HTC Flyer tablet hands-on

HTC’s first tablet is now on sale exclusively at Best Buy, and we’ve been playing with one for the last couple days. We first saw it at MWC and then we played with Sprint’s version, the EVO View 4G, at CTIA, but you know the drill… it’s always totally different when you have one up close for an extended period of time. For all intents and purposes, the HTC Flyer really is a large HTC Sense smartphone, and that results in a good experience at some times and a not-so-good experience at others. The Flyer features the latest Sense UI that included 3D home screen effects, an improved lock screen, an updated UI and more. However, the tablet is a bit chunky and it’s kind of annoying that the rear cover isn’t symmetrical; the plastic antenna covers jut out from the smooth machined aluminum case and the end result is odd. The Flyer features capacitive Android menu buttons on both orientations which is a nice effect — they disappear and reappear along the bezel for landscape and portrait use — and battery life in our limited use seems to be pretty solid. All in all, however, the experience isn’t too different from HTC’s smartphones and we wish there were some bigger twists that might help make the Flyer more unique. We’ll have much more in our full review soon, but in the meantime, you know where to find the high-res shots.