Desktops and Notebooks: Dell Streak 7 Offers Solid Tablet Experience, with Android 2.2 Quirks
Dell Streak 7 Offers Solid Tablet Experience, with Android 2.2 Quirks
by Nicholas Kolakowski
Tablet Competitor
Dell hopes the Streak 7 tablet will prove a viable competitor in the increasingly crowded 7-inch tablet category, which includes the Samsung Galaxy Tab and RIM's upcoming PlayBook.??Ã??Ã??Ã
Buttons
Like the original Streak, the Streak 7 includes three capacitive buttons on the front: Home, Back and Menu.??Ã
Android 2.2
The Streak 7 tablet runs Android 2.2. Dell claims that future updates will be delivered over the air. T-Mobile offers 4G service along with the Streak (making it, the carrier claims, "America's first 4G tablet"), which means faster download times for certain markets.
Kindle
Kindle and other e-reader applications turn the Dell Streak 7 into a portable library.
Handheld
The Dell Streak 7's size and weight (just under one pound) allows it to be comfortably held in one hand. But typing on the virtual keyboard, particularly in landscape mode, could require longer fingers.??Ã
Tray
Dell has skinned the Dell Streak 7 with its "Stage" user interface, which provides easy access to applications and features in a variety of categories: "Home," "Social," "Music," "Web" and "E-mail."??Ã??Ã
Google Maps
The Dell Streak 7's GPS adds another layer of functionality to Google Maps and (presumably) third-party applications.
Cameras
The Dell Streak 7 offers a 1.3-megapixel camera in front, and a 5-megapixel lens (with flash) in back.
Slip and Slide
In theory, the Dell Streak 7's slightly textured surface prevents the tablet from sliding around.??Ã
Rear Camera
Note the camera aperture in the upper-left corner.
Gaming
The Dell Streak 7's 16GB of internal storage (and support for 32GB additional storage) allows the user to download a wide variety of games, applications and multimedia content.??Ã??Ã
Android Marketplace
With hundreds of thousands of applications, Google (and its manufacturing partners) hope the Android Marketplace will prove a strong attractor to users looking for games and productivity programs.
Multimedia
Dell is positioning the Streak 7 as a multimedia-centric device, particularly for music and video.
Flash Support
As with other Android-based tablets, the Dell Streak 7 also supports Adobe Flash 10.1. Android tablet manufacturers hope that fact will prove a competitive differentiator between their products and the Apple iPad, which does not support Flash.
YouTube
Video-wise, the Dell Streak 7 offers Android's pre-installed YouTube application, a "T-Mobile TV" application and a Blockbuster application.
Streak vs. Streak
Size-wise, the Dell Streak 7 feels far larger than the original 5-inch Streak.
Streak vs. Streak vs. iPod Touch
With regard to screen size alone, your options for portable multimedia seem more diverse than ever.
Dell Streak 7 Offers Solid Tablet Experience, with Android 2.2 Quirks
by Nicholas Kolakowski
Tablet Competitor
Dell hopes the Streak 7 tablet will prove a viable competitor in the increasingly crowded 7-inch tablet category, which includes the Samsung Galaxy Tab and RIM's upcoming PlayBook.??Ã??Ã??Ã
Buttons
Like the original Streak, the Streak 7 includes three capacitive buttons on the front: Home, Back and Menu.??Ã
Android 2.2
The Streak 7 tablet runs Android 2.2. Dell claims that future updates will be delivered over the air. T-Mobile offers 4G service along with the Streak (making it, the carrier claims, "America's first 4G tablet"), which means faster download times for certain markets.
Kindle
Kindle and other e-reader applications turn the Dell Streak 7 into a portable library.
Handheld
The Dell Streak 7's size and weight (just under one pound) allows it to be comfortably held in one hand. But typing on the virtual keyboard, particularly in landscape mode, could require longer fingers.??Ã
Tray
Dell has skinned the Dell Streak 7 with its "Stage" user interface, which provides easy access to applications and features in a variety of categories: "Home," "Social," "Music," "Web" and "E-mail."??Ã??Ã
Google Maps
The Dell Streak 7's GPS adds another layer of functionality to Google Maps and (presumably) third-party applications.
Cameras
The Dell Streak 7 offers a 1.3-megapixel camera in front, and a 5-megapixel lens (with flash) in back.
Slip and Slide
In theory, the Dell Streak 7's slightly textured surface prevents the tablet from sliding around.??Ã
Rear Camera
Note the camera aperture in the upper-left corner.
Gaming
The Dell Streak 7's 16GB of internal storage (and support for 32GB additional storage) allows the user to download a wide variety of games, applications and multimedia content.??Ã??Ã
Android Marketplace
With hundreds of thousands of applications, Google (and its manufacturing partners) hope the Android Marketplace will prove a strong attractor to users looking for games and productivity programs.
Multimedia
Dell is positioning the Streak 7 as a multimedia-centric device, particularly for music and video.
Flash Support
As with other Android-based tablets, the Dell Streak 7 also supports Adobe Flash 10.1. Android tablet manufacturers hope that fact will prove a competitive differentiator between their products and the Apple iPad, which does not support Flash.
YouTube
Video-wise, the Dell Streak 7 offers Android's pre-installed YouTube application, a "T-Mobile TV" application and a Blockbuster application.
Streak vs. Streak
Size-wise, the Dell Streak 7 feels far larger than the original 5-inch Streak.
Streak vs. Streak vs. iPod Touch
With regard to screen size alone, your options for portable multimedia seem more diverse than ever.
