On top of the Wi-Fi-only version launching at Expansys, HTC has announced that their Flyer tablet has been released across Europe with 3G models to boot. Luckily, the stylus pen is included in the box, so you won’t have to pay through the nose to get it separately. Retailers in UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Romania will be selling the 32 GB 3G/Wi-Fi Flyer for €649, while the Wi-Fi-only 16 GB model will cost €499, That’s perhaps a little steep, but I guess that pen is worth a lot.
The Flyer will be running Android 2.4 Gingerbread, and will include a 7-inch 1024 x 600 display, 1 GB RAM, 1.5 GHz single core processor, 5 megapixel camera on the back, 1.3 megapixel shooter on the front, Wi-Fi b/g/n, GPS, and optional 3G. The addition of a microSD slot is a nice touch that you won’t see in the iPad or the BlackBerry PlayBook, and the unibody design should make sure the Flyer is just as tough. The Flyer will also be including HTC’s movie streaming service called Watch, which kicked off on the Sensation.
HTC has significantly updated their custom Sense user interface for the larger screen, but those of you familiar with their smartphones will recognize most of the same functions. The biggest difference with the Flyer is that you can use an optional stylus pen to scribble notes (including handwriting recognition), mark notes on screenshots, create detailed artwork, and do all sorts of stuff that most tablets don’t do just yet. It’s an interesting take on the form factor, and will no doubt appeal to a niche crowd that depends on stylus input for particular tasks. We’ve spent some time with the tablet; check out our hands-on videos with the Flyer for a closer look.
Rumour has it we won’t be seeing the HTC Flyer stateside until early July, but that’s really not too long of a wait, is it?