Dell Streak deals & review

In a word or two

The Dell Streak is a smartphone-tablet hybrid with the power of a tablet and the size of a phone.  

The Design

Incredibly thin at only 10mm, the Dell Streak has been called a “mini iPad”. Thinner than the iPhone, the Streak is half-smartphone and half-tablet with a 5 inch capacitive touchscreen.

The size of the screen makes the HTC HD2’s 4.3 inch touchscreen seem little by comparison, and really has the potential to make user experience visually fantastic. The display is high resolution and there is support for multi-touch so you can pinch-and-zoom for instant close-ups. Viewing web pages is enjoyable due to the increased size, so too are looking through photos and watching videos.

Given the size of the screen, it should come as no surprise that the Dell Streak is not the lightest phone on the market. The handset weights 220g – compared to the HTC HD2 at 157g and Nokia N900 at 181g. While this makes the device noticeable in your pocket, it is still small enough to be portable.

Specifications

Run on the Android 1.6 OS, the Dell Streak is due to receive an upgrade to the Android 2.2 platform with support for Adobe Flash 10.1 later in the year. This will certainly enhance the already pretty impressive technical ability of this device. Powered by Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon processor, navigating, using and switching between apps and features is seamless. Whether you are browsing online, chatting on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, or using Google Maps to find your way, the processor will ensure the process is swift and glitch-free.

Although compared to the iPad, the Dell Streak has the added benefit of being a mobile phone too. You can make calls on the device and also take photos. Included is a 5-megapixel camera with dual LED flash, geo-tagging, face and smile detections and video. There is a VGA front camera so making video calls is possible on the Streak.

With full social networking integration, you can effortlessly upload images after taking them, onto sites like YouTube. And of course, with such a high quality screen, streaming videos onto the Streak is enjoyable.

All the activities are complemented by the multiple connectivity options onboard the Dell Streak. There is support for 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth. And for those moments of efficiency, the QuickOffice document viewer lets you open emails, read attachments and reply accordingly.

Considerations

The Dell Streak is smaller than the iPad yet bigger than the HTC HD2. It’s a well designed piece of technology and a great concept but making a call on the Streak is not as easy as on most smartphones given its size.

Verdict

The Dell Streak is a smartphone with the heart of a tablet – or do we mean, tablet with the heart of a smartphone? You can use it as a tablet for accessing all the features on a bigger screen and also as a smartphone for communication.

Portable if not pocketable, the Streak is due for release in June although pricing and O2 plans are to be confirmed.