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HTC’s Flyer tablet is soon to be receiving the Android update it so heartily deserves after screenshots surfaced showing it running the tablet-specific version of Android — Honeycomb 3.2.
On the surface, the HTC Flyer wasn’t a bad piece of kit at all — its 7-inch size fit snugly in our hands and we even found ourselves enjoying using its stylus. Sadly though, it was running Android 2.3 Gingerbread, which is designed to run on the smaller screens of smart phones, so we’re pleased to see the latest version of the operating system finally surfacing.
Android user forum MoDaCo got its hands around the update on the Flyer and thoughtfully posted some screenshots, which also show HTC’s Sense interface that it slaps over Android. MoDaCo also provided the update as a downloadable ROM for you to install yourself, but that’s really an expert-level manoeuvre and one that could turn your little tablet into an expensive brick if you don’t do it right.
A main point to note is that you can now use the fun stylus throughout all of the software rather than only on certain apps. This will allow you to navigate menus, type and generally attack your screen with your pen in any number of ways not previously possible.
HTC’s Sense user interface, currently smeared over Gingerbread, made the operating system visually rather appealing to use, as well as feeling pretty nippy, so it’s likely many of you have been quite happy poking away at the phone version on the tablet for a while now.
The updates to Sense — shown here as Sense 1.1 for Tablets — means it looks reminiscent of the previous Sense, rather than keeping the stark lines and swishy 3D interfaces of Android 3.2, which won’t be welcomed by those who liked the wire-frame styling of plain Honeycomb.
The main advantage of upgrading to Honeycomb on the tablet will be the increased compatibility with tablet-specific apps on the Android Market, designed to run specifically on bigger screens rather than being scaled up from 4-inch devices.
With Honeycomb, you’ll have the pleasure of bigger, bolder homescreen
widgets, tabbed browsing and various other improvements that should be fun to play with on the Flyer’s 7-inch screen.
There’s no word yet on when the updates will be officially rolled out — so it can be safely automatically installed on your device, rather than doing it yourself with the ROM — but the fact that the update exists at all suggests you won’t have too long to wait.
