DigiTimes: HTC launching tablet in March, to be called Flyer

By Andrew Munchbach on Jan 20, 2011 at 10:29 AM

Tablets January 20, 2011 at 10:29 AM

Warning: DigiTimes report being cited, approach with caution. Now that we have that out of the way… the Taiwanese blog is reporting that HTC will launch an Android 2.3 tablet device, code named Flyer, in March — ahead of the BlackBerry PlayBook and Motorola Xoom. The publication notes that users will be able to upgrade the device to Android 3.0 after it is officially released by Google. The report cites “handset component suppliers” and goes on to say that “HTC is expected to launch the two other tablets in June running on Android 3.0.” We’re not sure how much water this report holds, but one thing is a certainty… HTC isn’t going to be sitting on the tablet sidelines forever.Read

Tags:: 2.3, 3.0, Android, DigiTimes, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, HTC, March, Release, Rumor, Tablets

22 Comments

Pmgayot

Nice, Hope Samsung will come correct with the galaxy tab 2.
Bringit

You can now send your texts to the wrong person from a larger screen.

Anonymous

At least the screen won’t have yellow spots in it! Two can play this game!
Anonymous

No case required for signal!

Josh

I will definitely own an HTC tablet. Moto and Sammy are just not to be trusted. Hopefully HTC puts a decent battery in these things though.

Anonymous

Agreed. Unfortunately, this one is probably going to be a Sprint or T-Mobile device since the Moto Xoom seems destined to be the first Verizon tablet. HTC can’t have all the firsts after all

I have no problem with the Xoom, but if Motorola locks the bootloader like they do with their phones I’d rather wait for something by HTC.

http://twitter.com/p0rkguy Kevin Lee

I think this is some how related to Sprint’s event in February.
HTC Evo made a killing for Sprint, it would be stupid for Sprint to not support HTC’s newer stuff.
http://twitter.com/hawaiiinsomniac hawaiiinsomniac

i’m glad competition is coming out… I can’t wait to get my grubby hands on Xoom, Playbook, Whatever HP is calling theirs and the new iPad 2 before buying one…
Anonymous

Did Jha from Moto not say at CES, that the Xoom would be out in February? Last time I checked, February was before March. Personally, i’m going for the tablet that Google engineers have on their desks every morning when designing Honeycomb, and that would be the Xoom. It’s the closest to a Nexus tablet anyone is ever going to get.

Anonymous

“Personally, i’m going for the tablet that Google engineers have on their desks every morning when designing Honeycomb, ”

So you are getting the iPad? That doesn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t you wait to get the iPad2? Google isn’t using the XOOM to develop Honeycomb. You don’t use Hardware to build software. They all have iPad’s on their desks and in their labs to gain information on which direction to go. Just like RIM and the rest of the Mobile industry did with iPhone when they could finally get their hands on the devices.

All kidding aside though. I would hate to be in the Tablet field trying to push out an Android device. Sure in the smartphone market there is not much to worry about because the market is so large and mature. The tablet market though is new and small in comparison. Not a lot of room yet for multiple big players. The iPad isn’t something that these Android manufacturers have to worry about because the people buying iPads are probably (for the most part) not people that will be buying Android tablets. If you are an Android manufacturer you have to worry about another Google partner in the OHA stealing you market potential and your profits.

People always want to pit iOS versus Android. When in all honesty that isn’t even a race. Android will end up with more share and honestly it is shocking that they didn’t pass iOS last year at this time. How they screwed the pooch on that one is amazing. The competition is really Android manufacturer versus Android manufacturer. They are competing with one another, not Apple.

Anonymous

Thank you for confirming that you have no idea what you’re talking about. “This is the hardware our engineers have on their desks every morning.” – Andy Rubin (Google)
Anonymous

Yes that is the Hardware they have “on” their desk. The hardware they used to get the software to where it was viable for a Tablet was indeed iPads. What they have on their desks and what they use are two very different things.
Anonymous

Again, your post makes no sense. Why would Google want to take any lessons from the iPad? They are building an OS optimized for a tablet. Apple slapped the iPod Touch OS on a bigger screen, amazing.

Other than form factor, there is absolutely no similarity between the iPad and the Xoom. Why would Google possibly need the iPad on their desks?

Anonymous

Honestly it’s all a mute point. Acer, Dell, HTC and Motorola are all in competition for a piece of the Android pie. HP is hoping to establish a platform of their own with Web OS (and good for them). RIM has a customer base that is in no way shrinking (despite some of you suggesting otherwise). There are some things that all of this companies are missing (some more than others)

Their own desktop OS
Their own PC hardware
Their own digital suite of software
Their own Media store
Their own App store
Their own Mobile OS
Their own retail stores to introduce products to first time customers (who become second and third time customers

Two more things all of these companies are missing in common

Huge vertical integration leading to staggering growth
and last but not least………………………..$59.7 Billion in cash and short term investments.

