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HTC Flyer vs. Galaxy Tab vs. iPad... fight!
In a world of 10-inch dual-core Androids, HTC has opted to tread its own path by cranking up processor speeds, sticking to a 7-inch form factor and eschewing the latest Honeycomb build for a Gingerbread version it could customize more comprehensively with Sense. All that's well and good, but sometimes all it comes down to is how these gadgets look and feel. So to help you wrap your mind around the Flyer's new aluminum body, we present a couple of comparison galleries with it set against two devices that need no introduction. Get clicking! %Gallery-116842% %Gallery-116843%
A closer look at the HTC Flyer's screen, stylus, and Scribe
This morning HTC announced its 7-inch Flyer tablet, and unlike the hoards of Android tablets we've seen in the last couple of months, it's got something that frankly reminds us a bit of Microsoft's original tablet push... a stylus! The Flyer doesn't come with just any old capacitive stylus, however -- HTC has worked with N-Trig, the company that has made digitizers for convertible PCs like the Dell Latitude XT, to implement a much more accurate writing or doodling experience. And well, it basically makes it unlike any other Android tablet on the market right now. We spent some time with N-Trig and the Flyer today, focusing quite a bit on the new stylus and "Scribe" software, as HTC calls it -- hit the break for some details on both the software and hardware and a short video of how that pen actually works when put to the screen. %Gallery-116783%
HTC launches 1.5GHz, 7-inch Flyer into the tablet wars (update: hands-on video!)
Boy oh boy, HTC is entering the tablet arena with quite a bang. The company has just taken the wraps off its brand new 7-inch Flyer Android tablet, which touts a 1.5GHz single-core CPU, 1GB of RAM plus 32GB of flash storage, an aluminum unibody construction, 1024 x 600 resolution, a tablet-optimized version of Sense, and... what's this, a pressure-sensitive stylus! The HTC Scribe trademark we saw floating around in legal waters turned out not to be the branding for a tablet, it's actually the name HTC gives to the technology enabling what it calls a "groundbreaking pen experience." Other details include a 5 megapixel camera on the back paired with a 1.3 megapixel imager up front, a 4000mAh battery rated to last for four hours of continuous video playback, and memory expandability via a microSD card. The Flyer will ship in Q2 2011 with Android Gingerbread 2.4 on board. HTC says it'll be indistinguishable from 2.3 as far as the end user is concerned, though we all know it won't be quite as good as the 3.0 stuff. We're told not to worry, however, since the new version of Sense being introduced with the Flyer will be the focal point of the company's software offering. As far as HTC is concerned, Sense matters more than the underlying platform, and the reason Honeycomb isn't the shipping OS here was explicitly stated as HTC not having enough time with the latest Google code to customize it to the full requirements of Sense. Guess that settles that. There are a couple more software enhancements, both marking the introduction of the fruits of HTC's recent deals: OnLive cloud gaming will be coming with the Flyer in the form of an app you open up to access the web-connected bored-relieving service, while that Saffron Digital acquisition has turned into an HTC Watch app for movie streaming and downloading. We spent a bit of quality time with a Flyer unit recently, although we weren't allowed to turn it on, and our early impressions are rather mixed. On the one hand, we do appreciate the ruggedness and durability that's afforded by the one-piece aluminum shell, but on the other, the Flyer is quite the chunky beast in your hands. We'd imagine strapping in such an extra-speedy processor is the main culprit for its extra girth, though the Flyer is, ironically enough, not terribly light either. We found it heavier and generally a lot less polished from a design perspective than Samsung's Galaxy Tab. Anyhow, HTC should have functional units for us immediately following its MWC presser this morning, and we'll be delving in deeper with this super-specced device. Hang tight! Update: Pictures of the Flyer can now be explored below and we have video awaiting your audience just past the break. Update 2: HTC has tweeted that the Flyer will be updated to Honeycomb in Q2. %Gallery-116694%
HTC's 7-inch Android 2.3 tablet with new Sense UI still rumored for March
So far it seems like everyone but HTC has made an official tablet announcement in these early days of 2011. As such, we're reliant upon the rumor mills for every scrap of information we can get. So lean in close because the Chinese language Economic Daily has something to share. In a piece largely written about Pegatron, Economic Daily claims that HTC's 7-inch Android 2.3 tablet will ship in late Q1 (read: March, as we've heard earlier) with a new version of the HTC Sense UI. Our guess, is that HTC wants to get a tablet on the market now, rather than wait to customize Android 3.0 and have the Motorola Xoom and friends gobble up all the market share. The paper does mention two Android 3.0 tablets from HTC scheduled for 2011. Unfortunately, there's no word of the rumored "Flyer" brand name or whether those Honeycomb tablets will get the Sense treatment or not (we're guessing they will). Nevertheless, the Mobile World Congress event kicking off next week would be the perfect opportunity to make it all official, don't you think?
HTC Desire 2, Flyer, Pyramid and LG Optimus 3D, Star Tab surface in Vodafone Germany inventory system
There are leaks, and then there are leaks. As you can probably glean from the headline, this is most certainly a case of the latter. FoneArena has received shots of what appears to be a Vodafone Germany inventory system, and it's a system currently overflowing with both rumored and heretofore unheard of product names. HTC's Flyer and Pyramid are all but confirmed for a MWC unveiling, while the Desire 2 is popping up on our radar for the first time. We've also been told that LG's Optimus 3D will be fully revealed next week in Barcelona, but the Star Tab? Now that's a new one. Of course, it shouldn't come as any surprise to see a swath of new names pop up just days before the year's most gargantuan mobile show, but it definitely brings about a metric ton of questions. Is the Star Tab a phone? A slate? A unicorn-based gaming console? Will the Desire 2 simply be more desirable than the original, or will it utilize one of those new screen technologies HTC is feverishly working on? Hard to say from a simple list of names, but you can bet we'll be keeping an ear to the ground for more as Mobile World Congress approaches. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
HTC Flyer spec sheet leaks with Android 2.3, stylus and 7-inch screen?
Wondering what sort of goodies might be inside HTC's upcoming tablets? Norwegian tech site Amobil isn't -- they claim to have a pair of inside sources spoon-feeding them all the pertinent details. For the rumored HTC Flyer -- which may or may not be pictured at right -- that includes the same 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 chip you'll find in several high-end handsets, 1GB of RAM, as well as a 7-inch, 1024 x 600 capacitive touchscreen, a front-facing 1.3 megapixel camera and a rear 5 megapixel imager, and a piddling 4GB of flash storage to hold all your apps (which sounds a little fishy to us). There's also allegedly 3G for data and Skype calls, an HDMI port, DLNA support and a bonafide stylus to write with, though it's not clear whether we're rumoring a fancy N-Trig display or simply a pack-in capacitive pen. Though Amobil's sources say the tablet will be sadly limited to Android 2.3 out of the gate, it will allegedly have a brand-new tablet version of HTC's Sense UI designed to provide a "desktop feel," which might be a nice pairing for the "HTC Sensation" trademark presently floating about the internet. If so, don't expect that UI to be limited to a single slate, though -- the last part of this oh-so-juicy rumor is that HTC's also supposedly got a 10-inch LTE tablet (perhaps the Scribe?) arriving in the second half of the year.
HTC Flyer tablet tipped for US landing in March, to be followed by two more slates in June
Given current trends, it's reasonable to believe that the foremost question regarding an HTC tablet is no longer if the Taiwanese company will produce one, but when. So, who could we possibly turn to for help but those ever-loquacious upstream component manufacturers that DigiTimes knows and loves so well? Their latest info points to an Android tablet dubbed the Flyer arriving in the US in March (just early enough to potentially beat the Xoom and PlayBook to market), which will roll out across the world in the second quarter of 2011 and be joined by two more slate devices (Scribe?) in June. Further details are a little murky, including the dubious suggestion that the Flyer will come with Android 2.3 on board and be upgradeable to Honeycomb (3.0), but we're inclined to consider the overall roadmap credible. In spite of its Thunderbolt launch at CES, HTC was relatively quiet in the big January event, so we suspect it'll bring the big(ger than a smartphone) guns to Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month.
