HTC Flyer on sale for $200 at Buy.com

Screen Size: 7.00 Inch
Resolution: 1024x600
Screen Type: TFT

If there’s one thing Android enthusiasts love, it’s a good deal. Oh, and an unlocked bootloader. And timely software updates. But mostly good deals. To that end, we draw your attention to Buy.com, where HTC’s Flyer tablet is on sale for just $199.99, plus free shipping. It’s a refurbished 16GB model, but the Flyer beats out a lot of tablets at that price point. You don’t get HTC’s add-on stylus, but on the plus side, the update to Honeycomb is out… so the tablet’s only one major Android release behind at this point.

The Flyer was unveiled at Mobile World Congress 2011, almost exactly a year ago, then released in May. Initially it was set to compete with Samsung’s original Galaxy Tab, having the same form factor, screen size and resolution. Where the Flyer beats the tab is its 1.5Ghz (single-core) processor, 1GB of ROM, WiFi and Bluetooth. (The only version of the Flyer initially sold via a carrier in the US was the Evo View 4g, and is not on sale at the moment). The tablet’s solid aluminum body and speedy interface gained it a small but dedicated following, despite its initially high price of $500.

Since then, the Flyer has received an official Android 3.0 Honeycomb update and been given the unlock treatment via HTC’s bootloader unlock tool. Thanks to the latter, there’s already Ice Cream Sandwich ROMs based on open source Android code ready for download. If you want a “reader-sized” 7-inch tablet with more oomph than you usually get at this price point, the Flyer is still a good choice, especially if you’re a fan of HTC’s hardware and software designs.