HTC Jetstream: $699.99 tablet with 10.1-inch screen is an AT&T exclusive
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HTC is launching a new tablet, the Jetstream, on Sept. 4 at a price of $699.99 exclusively through AT&T.
With such a high price tag, the Jetstream should be packed with features right?
Well, the Jetstream is set to run on AT&T’s 4G LTE network, though the network as of yet is still in the process of being built out and isn’t as abundant as rival 4G networks, so some users might get 3G or Edge service if a 4G signal can’t be found.
The Jetstream features a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera, a rear 8-megapixel camera with and a dual LED flash and a 10.1-inch display that matches that of the Motorola Xoom and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.
And the new HTC tablet will run the first version of its HTC Sense skin for Google’s Android Honeycomb, which is pretty nice on phones and tablets running Gingerbread. We’ll have to wait and see what it looks like on Honeycomb.
A dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor is packed inside. So far, aside from HTC Sense, everything else makes up similar features and specs found on other tablets.
AT&T and HTC have not said what the resolution of the screen will be, but AT&T did say the Jetstream would offer 1080p video playback, which would be a step up from many other tablets on the market.
It also will work with the HTC Scribe stylus that HTC has offered with its other tablets but this isn’t something Motorola, Samsung, Apple, LG or others such as Sony have offered so far. Normally the Scribe is sold separately, but AT&T said it will give the scribe away to early Jetstream adopters until October 15.
Are the differentiators of 1080p-playback, HTC Sense and a Scribe stylus enough to justify the $700 price tag, which by the way requires a two-year data plan from AT&T? We’ll have to reserve judgment on this until we can get our hands on the device and test it out.
The one detail however, that might really justify the higher price, would be how much storage the Jetstream will offer. But AT&T and HTC didn’t reveal that in announcing the device on Wednesday. One could expect a lot of storage memory at that price though. For example, a Wi-Fi only Apple iPad 2 (the bestselling tablet on the market and a tablet the Jetstream would hope to compete with) sells for $699.99 with 64-gigabytes of memory. A 3G capable iPad 2 with 32-gigabytes of storage sells for $729.99.
So maybe we’ll see 32-gigabytes of storage? For now this is unclear, but as soon as we find out, we’ll let you know.
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-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles