US HTC Flyer officially discontinued, what will happen to the HTC EVO View 4G?
It's official: The US WiFi-only version of the HTC Flyer is no longer being sold by Best Buy, which was the only official retailer of the 7-inch tablet stateside. Since the HTC EVO View 4G is basically just a WiMAX variant of the Flyer – identical to the Flyer in almost every other way – the question remains: what are Sprint's ultimate plans for the EVO View?
It's no secret that sales of the EVO View have been lackluster at best, due mainly to what many considered a steep price for a small, Gingerbread tablet. Sprint and HTC have stepped things up, however, most recently rolling out an official OTA update to Honeycomb. Additionally, several online retailers have offered the EVO View off-contract at a massive discount, which has led to wider interest (and more sales).
The root and developer community for the EVO View also finally seems to be taking off, with lots of activity happening at sites such as xda. The EVO View is finally getting the attention it deserves: but is this too little, too late?
In my opinion, Sprint and HTC shot themselves in the foot with this one. This tablet had the potential to be a great hit. However:
- With the Kindle Fire for $199.99 and the Nook Tablet for $249.99, the price for this 7-inch tablet was simply too high.
- The pen – one of the View's most unique and distinguishable features – should have been included for free with all View sales.
- Honeycomb should have been rolled out months ago. It was promised "shortly" after launch, yet View owners had to wait almost half a year.
- Sprint abolished unlimited tablet data.
Due to these four serious mistakes, I predict that the EVO View will be discontinued within the first quarter of 2012. It's a sad state of affairs, because the tablet is still quite capable and competitive. It's just that Sprint and HTC both really screwed this one up, and that seriously ticks me off.
