Dell Streak hybrid - Android tablet meets smartphone

The Dell Streak is somewhere between a smartphone and tablet while being billed as a hybrid device. The device runs Google’s Android OS with a 5 inch touch screen. The Dell Android tablet -- or the Dell Android phone -- is the latest product from a company that aims to make less expensive imitations of popular products.

Resource for this article: Dell Streak hybrid - Android tablet meets smartphone

Streak-AT and T, Dell, and Android

The Dell Streak was announced and shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. The device is a blend of Dell, Android and AT and T technology. PC World reports that Dell, AT and T, and Android had hoped to get U.S. consumers to get out their credit cards for a crossover device with a screen bigger than most smartphones but smaller than a netbook -- way smaller. The Dell Android smartphone -- or Dell Android tablet -- has two cameras: a webcam in the front that could potentially be used for videoconferencing and a 5-megapixel camera on the back. It also has a 16GB of built-in memory (expandable to 48GB via MicroSD, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, and a customized user interface. The Dell Android phone/tablet will be able to operate on Wi-Fi and cellular networks. Dell has partnered with mobile operator Telephonica O2 to help launch the Dell Streak in Europe next month and in the U.S. later in the summer with AT and T.

Dell Streak not new

The Dell Streak was first called the Mini-5. Techblog engadget.com previewed the Mini-5, and after checking out Dell's smartphone/tablet, it had nothing new to report, except that reviewers managed to get the browser to consistently crash on the Dell Streak the same way it does on the Mini-5. A Dell press release said the 5-inch screen is large enough to present Web pages in their natural form and is "ideal" for thousands of Android widgets, games and applications.

Details involved in the Dell Streak

Even though the Streak is labeled as a tablet, Dell says the Streak hits the “sweet spot” between smartphones and tablets. In both areas, the Dell Android phone/tablet is a device with mediocre performance. In an in-depth look at the device on its official blog, Dell admits that the "5-inch diagonal display may seem only slightly larger than many of the smartphones " and then says that the Dell Streak is "just a bit heavier than other smartphones." It defends the Streak by arguing that the extra inch and "higher pixel density" of the screen is the difference-maker, concluding with "it feels solid and balance, -which makes using it pretty natural across a number of activities."

Dell is also reportedly working on larger, 7- and 10-inch versions of the Streak. Dell created the Dell Streak in an effort to diversify it into non-PC devices. PC World noted that Dell has also announced an Aero Android smartphone that will be available on AT and T's 3G network.

Find more information on this topic

PC World reports

http://www.pcworld.com/article/196277/dell_streak_coming_to_europe_next_...

engadget.com previewed

http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/25/dell-streak-official-exclusive-to-o2-...

official blog

http://en.community.dell.com/dell-blogs/b/direct2dell/archive/2010/05/25...