The digicam doesn't have a flash.

The digicam is controlled via the 7 inch display,( vgp-bps13b/s Battery ) whereas more than 90% of the display is available as a preview window for the photographer. The pictures can be saved in various quality levels, between small (640x368) and 5 megapixels (2592x1520). The video quality can be set between 720P and MMS (176x144). ( HP 6545B Battery ) The video clips are saved in 3GP format. One minute in maximum resolution is about 60 MBs.

Both sample pictures show the same scene, ( hp Compaq CQ40 Battery ) one with and the other without digital zoom. The second picture's zoom factor was set to 3.8 times. You can see the same picture taken with a Canon Powershot camera for a direct comparison.

There is nothing awe-inspiring about the supplies that come with the Flyer. First you'll find the battery charger and then there is a USB connection cable.( hp probook 4710s battery ) There is also a bit of printed material in the box. A comprehensive manual is found in the device's memory as a PDF file. In addition, there is a headphone and a "Magic Stick". This digital stylus is a new HTC innovation because you can sketch, draw,( Dell xps m1530 battery ) write and edit pictures directly on the display.

The HTC Flyer's control will usually be over the 7 inch display. The applications are started and controlled via touch. ( hp Compaq 8510W battery )A virtual QWERTZ keyboard is faded in on the screen. This keyboard however doesn't include any German umlauts and, unlike our Dell test device, doesn't support any swipe inputs in state of delivery.

Alternative add-ons for the keyboard bid more convenience. ( ibm Thinkpad T61 Battery ) They can be – partly for free – downloaded from the Android market. Composing emails, making notes or entering an URL in the browser works quite well. We didn't notice a delay between touching the screen and execution. The actions are implemented immediately.