Launch – HTC Flyer & HTC Desire S and the signing of MOU between HTC & Maxis

If there is a tablet that I would currently consider owning, the HTC Flyer is it.

HTC Flyer-2

A very “aestheticallydriven” user, the slim, pretty, shiningly pale & almost pearlish in colour HTC Flyer is totally up my alley. I daresay this is one of the best looking tablet in the market now. It’s felt really good in my hands, and it would look absolutely right at home in an elegant female handbag!

HTC Flyer-13

I have always been an Android fan, and since this runs on Android, I’ve got pretty much no pains when it comes to the OS. Still, it was a good surprise to know that HTC has been continuing to innovate on their current technology.
The HTC Scribe was cool and the upcoming HTC Watch sounds promising.

The HTC Scribe Technology.

  • A Pen That’s Quite Magic

HTC Flyer’s magic pen transforms anything. Draw, paint, write, and even retouch pictures on the tablet with ease. You can also use it as a highlighter for the reader, collating all your highlights when you’re done. Link audio to the notes you take for work and even add voiceover to a storybook you’re drawing up at home.

And yes, it’s called a PEN, not a stylus. A stylus is pretty much a dead stick, and with limited function, as it’s mostly good for navigation. The new pen has a pressure-sensitive tip and can be used with the tablet’s built-in apps like Sketchbook and Notes, both of which offer the ability to draw directly on the tablet’s screen using pen-based input.

HTC Flyer-3

HTC also revealed that their HTC Watch movie subscription service is coming to Malaysia in Q4’11.

The HTC Watch.

  • Download & watch videos on your Flyer

This service buffers video and allows you to watch movies immediately upon requesting them, thereby assuaging the pain many feel when they have to download large videos on the road.

Yup, HTC has certainly been quietly brilliant!

Here’s the HTC Flyer at a glance:

Processor Qualcomm MSM 8255, 1.5 GHz
Operating system Android™ with HTC Sense™
Memory Internal Storage: 32 GB
RAM: 1 GB 

(The actual available internal storage may differ depending on the software configuration of your device)

Dimensions 195.4 mm (L) x 122 mm (W) x 13.2 mm (T)
Weight 420 grams (with battery)
Display 7-inch touch-sensitive TFT screen with 1024 x 600 resolution
Network HSPA/WCDMA (900/2100 MHz) 

GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)

(Band frequency, HSPA availability, and data speed are operator dependent)

Internet 3G: 

  • Up to 14.4 Mbps download speed
  • Up to 5.76 Mbps upload speed

GPRS:

  • Up to 114 kbps download speed

Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/g/n

Tethering USB and Wi-Fi® tethering
GPS
  • Internal GPS antenna
Sensors
  • G-sensor
  • Digital Compass
  • Ambient Light Sensor
Connectivity
  • 3.5 mm stereo audio jack
  • Standard micro-USB (5-pin micro-USB 2.0)
  • Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth
  • Bluetooth® 3.0
  • A2DP for wireless stereo headsets
Camera
  • 5.0 megapixel colour camera with auto focus
  • 720p HD video recording
  • 1.3 megapixel front camera
Multimedia Audio supported formats: 

  • Playback: .aac, .amr, .ogg, .m4a, .mid, .mp3, .wav, .wma (Windows Media Audio 9)
  • Recording: .amr

Video supported formats:

  • Playback: .3gp, .3g2, .mp4, .wmv (Windows Media Video 9), .avi (MP4 ASP and MP3), .xvid (MP4 ASP and MP3)
  • Recording: .3gp
Battery
  • Rechargeable Lithium-ion polymer battery
    Capacity: 4000 mAh
  • Standby time: Up to 820~1470 hours
  • Video playback: Up to 4 hours

(The above are subject to network and phone usage)

Expansion Slot microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
Recommended Windows System Requirements
  • Windows® 7 , Windows Vista® or Windows XP
  • HTC Sync

Suggested Retail Price:  RM 2,499.00. Apparently, you can get it at RM199 with some sort of data subscription plan with Maxis. All that to be announced in due time – 12th May 2011.

The venue for the launch of both the HTC Flyer and HTC Desire S was the beautiful Sky Bar on the floor of Traders Hotel.

HTC Flyer

Since the venue has a pool, the organisers must have thought the appropriate dress code would be sheer white cotton with bikinis for the ladies.

HTC Flyer-1

Nice white bodies.. and I was referring to the HTC Flyers ok…..

HTC Flyer-4

Back to the HTC Flyer.. I’m happy to report that the camera is pretty decent.

  • 5.0 megapixel colour camera with auto focus
  • 720p HD video recording
  • 1.3 megapixel front camera – perfect for camwhoring pics! 😉

HTC Flyer-6

And oh, since there is a pool & there are models in bikinis, why not make full use of both? It didn’t matter that the devices are NOT waterproof nor water resistant. This is an event for media & let’s give the media something to talk/write about right?

HTC Flyer-11

Ok, enough bitching. ;p

Let’s take a look at the next device.

HTC Desire S

Here’s is where I think HTC needs to hire some new designers for their HTC phones. It looked like a HTC, it felt like a HTC and it’s basically identical to most of the previous HTCs! Oh, I did say it looked like a HTC right?

