Way back in February at MWC Chippy spoke with a Dell representative who confirmed that the Dell Streak (aka Mini 5) was one of a family of upcoming devices. Since then we saw leaked renders in April of a 7 inch and 10 inch Streak device courtesy of Engadget.

Jump to almost 9 months later and we find a Streak device passing through WiFi certification (this actually happened back in November, but didn’t get uncovered until recently.) The device could be one of several different sizes of Streak devices, but a commercial concept leak from Engadget lets us assume that the device is in fact the forthcoming Dell Streak 7. Let’s also not overlook the fact that Streak Smart called out case designer, Vaja, for listing a 7 inch Streak on their website.

From the Engadget leak and the WiFi certification, we know that the Dell Streak 7 will be a 7 inch Android device that functions as a phone as well. It’ll also have WiFi b/g/n and a Gorilla Glass screen. The commercial concept also mentions a “blazing graphics card for on the go gaming inch which could indicate some Nvidia Tegra integration, but could also just be marketing speak for “Look, it plays games! inch.

the original 5 inch Streak was already considered huge for a phone (and hasn’t quite taken off)… We’ll have to wait and see how people react to Dell expecting them to use a 7 inch device as a phone. Chances are, we’ll get a look at this device at CES 2011.

A little more Streak [Portal page] news out of the D: All Things Digital conference. Cnet has a video of Ron Garriques giving a brief demo of the Dell Streak in which Garriques says that Dell is working on a version of the Streak for the Asian market. Additionally, he says that Flash will be coming to the device in Q4 which means that it’ll be that long until owners see Android 2.2 on the device.

Though Dell doesn’t seem to have yet found a US carrier to launch with, it looks like they’ll be selling the Dell Streak [Portal page] toward the end of June for $500, unlocked, from Dell.com. $500 is reasonable for an unsubsidized device of this caliber.

Jkk has already had some extensive hands-on time with the device.

Ronald G. Garriques was on hand to demonstrate the Streak at the Wall Street Journal’s D: All Things Digital conference where he stated the price and availability of the unlocked Streak.

The Dell Streak is also launching this month in Europe on the carrier O2.

Jkk seems to have gotten his hands on the official European version of the Dell Streak [Portal page] (aka the Dell Mini 5) which launches soon in Europe. He has a thorough 24 minute video walkthrough with the device which you can find over at his site.

A few notes about the device from Jkk:

– I would like it to have a kick stand on it

– Dell UI is ok but I think I still would go with standard Android

– It should have a micro usb port for charging.. I hate carrying custom cables

– Waiting for Android 2.2 will feel looooong.

– Battery life seems better than I thought.. more testing needed..

And a few thoughts of my own after watching his walkthrough:

• Headphone jack position couldn’t be worse. The device is already very big, if people are expected to walk around with the Dell Streak in their pocket, having a headphone jack stick out the side of the device while in the pocket will be very annoying.
• The fact that the Dell Streak is only running Android 1.6 is really disappointing. This is what happens when you take months and months and months to get a product to market. Presumably it’ll get Android 2.2 eventually, but that won’t happen until Dell gets around to integrating their custom Android interface into 2.2, then deploying it to customers. The sad part is that the Dell Streak is as a disadvantage out of the gate, simply because it isn’t running the latest firmware.

Highlighting the care that carriers will have to take over positioning MIDs, tablets, ereaders and other internet-connected devices is the Dell Streak (AKA Dell Mini 5) launch at 02 UK today.

Early this June the Dell Streak will be available across the UK at O2 stores, O2.co.uk, The Carphone Warehouse, and later in the month at Dell.co.uk. Pricing and data plans for the UK will be announced by O2 ahead of availability. Later this summer, Dell plans to make Streak available in the U.S.

Dell have previously said that a Wifi-only version will also be available via their stores.

