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Hands-On With Dell's Streak Android Device
adeelarshad82 writes "Dell Streak, the Android-based 5-inch tablet (which has also been called out as a smartphone) is set to ship starting in July, both from a US carrier and direct on Dell.com for $500. Even though Dell has not disclosed the name of the carrier, some experts believe that it will be AT&T because the Streak is a 3G GSM 850/1900 device and AT&T is the only major US carrier that supports those frequency bands. According to a hands-on, Streak is a sharp-looking device with a black front and candy-apple red back that unfortunately shows fingerprints easily. On the upside, Streak's curved body is comfortable to hold. Streak runs a customized version of Android 1.6, but Android aficionados will have to get used to the unusual button layout. Its 800x480-pixel screen makes images look tight, and web pages will benefit from the horizontal resolution. The 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, the same as in the HTC Incredible and Sprint EVO 4G, functions snappily. There's a 5-megapixel camera on the back, a VGA camera for video calling on the front, and a MicroSD memory card slot under the back cover."
Can someone please quantify "sharp" for me?
On the Oregon Cost born and raised, On the beach is where I spent most of my days
Come on - how can anyone sell an Android 1.6 device with a straight face in this day and age?
No wonder it's going to AT&T. AT&T hates Android and so far has only carried the worst and most crippled Android devices on the market.
... while this "expert" have even seen a SIM card with AT&T logo on one of the photos in slideshow! :)
Paul B.
The picture in that article makes me think this is the exact wrong size for every use it's designed for, especially as a phone.
A phone with a pathetic screen resolution on a pathetic carrier with a dog-old version of Android.
I mean, I want an Android tablet, but I'm simply not settling for this.
What are the earmarks of a true tablet? Is it size? I think a 5-inch screen is too small to be called a tablet. It's large enough to watch movies and fill the Android interface with app icons, but you still have to type with your thumbs. In my opinion, tablets are supposed to fill in for laptops when you don't want the bulk of a screen and physical keyboard. The iPad fits that model.
I look at it another way: The iPad is so big that it doesn't fit in my pocket, so I need to carry it in a case, so I may as well carry a laptop and get a proper keyboard and the myriad of missing iPad features that we've all been over. And I still have to carry a phone, too.
I don't know about the Streak yet, but it does seem to me that it would still be pocket-sized and would give me a larger screen than my phone. For someone who needs a phone, but uses it more for texting and surfing, it could be very suitable.
a free Xbox 1 controller?
If there is a difference, people will have to buy both.
The iPad is so big that it doesn't fit in my pocket, so I need to carry it in a case, so I may as well carry a laptop
That's where you lost me.
Because a laptop doesn't need a case. It needs a bags, with accessories and so on.
The iPad has long enough battery life you don't need to pack power cords "just in case", and really have nothing else to bring with it. It's still much more portable than a laptop and easier to drag around an office or into meetings.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Just got the EVO today, and while it isn't as large as the Dell Streak, it is significantly larger than most smartphones in its class. One of the things I noticed was that although it's a joy to type on, it isn't so nice holding it up to your ear. It feels bulky holding it up against your head - however I can still use a headset and keep the device in my pocket. The significantly larger size of Dell means that a.) I wont be able to keep it up to my head without it feeling awkward, and b.) I wont be able to keep it in my pocket and use a headset. I can't see a reason to want a device of this size. It's at the perfectly wrong size, in fact.
I've seen a few devices of this size (the Archos 7 comes to mind; and I've seen them on the internet, not in person, mind you) and I think it's interesting to watch the industry try to figure out the correct form factor for this new niche that is emerging. Obviously it is going to be something larger than a cellphone and smaller than a laptop -- but what, exactly?
This Dell Streak, I think, is the exact wrong size. It's quite a bit larger than a phone, and it doesn't look like something that you want to carry around all day in your pant pocket. One of the reason cellphones have become so popular is because they are so small (and light-weight). Remember that for several years, the major thing about cellphones is that they were getting smaller and smaller? Compare a phone from, say, 2000, with a phone from today. Why would anyone want to reverse direction on that? It's too large for a phone.
On the opposite end, it looks too small to do any actual work. A netbook-sized screen is good for emails and browsing, but it's not very useful for doing serious business. And this thing is much smaller than a netbook. I don't think that's the aim, of course -- I think it's more aimed to the niche that the iPod targets; gaming, "always-on" style internet access, etc.. But I have to wonder if the device is too small for these things, as well. I think it might very well be.