HTC Desire S from HTC at a glance:

Processor Qualcomm QSD 8255, 1 GHz
Operating system Android™ with HTC Sense™
Memory ROM: 1.1 GB
RAM: 768 MB
Dimensions 115 mm (L) x 59.8 mm (W) x 11.63 mm (T)
Weight 130 grams (with battery)
Display 3.7-inch touch screen with 480 x 800 WVGA resolution
Network HSPA/WCDMA (900/2100 MHz) 

GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)

(Band frequency, HSPA availability, and data speed are operator dependent)

Internet 3G: 

  • Up to 14.4 Mbps download speed
  • Up to 5.76 Mbps upload speed

GPRS:

  • Up to 114 kbps download speed

Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/g/n

Tethering USB and Wi-Fi® tethering
GPS
  • Internal GPS antenna
Sensors
  • G-sensor
  • Digital Compass
  • Proximity Sensor
  • Ambient Light Sensor
Connectivity
  • 3.5 mm stereo audio jack
  • Standard micro-USB (5-pin micro-USB 2.0)
  • Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth
  • Bluetooth® 2.1 with FTP/OPP for file transfer
  • A2DP for wireless stereo headsets
  • Other supported profiles: AVRCP, GAP, GOEP, HFP, PBAP, SPP, Service Discovery Application Profile
Camera
  • 5.0 megapixel colour camera with auto focus and power LED flash
  • 720p HD video recording
  • 1.3 megapixel front camera
Multimedia Audio supported formats: 

  • Playback: .aac, .amr, .ogg, .m4a, .mid, .mp3, .wav, .wma (Windows Media Audio 9)
  • Recording: .amr

 

Video supported formats:

  • Playback: .3gp, .3g2, .mp4, .wmv (Windows Media Video 9), .avi (MP4 ASP and MP3), .xvid (MP4 ASP and MP3)
  • Recording: .3gp
Battery Rechargeable Lithium-ion polymer battery
Capacity: 1450 mAh
Talk time: 

  • Up to 435 minutes for WCDMA
  • Up to 590 minutes for GSM

Standby time:

  • Up to 455 hours for WCDMA
  • Up to 430 hours for GSM

(The above are subject to network and phone usage)

Expansion Slot microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
Recommended Windows System Requirements
  • Windows® 7 , Windows Vista® or Windows XP
  • HTC Sync

AVAILABILITY

The HTC Desire S is exclusive to Maxis and is now available at all Maxis centres and Maxis Exclusive Partners. Maxis customers enjoy savings of up to RM500 on the device retail price of RM1,799 when they sign up for Maxis data plans (available in 500MB, 1.5GB or 3GB packages).

With any Maxis data plan ( 500MB, 1.5GB or 3GB ) Contract Period HTC Desire S Device Price Savings on Retail price of RM1,799 12 months RM 1,499 RM300 18 months RM 1,399 RM400 24 months RM 1,299 RM500

The HTC Flyer will be available at all Maxis authorised outlets from 12 May 2011 onwards. On 12 May 2011, the first 50 customers who visit the Maxis centre at KLCC will be able to purchase the HTC Flyer at a special price of RM999, enjoying savings of approximately RM1,500.

With any Maxis data plan ( 500MB, 1.5GB or 3GB ) Contract Period HTC Flyer Device Price Savings on Retail price of RM2,499 12 months RM1,999 RM500 24 months RM1,799 RM700

The HTC Flyer will also be available at all authorized HTC resellers at a suggested retail price of RM2,499.

The launch whos-and whos.

HTC Flyer-12

A very appropriate shot, since the event also marks the signing of MOU between HTC and Maxis.

HTC Flyer-10

Speeches..

HTC Flyer-9

…and another speech…

HTC Flyer-7

…and more speeches.

HTC Flyer-8

So that was yesterday, a pretty techo-fied day for me hopping from one tech preview to the other. Not that I’m complaining, it was cool being privileged enough to be included as one of the first few to play & test out all these new gadgets spilling out onto the market now. We consumers are certainly spoiled rotten. 😉

All pictures are:
rebeccasaw-samsungnx100

This Post Has 13 Comments

  1. Isaac Tan

    Great piece of technology! Thanks for sharing ya.

    1. Rebecca

      No worries! I’m all for sharing of good food, gd travel places and good tech products! Well, basically all things worth sharing ;p

      1. Isaac Tan

        Well, i love it! Lol. Have linked your blog on mine, so be sure you have a visitor here whenever you post a new post Rebecca!

      2. Rebecca

        Whoa! Thks Isaac! I hope to meet u real soon 😉

  2. Marcus

    was so aiming to get a HTC incredible S so i could make a couple of lame jokes about incredible ass. and point at my back pocket. but there were campers at the digi shop man. freaking campers. its just a goddam phone. so as revenge to the mobile industry i bought myself a high end torchlight which will outlast (not to mention outshine) any phone anytime soon.
    the flyer. does it have a voice call option? (ala galaxy tab?) if not then it will qualify for tax cuts via pc plans i imagine..

    1. rebeccasaw

      Nope no voice calls option. Too bad…its one of the most decent tablets so far

      1. Marcus

        nono its a good thing. if if doenst call out then it counts as a computer. therefore a tax cut. if you want to call out. you got a phone.

      2. rebeccasaw

        Oohhhh! ok ok. Try to wait fr May 12th, you can get it fr RM199 apparently. But god knows what sort of data plan Maxis will tie you to & the duration.

  3. Marcus

    oh crap gotta do tax…
    thanks for reminding

  4. chris

    first 50 customer can get htc flyer at price of rm999..is that bundle with any contract?or plan have to sign up?

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