Carphone Warehouse says: “Dell Streak: our very first tablet” and teases “A brand new range of Tablets is coming soon to The Carphone Warehouse, starting with the brilliant Dell Streak. ”

Dell says: “DELL STREAK TABLET ENTICES PEOPLE TO WATCH, SURF, CONNECT, LISTEN, AND PLAY ON 5″ OF POWER AND PORTABILITY”

A lot of people are questioning the use of Android 1.6 but we have to remember that the Dell Streak project was started over a year ago and that an over-the-air update will be available later in the year. It will include Android 2.2 and Flash 10.1

The big question is, will people buy this as a primary phone? Naturally there will be some that are happy with that and I have to say that given my data-centric usage profile (I use voice capabilities less than once per day) it would probably work for me too but unless the Streak is priced at a bargain-bucket level, which I doubt, it will stay with that niche of primary users and a secondary, iPad-like, community of users that want a casual, secondary internet tablet device.

Personally, I’m loving the look and specifications of the Streak. I’d kill for a Streak Pro with slider keyboard and double battery life (my ideal ‘Carrypad’) but this is about as good as it’s going to get in the ‘one-handed mobile internet device’ category for now. How do you feel about it?

Via Engadget.

Key Features:

• Integrated Google Maps™ with turn-by-turn navigation, street and satellite views. [Note: Don’t expect navigation in the rest of Europe – Chippy]
• A full screen browsing experience with a 5-inch capacitive multi-touch WVGA display
• Easily integrated social media apps: Twitter™, Facebook, YouTube
• High resolution 5 MP camera, VGA front facing camera, removable battery, built-in Wi-Fi, 3G and Bluetooth connectivity options
• 2GB* of internal dedicated storage provides plenty of space to access and download Google Android Market’s many options
• Packaged with cushions made from 100 percent sustainable, compostable bamboo

Specifications:

• Android platform complete with Android Market and Dell user interface enhancements
• ARM-based Processor: Qualcomm’s powerful and efficient Snapdragon chipset and software platform with integrated 1GHz processor
• 3G + WiFi + Bluetooth
• UMTS / GPRS / EDGE class 12 GSM radio with link speeds of up to HSDPA 7.2 Mbps* / HSDPA
• 5 MP autofocus camera with dual LED flash. Easy point, shoot, and uploads to YouTube, Flickr, Facebook and more
• User accessible Micro SD expandable memory available up to 32 GB*. Store up to 42 movies* or 32,000 photos*, or 16,000 songs* with 32GB* Micro SD

More specifications and links to Dell Streak news, reviews here on our Dell Streak tracking page.

Not one, not two and not even three items of internet device news to update you on today. I’ve got no less than five news items here!

Lets start with Dell who’s leader, Mr. Dell, has provided an update on the Mini 5. According to reports, he’s let it be know that the Dell Mini 5 is coming to Telefonica O2 in June and to AT&T in the summer. The source article from EWeek is littered with incorrect information but the important info is that it is very close. Telefonica O2 operate in Spain (where they are launching the Android-powered Compaq Airlife 100 and have a big presence in Germany and UK amongst other countries where they have proven to be quite the progressive carrier in terms of advanced internet devices. Low data prices and multi-SIM options should really help the Dell Mini 5 to get off the ground. I’m expecting a 500 Euro SIM-free price but as yet, we have no real pricing indication.

While the Dell looks to provide the complete Google and voice experience, that’s not the case with the Archos 7 Home Tablet that has just been reviewed by Engadget’s Joanna Stern. At under 200 Euro it’s not quite targeted at the same usage model too. I’m encouraged to hear Joanna talk about a useful form factor but it seems to have been wasted somewhat because there’s no auto, or even manual rotation into portrait mode. Battery life looks good but as we’d expect with an ARM9-powered device, performance is not stunning. Here’s an educated guess you’ll be waiting three times as long for a web page to load compared to the iPad. Casual mobile web browsing, Google Reader and eBooks, video payback, photo viewing, podcast-catching and maybe even a little bit of casual gaming will be possible though and if you can add a portable keyboard, it would make a perfect emergency or travel device. Engadget Review

Lets turn to a device that might be a little more difficult to get hold of now. It’s the very interesting Sharp IS01 clamshell-style, 5 inch Android device. Like the Archos 7 above, it doesn’t have the Google Marketplace so Sharp are trying to seed some applications through their own SDK and a preview version of the device. The final version of the IS01 was due later in the year.

