HTC to launch its tablet Flyer in March prior to iPad 2 release

HTC missed the CES 2011 tablet mania but that does mean it has no tablet plans. In fact, it is due to launch not one but three tablets in the first half of 2011.

DigiTimes confirmed that the first model from the HTC stable codenamed Flyer is due to begin shipping in US by March. The Flyer will run on Android 2.3 or Froyo and will be upgradeable to Android 3.0 or Honeycomb. The other two models will hit the market in the second quarter of 2011 and both will run on Honeycomb juice.

The launch of Flyer tablet will be prior to Motorola Xoom's scheduled launch in April and BlackBerry maker RIM's PlayBook launch in March.

The Flyer is stated to look like a larger version of its Desire smartphone. The Desire phone runs on Android 2.2 and is powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. The phone flaunts 5MP camera, 576 MB RAM and 4 GB of built-in memory. It has a 3.7-inch display size with 800x480 resolution. It measures 119x60x11.9 mm and weighs 135 g.

In December 2010, Bloomberg had reported that the Taiwan-based HTC has filed a trademark at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a device called HTC Scribe on December 26, defining it as a handheld wireless device, namely a tablet computer.

Reports of HTC crafting a tablet have been circling since September when DigiTimes reported that a Taiwanese hardware manufacturer Pegatron Technology had taken orders from HTC to manufacture an Android-based tablet due in first quarter of 2011.

The report spilled out specification, revealing that the tablet's display would sport a resolution of 1280x780 and will be powered by a Tegra 2 dual-core microchip. Other specs included a 32GB memory car, 2GB of internal storage, Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth. It was reported that it would be priced at around $750.

HTC currently wears the largest Android phone maker crown and is also touted to be the only manufacturer capable of taking on Apple's iPad, a claim which can be disputed since Motorola launched Xoom.

Also, HTC closely follows Apple's launch date and thus could be targeting the Apple iPad 2 launch rather than Xoom's or PlayBook's launch. Last year, it launched its EVO 4G phone on June 4, 2010, just before Apple launched its iPhone 4 on June 7. With reports surmisisng that iPad 2 is due in April, the reported launch of HTC Flyer in March may hold some credence. Last year, Apple launched its iPad on April 3, 2010.