But the overwhelming thing we seem to be seeing is that there are plethora of devices being released, each being in some significant way different from the next; companies are trying to find out what consumers want in a device like this. Maybe Apple has proven it with the iPad, given its popularity; they did that with the iPod, and now the market is full of MP3 players which are essentially iPod clones. But remember when MP3 players were first coming to market, there were many different form factors, many different storage devices (Sony had that thing with the mini CDs, for example), until it became clear what consumers want. The same thing should/will happen here; and I believe it's quite possible it's already happened with the iPad, and anyone making anything substantially different will wind up falling behind.
Nemilar http://www.techthrob.com - Visit Me!
Can I sync it with my Dell DJ?
An N900 running Maemo is way more fun.. and MeeGo will be more fun in the future.
In fact, I see tremendous value in pushing the screen real-estate for phones, sure some people won't buy the bigger phone, but you might hit that optimal size for many people.
That said, you'll never break into a larger screen size using only a virtual keyboard. Anyone who'll buy the oversized phone will require the real keyboard for more computer like functionality, like writing emails.
The Christian religion has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world. -- Bertrand Russell
Looks ugly.
Old customized version of Android. (have to wait for Dell to update it)
Too big to comfortably fit in your pocket.
Too small to use for an extended period of time.
And people wonder why Apple is doing well.
If you want a device that size, chances are you'll also what the physical keyboard, well otherwise your probably writing kanji.
I'm also curious why people are attracted to Android. I've found that my N900 definitely has limitations, especially no printing. Yeah, I could always install cups and ghostscript just like Linux, but I'd need to micromanage the ghostscript driver installation, well plus the apps don't offer print buttons. How does printing work on Android?
I'm also not terribly happy with x11vnc on the N900. It'd rock if my phone's screen would just pop up on my desktop, but x11vnc is unbearably slow over wifi, making only usb networking pleasent for sharing screens. I'm obviously very happy the N900 has pdflatex svn, git, and rsync, but I've only actually used rsync. Android must have an rsync implementation, but what about svn and git?
Afaik, the N900's email program also lacks gpg integration. :(
The Christian religion has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world. -- Bertrand Russell
Hate to do this, but:
1. Too big to be a good phone, too small and slow to be anything else.
2. Resolution is no good for a "tablet."
3. AT&T blows.
4. Many people still hate touch-screen keyboards.
5. Android 1.6. Are you serious? No, really. You are serious? Oh. Wow. And it's a non-standard version. M'kay.
Haven't seen one yet, don't need to. The Streak will be another big brown streak for AT&T and Dell. FAIL
This is a hacked account, for which the owner can not be held responsible.
"Too large for a phone" is a matter of opinion. This is exactly the size of phone I've been waiting for. I want as large a screen as possible, without making it impossible to hold it to my ear for my (very occasional) voice calls, or conveniently carry it in a holster or (less often) a pocket.
For me, a phone being tiny is of little value. Give me vast amounts of screen space, a large physical keyboard with hard keys with spacing and some travel distance, and a huge battery that won't run out even if I spend all day using it heavily in areas with poor signal. The Dell Streak isn't what I want, having only the screen space but not the physical keyboard and an unknown battery (and an obsolete OS), but the size? Perfect.
"Not useful for serious business"? Depends on your business. Much of my business is coordinating employees via email and text message, keeping records in spreadsheets and simple text documents, and occasionally consulting and searching through previous emails and web-based resources. A smartphone with a 5" screen, a reasonable array of apps, and a keyboard that lets me do 50wpm, is just fine for this.
Even my T-Mobile Sidekick was adequate for most of my business needs, despite the dubious browser and poor screen, thanks to the ultra-quick app switching and utterly fabulous hard keyboard unmatched by any other device. If Microsoft hadn't bought the platform, stripped it of development resources, and left it to die, I might still be using it.
Sure, this large a phone isn't for everyone. But that's one of the lovely things about an open OS - you have choices in hardware. I'd rather use iPhone OS, it's a far smoother user experience, but where am I going to find an iPhone with a 4-5" screen? or a physical keyboard? or running on a carrier other than AT&T?
Streak is a sharp-looking device with a black front and candy-apple red back that unfortunately shows fingerprints easily.
Man, you can't have a single article about a mobile device on Slashdot without Apple being mentioned these days.