Pocketables have news today that not only is the SDK version ready but the final product will ship much sooner than expected. As soon as next month. While the device is targeted at the Japanese KDDI network, it is possible that some unlocked versions get through as imports and if that happens it will be great to be able to try a high-powered clamshell design using Android.

A device that has completely slipped us by here at Carrypad is something I’m imagining the Archos Gen 8 devices (due summer 2010) will look like. Clearly focused on home media and having a very interesting docking station, 3G and what looks like a capacitive screen, the Huawei Smakit s7 could be competition for the Dell Looking Glass. I’m assuming that Huawei are looking for customers for this though so it’s unlikely that we’ll see it soon but we’ll keep it high on the list as we cruise Computex in June.

BT have announced that they are getting into the home tablet game. The UK-based company broke the news at their strategy day. Apparently the device will be able to take calls, sms’ and will show weather and perform other functions. It will be smaller than the iPad and bigger than an iPhone. To us, it sounds like BT might have lined up to take the Intel Moorestown-powered Open Peek OpenTablet. Watch and wait.

Finally today, I want to highlight that the SmartQ V7, a slightly more powerful version of the Smart Q7 I reviewed,  is about to be launched in Android 2.1 form. Android has been running on the device via firmware updates for a while now but a new Android 2.1 release is due soon. The device, an ARM11-based tablet with a 7 inch resistive touchscreen, should be available in the next few weeks from Eletroworld priced at $230. Expect a similar experience to the Archos 7 Home Tablet although there’s potential for some nice hacks from the busy Smart Q7 community. We should be getting one for review soon after they become available.

That’s it for now. Hope it gives you something to think about at the weekend. Let us know if you have any thoughts on the above.

More mobile internet device news leaking out from Dell today shows new information about the Dell Streak. [Info: Currently #1 on Carrypad.] As we’ve already heard, the launch timescales could be well into the summer but at least there are plans for accessories.

Before we talk about the accessories though, check out the roadmap for the Dell Mini 5 (at Engadget) which shows a Q3 to Q4 launch window. We suspect that it’s a wide window for carrier launches with 3G but the indication is that there will be a WiFi only version which should launch earlier based on the fact that no 3G certification will be needed. Our guess is that you’ll see that in the Dell shop from day one. Also on the roadmap is an indication that the Dell Mini 5 will get an upgrade to Android 2.1

Secondly, there’s a huge range of colors available indicating a young consumer target audience which should also mean aggressive pricing and high sales targets. Archos need to watch their backs carefully here, especially as the accessory kit looks like the box of bits and pieces I’ve got here with my 605 Wifi and Archos 5.

Looking at the accessories I’m quite shocked to see the battery priced at $55. For a 5.5W battery that’s expensive although it does make me wonder if ‘kit’ means ‘extended battery.’ Somehow I’m doubting it.

Moving on we’ve got a set of in-ear plugs, a soft pouch and a few ‘kits’ for the car and the home theatre. This is where Dell steps right on Archos’ turf!

Full specs have been also been confirmed and show support for multiple video and audio codecs and a non user-accessible 2GB storage (user storage appears to be only via Micro SDHC card.)  The rest of the specs are in our database.

I think that about covers it but to be sure, check out all the images at Engadget.

Engadget has apparently received a leaked internal Dell announcement, as well as a few images of more upcoming devices in the Dell ‘Mini’ family. We knew that Dell was planning more devices than just the Dell Mini 5 [product page], and now we’re getting our first look at the rest of the family which includes 7” and 10” slates. I wouldn’t be one bit surprised if these are renders of the same device. We’ll likely see some changes before they make their way to the market. No specs have been shared at this time, but it should be safe to assume that the larger slates will be running Android and using the ARM platform, just as the Mini 5 is.

Engadget is also saying that the Dell Mini 5 (A.K.A. “Streak”) will be released sometime “later this summer”. There has been evidence in the past to suggest that AT&T will be the U.S. carrier for the Dell Mini 5.