We’ve known for some time now about HTC’s plans to introduce a larger sibling alongside its seven-inch Android tablet, the Flyer. Since rumours of the Flyer’s big brother first started doing the rounds all those months ago, HTC’s new ten-inch tablet – which we’ve come to know as the Puccini – has become a pretty badly kept secret; not only has there been a steady trickle of info leaking out about it, but it’s also been snapped on camera in the wild more than a few times.
Today, HTC’s new slate has had its first official outing, as AT&T announced that it would be welcoming the device exclusively to its network as the HTC Jetstream. Touted as AT&T’s first tablet with Android 3.1 (Honeycomb), it will also be the first one to be offered by the operator with 4G (LTE/HSPA+) capabilities.
The Jetstream weighs in at just over 700g (around 100g more than an iPad), and at 13mm (0.51”) thickness, it’s about 50% thicker than an iPad too. That’s still a pretty portable package though, and the specs aren’t too shabby either: a 10.1” WXGA capacitive touchscreen, front-facing 1.3MP camera, rear 8MP camera with dual-LED flash, 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon and a microSD slot supporting cards up to 32GB.
On the software side of things, the Jetstream includes HTC Sense UX, a version of the company’s popular Android interface layer, optimised for tablets. It also includes HTC’s Scribe technology, which allows users to scribble and scrawl on the screen using an optional digital pen accessory.
It all sounds pretty decent until you check out the price tag that AT&T has slapped on this thing. On a new two-year contract, AT&T wants you to part with $699.99. No, that’s not a typo – they’re really asking for a penny under seven hundred bucks. Engadget has also discovered that if you want to buy it up-front and off-contract, it’ll cost you $849.
If you’re mad/rich enough to want to buy one, it lands on AT&T on September 4, and you’ll get a free HTC Scribe digital pen if you order before October 15.