Leaked Dell Streak flyer shows multitude of color options, confirmed specifications
There's no denying that the Mini 5 is real, but up until now, we've had to provide all of our own promotional material. At long last, it seems as if the suits in Round Rock are finally getting around to crafting the first advertisements for the upcoming slate, and while we knew about the 5-inch WVGA (800 x 480) touchscreen, 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, capacitive touch front buttons, front-facing VGA camera (for video chatting) and the 30-pin docking connector, we weren't aware of Dell's plans to reveal a slew of vivacious color options. If this here flyer proves legitimate, we could eventually see the Mini 5 available in an array of premium finishes and hues (thanks, Design Studio!), and we're hoping for a few different spec builds as well. So, are you opting for the pink, or are you crossing your fingers in hopes that Dell allows you to print that embarrassing shot of you and Mr. T on the rear of one? Update: Oh, snap! We just landed a few more official slides from an internal Dell document, and it's safe to say that the company is going to call this beauty the Streak. Or, at least that's the internal codename. Better still, it looks as if it'll launch with an Amazon content partnership, which will bring a Kindle e-book reader app, Amazon MP3, Amazon video streams and pretty much any other material that Amazon sells in digital form right to the slate. C'mon now -- how's about a ship date and a price? %Gallery-87842%
Best Buy ad rerates DS games as mature
Today's Best Buy flyer has overridden the ESRB and given Final Fantasy IV, Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2 and MYST all "Mature" ratings. We have no idea how this happened, as the box images from the publishers should have the proper ratings. It's not like Best Buy's flyer design team adds the ratings to each box (and if they do, we feel bad for them). In the online version of the ad, hovering over the games with the pointer does display the proper ratings.We're amused, but just to be clear, Trauma Center is rated T for Teen, while Myst and FF IV are rated E for everyone.[Thanks MGS0LID]
How to make 10,000 gold in a month
I like to have a bit of gold on me at all times. When I see something I want for one of my alts, it's nice to be able to just buy it without thinking about the ramifications for next week's farming and raiding. There's a strategy that I've been using for a couple months now that'll let those that follow it earn upwards of 10,000g a month. To use this strategy, you need to have access to the following: Rare T5/ T6 patterns A steady stream of Badge of Justices or Hearts of Darkness 5 hours a week set aside for hard core farming A second account Those might look like insane requirements to some, and they're not wrong. They are a bit steep. However making this amount of gold should not be easy and be able to be done by everyone. But with that said, it's not too hard to get into a T5 guild these days, and weekly Kara runs plus a few heroics can get you 30+ badges a week.Read on after the break for the complete strategy.
Circuit City spills all the Xbox 360 price cut beans
And so we've come full circle. After accurately predicting that $100 PS3 price drop a few weeks back, Circuit City is back in the rumor game with a flyer that seems to confirm the $50 price cut for the Xbox 360, and even tosses in some info on price breaks for the Elite and Core systems. According to the flyer, on August 12th the 360 Premium will dip to $350, and include a copy of Rockstar's "Table Tennis," while the Elite will raid your wallet for $450 -- a $30 reduction -- and include zero free games. Finally, the Xbox 360 Core will get $20 lopped off, and sell for $280, which might be the end of the road for the stripped down console once stock runs out.[Thanks, Sam]
Incoming nether drake fix
It looks like the swift nether drake situation is getting fixed sooner rather than later, and they're going to have to bring the realms down for a few early-morning hours to do it. (Edit: early morning for some, but prime time for Oceania!) From the breaking news box:We will be bringing down all realms to implement a fix for the Arena end-of-season rewards, and sending the correct rewards to teams that participated. This maintenance will begin at 5:00 AM PDT, June 22, and will last until approximately 7:00 AM PDT. For more information on this issue and resolution please visit the PvP Discussion forum.Over in the PvP forums, Drysc posted the following:During this maintenance all of the end-of-season rewards will be resent to the correct teams and players. By resending the rewards players who already have an Armored Nether Drake will simply receive duplicates. As these are unique items the new mail messages can only be deleted. The Arena titles will also be applied again, and players will have the correct title available to them after the maintenance. We appreciate everyone's patience in awaiting this resolution, and apologize for any inconvenience or frustration that it may have caused.
