eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.
AT&T Dell Streak owners in the United States, take heart: your update to Android 2.2 (Froyo) is “hopefully” arriving in mid-January. For months, users have questioned when the 5-inch tablet PC, released earlier this year running Android 1.6, would receive the operating-system upgrade.
Dell recently sent eWEEK a Streak installed with Android 2.2, albeit without a SIM card. The device’s 5-inch screen and 7.7-ounce form-factor may prove a bit too cumbersome for users in the market for a smartphone, and too small for those looking for a pure tablet PC. Nonetheless, Android 2.2 runs on the device with similar smoothness to rival devices, and those who want a smaller tablet-with the ability to place the occasional phone call-could very well find the Streak suits their needs. Dell offers the Streak for $550 unlocked.
In a September presentation at Oracle OpenWorld, CEO Michael Dell offered a sneak peek at a 7-inch tablet PC. That device could appear on store shelves in 2011, although the Dell remains tight-lipped about exact release dates and prices. In addition to the tablets themselves, Dell has suggested his company could also profit from the new market segment’s increased need for servers and other hardware.
“There has to be servers and storage to support all the data that is being pulled by users, and this is an exciting opportunity for us,” he told an audience during a summer conference for financial analysts.