HTC is planning a tablet -- and it claims to have a real trick up its sleeve to challenge the likes of the iPad, Asus Transformer Prime and Google Nexus 7.
HTC told PC Advisor that a tablet is definitely on the way, and that it will have "something unique to offer".
HTC's only entry into the tablet game so far has been the HTC Flyer, pictured above, one of the earliest 7-inch tablets. Despite the name, the Flyer never took off. But with the success of the Amazon Kindle Fire in the US and the coming of the Nexus 7, compact 7-inch tablets are much hotter now than they were then -- could HTC be looking at building another dinky slate?
The fact the latest version of Android has arrived works in HTC's favour. The Flyer used Gingerbread, an older version of Google's Android software that wasn't designed for the larger screen of a tablet. But version 4.1 Jelly Bean works across phones and slates. Arriving this month on the Nexus 7, Jelly Bean is here in good time to make an appearance on a new HTC device.
At least the Flyer had a decent tablet interface, in the form of a tweaked version of HTC Sense, the interface for HTC phones.
But most importantly, what's the unique feature set to be? The Flyer was unusual at the time for including a stylus. That's no longer unique, however: the Samsung Galaxy Note comes with an S-Pen stylus, and even Apple has worked on souping-up the humble pointer into a fancy digital pen.
The market-leading iPad provides the tablet template, and in order to stand out, many other tablets have had to come up with their own gimmicks. The Sony Tablet P folds in half, the Microsoft Surface has a kickstand, the Transformer Prime docks with a keyboard, and the BlackBerry PlayBook... er... makes an excellent doorstop.
I'm interested to see what HTC comes up with. The Flyer was a false start, but HTC makes great phones -- like the excellent One X and Sensation XE -- so an Android tablet could be just the ticket.
Can HTC make a killer tablet? What unique feature would you like to see? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page.
Hit play on our video below to see whether the Flyer soared.
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Comments 8
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anonymous 12 July, 2012 13:28
HTC make a device with superior battery life?
shauney3 12 July, 2012 15:58
A 7" screen...?! oh wait...
anonymous 12 July, 2012 19:18
'HTC is planning a tablet -- and it claims to have smoething unique up its sleeve to challenge the likes of the iPad'.
'Smoething'.
Well done!
Proof read much?
Ryan Simmons 12 July, 2012 19:27
What's the "something unique"? Is it a ludicrous price, like with the Jetstream?
anonymous 13 July, 2012 02:30
You know what, the HTC Flyer wasn't a bad product to be honest. They were the first to market the pen with it, which looked really interesting, it was ahead of its time in terms of what the market wanted, it was a shame it didn't have a dual core processor and its price was way too high for what people were looking to pay for a smaller device, the same can be said about the Jetstream which was way over priced which is why it didn't take off.
If they added a quad core processor, maybe some more RAM or kept it at 1GB and dropped the price, then a Flyer 2 could be nice deal. If Amazon can sell a kindle Fire at such a price, and Google can sell its tablet at such a price, then maybe a £200 price tag on a flyer 2 would seem like a good deal.
anonymous 13 July, 2012 14:15
£200?
HTC needs to make money, and they see themselves as a premium brand, so do not expect a anything under £350.
anonymous 13 July, 2012 16:39
I would love to see 6.5 inch so properly pocketable. And dual thumbtypeable. I still have a longing for a physical keyboard.. Slide itout then you wiuldnt be wasting any of that lovely screen and you would get true portability... What the eee oc tried to do...
anonymous 14 July, 2012 16:12
Maybe the unique thing will be that their terrible crappy Sense UI will be removed, which is a barrier for all HTC devices being updated to the latest Google Android operating systems as HTC don't want to make the Sense UI for every update.