WoW Moviewatch: Epic gryphons on crack
This video is pretty short, and is just for the purpose of showing off what those of you who haven't been on the test realms are missing. I'm sure this'll get patched any day now, but seeing an epic gryphon freak out is just something you should do at some point in this world (of Warcraft). As you can see, the bug only happens when you fly forward for more than a couple seconds; strafing or hovering doesn't have the same graphical glitch. Still, seeing my bird behaving like this makes me wonder if it really was worth that pile of gold. After all, I don't even have that many miles on it! I wonder if it's still under warranty...Previously on Moviewatch...
Breakfast Topic: Epic mounts
I finally got my epic flying mount for my main the other day, and boy is that thing fast! 5200 gold well spent, if you ask me (5000 for the training, 200 for the mount itself). There aren't too many flying mounts available in game. Alliance get the choice between four different colors of gryphon: blue, red, purple, and green (I went with blue). The Horde counterpart is windriders, which come in yellow, red, purple, and green. Additionally, both factions in theory have access to the Nether Drake. Members of the top Arena team on each realm at the end of each season will get an armored Swift Nether Drake, which gives a 310% speed increase (other epic flying mounts are a 280% increase). For those of us who aren't going to be making it to the top of the Arena ladder anytime soon, Blizzard have said that there will be a way to get a 280% (non-armored) Nether Drake via questing, which will be "difficult" but not require a raid. Drysc also said there will be a 310% speed boost counterpart to the Arena reward, though he was unable to give details on how it might be attained. I'm guessing massive gold sinks.Have you got your epic mount yet? What color did you go for? And do you think it was worth the gold?
Target $24 DS game sale
Target stores have a nice little sale going on this week. All games regularly priced $29.99 (here's the nice part) and above are on sale for $24. Although it is just $5 off in most cases, that's still two gallons of gas, a meal at McDonald's off the dollar menu or a nice way of saving up for the Target exclusive Peach DS lite "bling skin" at the bottom of the ad. We don't want it -- but we do.
MagSafe Airline Power Adapter released
As Dan mentioned it looks like Apple finally gave in to all our whining and has released an adapter which allows you to power (not charge-the seats don't provide enough juice) your MacBook on those long haul flights-that is, if you're lucky enough to be seated somewhere with access to an EmPower plug. While sixty clams is considerably steep for what is essentially a piece of wire and an adapter plug, frequent flyers will finally be able to continue their always-on existence while cramped between the fussy baby and overly-friendly guy. On a bit of a more editorial note; is this the first specialized adapter Apple has released? I can't think of any other situations in which Apple has provided anything other than the normal desktop adapters, leaving third parties to fill in the market.
Lausanne robot plane gets smaller, has 14-inch wingspan
Last time we took a look at the tiny robot plane being developed by a group of Swiss researchers in Lausanne, the micro-flyer had a wingspan of just 31 inches and weighed about an ounce. But the developers vowed to produce a version with a wingspan half as long, and sure enough, they've gone and done it. The latest edition has a 14-inch wingspan and weighs about a third of an ounce. Like its predecessor, it takes its inspiration from the insect world, and is able to fly indoors autonomously, and includes tiny wing-mounted cameras and a gyroscopic stabilizer. Now, the developers have set the bar higher for the next version: they're shooting for a housefly-sized flyer. Let us know when it's ready. In the meantime, we are so ready to take this one for a spin.
