HTC Flyer Android 2.3 tablet hits the streets

Gingerbread device starts at £479.99 SIM-free and comes with Magic pen stylus

HTC has finally released its first 7in Android tablet as the firm looks to make a successful transition from the smartphone market into the tablet space.

Pricing for the HTC Flyer starts at £479.99 for the 16GB Wi-Fi only edition, rising to £599.99 for the 32GB 3G/Wi-Fi-enabled model. The device is available from the HTC Store as well as retailers including Amazon, Carphone Warehouse and Expansys.

Three is set to offer a subsidised version of the 3G tablet, costing £169 upfront and then £25 per month on a two-year contract. This package includes 15GB of data.

The Flyer could be an attractive prospect for business users who use other high-end HTC devices such as the Desire HD.

Key features of the 415g device include a 1.5GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and a 7in display with a 1,024x600 resolution. The Flyer does run the now outdated Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system, but HTC has incorporated its well-regarded Sense user interface.

HTC ships the tablet with a trademark unibody aluminum case, 5-megapixel camera with auto focus, 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera and a micro-SD card slot.

Additionally, a ‘Magic Pen' stylus allows users to draw, paint, write and retouch pictures.

Useful enterprise features include the ability to 'print screen' any page of the display, then annotate, save and share with a single click.

HTC's Scribe technology makes the Flyer capable of recording audio and synchronising it with notes taken on the device.

The Adobe Flash and HTML5 platforms are fully supported, and the HTC Watch service can be used to rent or buy TV shows and movies, which can be played on up to five HTC devices.

The manufacturer has promised an upgrade to Android 3.0 Honeycomb, but it is unknown when this will arrive.

Considering that the Motorola Xoom and Asus Eee Pad Transfomer already run on the latest version of Android, the Flyer could find it difficult to compete against them if there is a prolonged delay in issuing the Honeycomb update.