Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Limitations of HTC Flyer lead to Fujitsu Stylistic Q550 purchase

Some point to the Flyer's lack of Honeycomb and single core processor as weaknesses, but after using it for several weeks, I don't view these as significant issues. The Flyer is adequately fast and HTC's implementation of Sense is so nice I'm not sure I want a Honeycomb update. Others, although fewer I'm sure, believe the Flyer feels cheap. Again, to the contrary, I believe HTC has done a superb job crafting a sturdy and handsome device.

While I have enjoyed using the Flyer I do have one significant issue with it: the current lack of applications that permit inking.

Evernote integration is great but I prefer OneNote. I use it at work to track client matters and take notes. HTC has promised to release a pen SDK to enable application development, but even when the SDK is released integration with OneNote seems unlikely.

MobileNoter may jump on board but I simply don't want to wait. Sure, I could continue to use MobileNoter's conversion program as I have been, but that process has become tedious.

Q550 (500x405)
These considerations lead me recently to purchase a not-for-Pocketables Fujitsu Stylistic Q550, which is scheduled to ship today. The Q550 is aimed squarely at the enterprise market. It has a 10.1-inch screen that is LED backlit, runs on Intel's new Atom Z670 (1.5 GHz, 512 KB cache, 800 MHz) Oak Trail processor (which also supports Android and Meego), and uses Windows 7 Pro 32-bit with 2GB of on-board memory. The screen is anti-glare and accepts pen input and capacitive multi-touch. At a bit more than 1.5 pounds the device is very portable, but clearly not pocketable. Other features include a removable battery, WLAN and Bluetooth, front and rear cameras, USB slots, HDMI out, audio out and a dock connector. The configuration I selected comes with a 4-cell battery and 62GB SSD.

Will the Q550 best my HTC Flyer?

At some tasks, like inking, it will, but at others it will not. So interestingly, even after the Q550 arrives I will continue to wait for the arrival of one tablet that can do it all: a tablet for home and work. For now, given my work flow, that tablet just doesn't exist.

Bring on the Windows 8 tablets!

A few weeks ago I purchased an HTC Flyer. Overall I have enjoyed using it. In my estimation, the Flyer's weight, size, build quality, and HTC Sense interface make it one of the very best Android tablets on the market today.

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