Happiness is…

A pre-order HTC flyer based on the latest Android Honeycomb OS and as importantly, the fabulous white case it comes in.

I got my Flyer about 10 days ago, what a boost to the ego it was to receive it before the plebs got their hands on this piece of kit. The un-boxing experience had a sense of déjà-vu since it wasn’t that different from the ipod classic. White minimalism, product image gets center stage on the lid, no reams of paper aka the user guide, but instead, the standard guarantee and quick start guide, power jack and headphones. Finally, the piece de resistance, the Flyer White and pristine sans screen protector but with a brushed aluminum digital stylus! We like that!

Inserting the sim card was a bit of a struggle since the back flap isn’t super easy for people with bitten nails to access. No Micro-SD card included. Black mark for HTC there since including a memory card wouldn’t have dented the 500 plus GBP price tag.

On switching the device on, you’re met with the usual HTC splash screen. Swipe the ring to unlock the screen, input your Google credentials and you’re ready to go. Unless you have a yahoo mail account then it gets a bit complicated to say the least. A Google search (surprise, surprise) unveils the manual credentials to install your yahoo account. Not too much of a stretch when you’re a geek, but God help the nulls.  Next comes the all important transfer bit, you’d imagine in this day and age, devices would be able to talk to each other…Oh no. We’re a bit choosy about the company we keep in this house hold, the Flyer doesn’t talk to his poor cousin the HTC Windows phone which doesn’t really see eye to eye with el Mac who is in a constant sulk with Symbian…Sigh! And I thought I was out of college. Oh well, someday we’ll all kiss and make up, but until that happens, it’s each for itself.

Luckily, on the software side, everything’s hunky dory, Facebook is totally OK with sharing all your contacts and every other piece of your life ,whether you like it or not. The result, Google is able to sync everything to well, Gmail. Glad someone’s getting along. Having said that,  I was pleasantly surprised to see a pre-loaded bookmark to the Amzon music store in HTC’s music player. Wonder how long its going to be before they get their knuckles rapped by the friendly Android down the street. With 150k plus apps in it’s market place, Android is a pretty reliable first port of call for all your app fantasies. I’m at about 30 as we speak. 

I’m still not a 100% convinced as to why I bought a tablet, sure I’ll figure it out some day, but until then here’s to the flyer, full marks…so far.

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