Can HTC Flyer Android Tablet Match Apple iPad 2?

Taiwanese manufacturer HTC is expected to roll out their entry into the tablet market soon. The company, which has had some success in the smartphone market, has shifted its focus to tablets. HTC’s Flyer tablet has already secured 1 million orders even before the announcement of a release date. Another rumor suggests the tablet may be going to Sprint.

Meanwhile here is a detailed comparison between the Apple iPad 2 and the HTC Flyer .

Size:
The HTC Flyer tablet is 195.4 x 122 x 13.2 mm and weighs 420.8 g. Apple iPad 2 is 241.2 x 185.7 x 8.8 mm and weighs 607g.

Display:
The display featured in Flyer tablet is 7-inch 600 x 1024 pixels LCD capacitive touch-screen display while the iPad 2 has a 9.7-inch 768 x 1024 pixels LED-backlit IPS TFT, capacitive touchscreen display.

Input Features:
The input features provided in HTC Flyer are accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate, HTC Sense UI, multi-touch input, handwriting support and touch-sensitive controls with rotating icons. The iPad 2 input features include fingerprint and scratch resistant oleophobic surface, multi-touch input method, accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate and three-axis gyro sensor.

Memory:
HTC Flyer tablet comes with a huge 1 GB RAM and 32 GB internal storage along with microSD support up to 32 GB. Apple iPad 2 on the other hand has 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB internal storage and predicted memory according to few analysts is 512 MB RAM and there is no card slot.

WLAN/Bluetooth/ USB:
The Flyer and Apple iPad 2 has Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and USB version 2.0 but HTC’s tablet has a better version of Bluetooth as it features version 3.0 with A2DP while iPad 2 features a version 2.1 with A2DP and EDR.

Camera:
When it comes to cameras, the Flyer looks solid: 5-megapixel, 2592?1944, with autofocus, geo-tagging and a secondary camera with 1.3-megapixels. The iPad 2 has a smaller 0.7-megapixel 960 x 720 camera and a VGA camera. Both the tablets are capable of capturing video at 720p.

Operating System:
The operating system to come with HTC Flyer tablet is the new Android OS version 2.4 (Gingerbread) against the iPad 2 which has an updated iOS, version 4.3. The Flyer tablet will feature HTC Sense UI which brings a 3D experience to its users. One surprise is that HTC went with Gingerbread rather than Honeycomb, which is specifically crafted for tablets.

Processor:
The processor found in the HTC tablet is a powerful 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon, although many other tablets feature a dual core processor. The latest rumors are abuzz that the EVO View, considered a variant on the HTC Flyer, may come with a dual core Tegra 2 processor. The entire new product details will be released the International CTIA Wireless trade show in Orlando, Fla., on March 22.

Battery:
The battery featured in Flyer is Li-Ion 4000 mAh battery which is expected to give 4 hours of battery life on video playback but Apple iPad 2 has a 25Wh battery which gives 10 hours.

2G Network:
Both tablets offer GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 support.

3G Network:
The Flyer has HSDPA 900 / 1700 / 2100 and iPad 2 has HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 support.

Other Features:
HTC’s tablet comes with Email, Push Email, IM, HTML browser, A-GPS support, Java via third party application, SNS integration, digital compass, Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Google Talk, Picasa integration, MP3/AAC+/WAV/WMA player, DivX/Xvid/MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV player, Adobe Flash 10.1 player, voice memo and predictive text input. Also HTC Flyer tablet comes with a stylus.

Apple iPad 2 has Email, Push Email, IM, HTML Safari browser, A-GPS support, digital compass, MP4/MP3/WAV/AAC player, iBooks PDF reader, Google Maps, TV-out and audio/video player.

On Feb. 21 the HTC Flyer hit German pre-order with a pricing set at €669 ($934). In the U.K. it is around £563 ($912).

Apple iPad 2 is expected to hit the stores on March 11 and sale will begin at 5 p.m. local time. The tablet will be offered by both AT&T and Verizon.

AT&T customers will get the same plan offered on the first generation iPad, 250 MB for $14.99 and 2 GB for $25. A post-paid option will charge overage at a set amount, which is $10 per 1GB. And on Verizon's network the Apple iPad 2 plan will be 1 GB for $20 a month, 3 GB for $30, 5 GB for $50 and 10 GB for $80.