We’ve waited a long time for a HTC tablet, and the HTC Flyer doesn’t disappoint. It’s a seven inch Android tablet running Gingerbread (and shortly Honeycomb, we’re told), but unlike many Android tablets being unveiled at Mobile World Congress 2011, the HTC Flyer has a genuine innovation: It comes with a unique active stylus, and it’s not used to navigate, but instead to draw directly into Android.
The HTC Flyer’s stylus is groundbreaking in many ways: First, it’s not used to navigate through Android. The HTC Flyer can tell the difference between the tip of the stylus and the tip of your finger, and while on-screen menus still react to your prods and pokes, the stylus is used exclusively to “flow ink into the tablet”.
It’s pressure-sensitive too, so the harder you press, the greater the flow of that digital ink. There are two buttons on the HTC Flyer tablet too, one which erases ink when pressed down, and another to highlight text using the stylus.
Most interesting of all though, HTC has created a new API to go with its stylus and will soon open it up to developers. “We think there’s huge potential for a great eco system” explained Drew Bamford, HTC’s director of user experience.
The possibilities for a tablet which knows the difference between hands and drawing implements are huge. For instance, while drawing with an iPad we’ve always had to be careful where our palm rests, with the HTC Flyer, that doesn’t matter. You can lean on the screen: it’s going to ignore everything except the stylus anyway.
Likewise, HTC is including a new Notes app with the Flyer, which records audio of meetings, and lets you jot down handwritten notes to go with them. Later, you can tap those notes to replay the audio that was recorded at the time you wrote them. Perfect for jogging memories and explaining exactly what you meant when scribbling “leveraging the synergies to maximum incentivisation.”
Inside the HTC Flyer there’s Wi-Fi and 3G with HSPA+. HTC says it won’t let operators customise the software either, so it’s pure Android and HTC Sense at play. There aren’t any voice abilities inside, either, so forget acting like a borrower with your oversize tablet-phone, a la the Galaxy Tab.
The 3G HTC Flyer goes on sale in Q2. HTC Also says there’ll be a Wi-Fi only version of the Flyer later in the quarter, so by June at the latest. All versions come including the stylus as standard, along with a carry case to hold the HTC Flyer and stylus, and HTC says a range of accessories, including a dock, a pouch with a stand and a Bluetooth keyboard will follow soon.