Good luck to everyone that will be racing to the bottom on price just to have a chance to gain a little market share before they bow out of the Tablet field.

Anonymous

I seem to remember similar arguments before Android overtook Apple in US smartphone market share. The problem with Apple IS vertical integration. It’s their way or nothing. I’m not saying Android is perfect in any way, but I certainly think their growth surprised the hell out of everyone, including Apple. It’s obviously not stopping anytime soon either.

Anonymous

I think your assertion is that Apple is concerned with market share. To my knowledge that has never been a concern to Apple. Apple’s concern has always been to grow their business and make a profit.

Apple has 4% of the over cell phone market. The iOS part of Apple’s business had sales of $16 Billion this last quarter and saw them activate roughly 370,000 iOS devices a day.

It is estimated that Google earns anywhere from $0-$15 dollars for each license of Android (depending on what “extras” the manufacturer wants to bundle. So let us say that 200 million Android devices ship in 2011. Out of that Google earns anywhere from $0-$3 Billion dollars. In one year the most Google can make from Android (with out searches) is $3 Billion dollars. Apple’s profit alone from iOS in Q1 2011 was roughly $3.5 Billion.

So, 370,000 iOS devices activated a day in Q1 2011 and for the next three quarters that number doesn’t grow (it will, but let us say it doesn’t) For all of 2011 Apple will sell 135 million iOS devices.

135 million iOS devices would have sales of roughly $66 Billion and profits of roughly $14 Billion. For Google to make $14 Billion in profit from their platform the Android OHA device manufacturers would have to sell a MINIMUM of 860 million Android devices.

Business comes down to money and my money says that 860 million Android devices will not ship in 2011.
Anonymous

So, you’re basically saying Apple is only concerned about how much profit they can make off their consumers. Great!

The rest of you post is mostly assumption and honestly, none of it is really true either. Again, you have no idea what you are talking about. Google doesn’t sell licenses of Android. It’s called open source. They do however, sell licenses for the google apps included on the handsets, and they do make money on the ads.

You’re also concerned about comparing things on the same level, yet your entire post compares Android phones to every iOS device on the market, which includes a hell of a lot more than just the iPhone.

At least research your competition before you try to debate about them.
Anonymous

To add a little. Their growth definitely did not surprise Apple. If you have 20 plus members in the OHA with most building hardware with Android you should have explosive growth. Android is a solid platform and is going to continue to grow.

Android should already be well ahead of iOS. That is a problem in itself. You have some great companies building some great devices and yet they are literally just a point or two above Apple in market share.

The only thing Apple should be focused on is being able to manufacture more devices, opening new stores and preparing to buy whatever companies they want.
Anonymous

Android is just a point or two ahead now. It went from 0-26% marketshare in one year! Apple had a 3 year headstart, and it was pretty much the only choice for a while.

Anonymous

RIM is indeed shrinking. Their marketshare dropped 4% last quarter.

Anonymous

@ ckeegan,

Yes Android is open source but the only way all of the Google Apps and services end up on an Android device is if you pay Google for those. Google is a business also. If Google doesn’t make money they don’t stay in business.

Manufacturers have to pay a license fee for the Android Market and for most of Google’s Apps. They don’t have to buy any of it though. They can use plain vanilla Android with no Google Apps and no Market Place for absolutely free.

These companies all compete against one another and frankly there are only two ways that they can beat one another:

Pricing
Specs

To when on specs you have to create more devices more often than your competitors (other Android manufacturers) which hurst your bottom line. All these businesses worry about money (all of them)

If you are going to lower your prices to compete then you don’t make enough money to reinvest in designing new hardware.

It is a race to the bottom.

All of these companies are in business for one reason, to make money. If along they way they can change the world a little great but each and every person at each one of these companies needs to earn to provide for their families like the rest of us. It all comes down to money.

Anonymous

No way, companies in it to make money, you’re kidding me!

A manufacturer of an Android device can differentiate themselves in more ways than just pricing and specs, by the way, but you can continue to show your lack of knowledge in your posts if you’d like. Every manufacturer of an Android device can differentiate themselves in price, hardware specs, form factor, user interface, etc. Again, Android is open source. You can put Android on a freaking washing machine if you want…which has been done by the way. Honestly, there is no limit, but we’re talking about tablets/smartphones here. Bottom line is that the consumer has tons of options, and the consumer gets the exact opposite with Apple products, which offer no options whatsoever. One smartphone with one screen size on one form factor. No keyboard option, no option to add more storage without buying a new device. Last time I checked, consumers in the US do prefer choices.

As for it being a race to the bottom, tell that to HTC, who reported 160% increase in net profits in 4th quarter, compared to the same period in 2009. We’ll see how the other Android handset manufacturers did when they release their financials next week, but I’m sure they won’t be “racing to the bottom” anymore than HTC is.

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