HTC Flyer Pro Reviews

In a nutshell, very good but very expensive sums up the Flyer. HTC clearly thinks it can now charge a premium for its devices and adapter cables – a policy I take issue with no matter what the brand or logo. Still, if you have the money you won’t be disappointed. If you don’t have the money wait for a few months until the 10in HTC Puccini tablet arrives – I’m betting the price of the Flyer will float gently earthwards then.

In the end, the Flyer’s unique features are more than just needless differentiation. Its 7-inch display makes it more portable than the loads of new 10-inch tablets hitting the market, its Sense UI gives it a bit more stability than the Honeycomb slates, and its pen unlocks a whole new dimension. Sure, the cameras are crappy, its a bit heavier than other 7-inch slabs, and there aren’t many apps that support the stylus right now, but after a week with the device, I can say that it really is an extremely well-rounded tablet and the stylus is a notable addition. And I predict it will only get better with HTC’s promised Honeycomb upgrade and additional pen-based apps. The Flyer gets so much right, which is why HTC’s pricing oversight is such an incredible shame. At $500, the 16GB tablet already seems overpriced, but when you throw in an $80 stylus, it’s really just outlandish. Don’t forget there’s no 3G here and the pen is what makes this device really come to life. Ultimately, yes, the Flyer is a solid device with some really interesting features, I just wish HTC would differentiate on one particularly important point: price.

The Flyer is a solid tablet, but professionals shouldn’t confuse it with a serious business tool. It’s a solid media device, and has the neat pen, but it isn’t going to help you work or run a business. Kids, however, will love it.

The HTC Flyer puts a new spin on the 7-inch Android tablet, but its high price and smartphone-style OS are a tough sell next to its bigger, cheaper Honeycomb kin.

The HTC Flyer is a superb-looking tablet with enough processing power to drive its multimedia functions. Its high price tag is more of an issue than its use of the older Android 2.3 OS, given that other aspects of this likable tablet are so advanced.

An impressive tablet computer that's hampered by an older version of the operating system.

As you can plainly see, the Flyer will have to battle enemies on all fronts. And it doesn't have the weapons to stop most of them. It's slightly subpar in today's power-crazed market of uber-slates edging into netbook territory. If you're in it for the best there is, the Flyer may not be what you're looking for. But if you like something different, which easily stands out in the crowd, you might well want to give it a spin.

The Flyer is not perfect, but the pen support and robust notes app make it a great mobile tablet for jotting down notes.

The HTC's functionality is in fact enormous, as the price of 667 euros already indicates. The device is quite handy with the dimensions of 12.9x195x125 mm and 430 grams. The display's color brilliance is outstanding and even the viewing angles don't leave you wanting more. The Flyer's quality is comparable to that of the Motorola Xoom tablet. Our only wish would be that the tablet soon gets (a lot) cheaper.

The HTC Flyer is a great device that runs the risk of being outdated quickly and which might cost more money than it’s worth. But that’s arguably true of many of the Android tablets available today, so I’m not sure I’d hold either point against HTC.

The Flyer is a capable tablet, but its single-core processor and outdated OS makes it feel obsolete.

The HTC Flyer is certainly a likeable device, although as an owner of a HTC Android phone I found it to be a little too similar to my smartphone. This will likely change soon when HTC updates the Flyer to Android 3.0 or 3.1 Honeycomb, but until then the Flyer has a solid footing and offers an experience entirely different to that of any other tablet currently on the market.

There are dozens of tablets for you to choose from; why would you choose one running a custom build of Android 2, with what amounts to a prototype pen interface? There’s no reason to. But even as I disparage this device, I feel real excitement for its successor (perhaps the “Scribe” we heard about before “Flyer” was made official). A slightly larger version of this, with a higher-resolution screen, better pen integration, and so on? Hell yes. But until then, this larval device should be avoided by everyone but the most ardent of early adopters.

The HTC Flyer has lived up to our expectations in terms of the experience it delivers. It's beautifully made, easy to use, fast, and that stylus is great. However, not only do we have reservations about the current and long term app support but currently it's severely overpriced. Until it drops well below the £500 mark, it's not the tablet we'd go for.

A great design, a unique stylus and a comprehensive collection of software, but it can't quite justify the high cost of the Flyer.

In reality, we’re not all that concerned that HTC decided to move forward with having Gingerbread on board with the Flyer as opposed to Honeycomb – mainly because they did a fantastic job with Sense running on top of it. Undeniably, we love how they carefully thought out the interface and its many core apps to make the experience ideal for tablet usage. Moreover, we don’t miss the fact that its sporting a single-core processor, rather than the usual dual-core one that's becoming more prevalent – albeit, it’s worth noting that it’s clocked in higher than most others. Even though it’s targeted for a specific niche, the Magic Pen stylus adds some functionality that provides some differentiation against the competition. Finally, it’s the best-looking and constructed 7-inch tablet we’ve seen thus far. It even rivals the iPad 2 in terms of premium feel.

For artists and hand-writers, the HTC Flyer is a solid tablet thanks to its well-implemented pen-specific features. But if you're not interested in pen input, Android tablets with Google's latest tablet-specific Honeycomb OS are a better bet.

A fine 7in tablet, and the lack of Android 3 doesn’t hurt it much, but the price is far too high.

Even as it stands, though, there’s a lot to like about the Flyer. The 7-inch size fits just as nicely between smartphones and 10-inch tablets in terms of functionality as it does in the hand, and the stylus adds a new layer of possibilities of which HTC Notes only scratches the surface. It’s likely to remain a niche model for the moment, but those who find the iPad’s interface more like finger-painting than fine-art will find plenty of appeal in the HTC Flyer.

There are a couple of particular reasons why you might want to pick up the HTC Flyer, including the pen, but it simply isn't that good a tablet. It's missing some media features we've come to expect, it's expensive, it has relatively poor battery life and it doesn't have software suited to a tablet. If this had come late last year, we'd probably be raving about it, but things have moved on, and we have to recommend an Android 3.0 tablet or the iPad 2 over it.