Jenn of Pocketables.net is obviously working at full-steam now. A long time friend and co-op partner with UMPCPortal and Carrypad, she’s not only got a baby to look after, she’s got two new baby web sites too! Having run a couple of device-specific sites myself, I know how much fun it is. You get a great community, learn a lot about the devices and quickly become a must-visit for anyone wanting learn about the device pre or post-sale.
The latest site, and one I’ll be keeping a close eye on having had one in my hand for a few weeks, is ‘Streak Smart’ all about the Dell Streak.
For Evo fans, you might want to check out Good and Evo too, Jenn’s other new baby.
Thanks to JKKMobile, I’ve had a Dell Streak for a few days and ahead of the live review session tonight, it’s time to give you some first impressions.
I don’t have a full retail version here so it’s only fair to point out that the firmware isn’t final on the device but having said that, it’s close, it’s useable and actually, it’s quite good!
Starting with the look and feel, it’s a great first five minutes. The glass screen blends nicely into the glossy, stylish casing. The shiny metal rear only helps to make you feel you’ve got a quality device in your hands. Compared to the Archos 5, it’s a step ahead. The 5 inch (true 5 inch bigger than the Archos 5) screen looks stunning with blacks and clarity that you’ll never see on a resistive touchscreen device and rarely see on a smartphone. In portrait mode you get get a comfortable one-handed experience that serves very well for reading Tweets, Google Reader, Emails, maps and ebooks. This is a very very nice 30-50cm one-handed experience. Flip the device round into landscape mode and you move into a more productive stance with the on-screen thumboard providing good input capability. The keyboard is offset due to having a numeric pad on the right side but I’m getting used to it and finding the numeric pad to be as good as a 5th row. It’s a shame there’s no stand though. 5 inch is good for seat-back videos.
Sizing is going to be a major issue for most on the Streak. My wife loves it and wants to upgrade to it as her phone straight away but she, like many other women, keeps her phone in her bag. For those that keep their phone in their pocket, you’ll have to think about it carefully because it’s not that comfortable. Holding the device to the ear might be a problem for some too as it’s relatively huge but for me, someone that doesn’t use voice that much and would be proud to show off the device, that’s not an issue.
In terms of specifications, the Streak impresses with a 1Ghz Snapdragon processing platform, 5MP cam with dual-LED flash, 2GB storage, micro-SD slot (no hot-swap), GSM, UMTS, Wifi and BT connectivity, compass, GPS, ambient light sensor, accelerometer and capacative Android buttons on the frame. There isn’t a dedicated search button but you will find a two-stage shutter focus/release button and a volume rocker switch. All seem to be high quality.
As for software and usability, I’m loving it. Browsing is (relative to other smartphones) in the top league and the user interface is fast and fluid. Having the full Google Android experience makes so much difference and it highlights the major issue with what i’m calling ‘unfinished Android products’ like the Archos 5. The included photo and video application is welcome although it lacks codec support. I was impressed that it could play back a 6.5Mbps WMV 720p file that most netbooks would choke on. I was less impressed that it couldn’t handle some H.264 files, Divx and a few other files I have in my test suite. The Archos wins that round!
As for battery life, it’s looking better than expected. Despite the large screen, it runs for about the same amount of time as the Xperia X10 which, in turn is an hour or so behind the HTC Desire. You’ll need to take the (proprietary) USB charging cable though, a back-up battery or a back-up phone!
It isn’t all good though because the Streak highlights the big problem with Android. The browser is not up to scratch. Go to Google Docs to try and do some work and you’re met with a brick wall.
This isn’t the Streak’s fault, it’s just that Android doesn’t offer a full internet experience yet and with the Dell Streak being so big and Internet-centric, you’l hit these brick walls more often than on other devices. It’s not good enough and getting the full browser experience (including Flash) needs to be a top priority.
Other notes:
GPS doesnt appear to have A-GPS support in this firmware but Android uses Google Location to assist applications. Full GPS capabilites take a little longer to sync-up than with other phones i’ve used.
Mono speaker is clear
Screen brightness is very good. You can use this for short-term sessions in the sun.
Camera is typical Android OK in daylight Poor in low-light.
Video, in daylight, is reasonable quality. Here’s a sample although it appears to have lost some quality in conversion to YouTube. The original H.264 file is better.
Overall, the Streak is performing as expected. It’s an interesting take on convergence although one gets the feeling that voice is only there to satisfy Googles applications-suite requirements. If you compare it to Nokia’s take on convergence which centers around a smaller screen, you get the feeling that this form-factor is better. Of course I’d like a slider keyboard on the Streak but I’m prepared to take a hit in this case because I might go and buy a retail version of this to replace my Xperia X10. There’s still room for improvement in the camera department but despite that, I’d still call the Dell Streak the best mobile internet device yet. As for it’s use as a phone, that’s up to you. I’ll just be dropping a data card into this and continuing to carry my N82 for voice, SMS and the Xenon-powered night-time camera.
More information, links (including a few early reviews of full retail versions) available in the information page.
It seems like we’ve been talking about ‘smart’ devices and ‘smart’ books forever but what exactly have we got to choose from now? There’s hardly a single ‘smart’ device in the market apart from the Apple iPad; which is probably the reason for all the delays. I’ve written about this before.
Two delays to report today come from very high profile devices. The first is a delay to the Skylight, the ‘first ARM-based smartbook’ from Lenovo. Announced in Jan and said to be available through AT&T in the U.S. in April it is now delayed until July. To be honest, I don’t think many will be too worried about it. I don’t see anyone putting trust in an unknown OS on a product rumored to cost $500.
The second delay is one I’m more annoyed about because it’s a device I’m looking to buy myself. The Dell Mini 5 will launch between 3 and 6 months from now. That’s ‘launch’ which means it’s not going to be available on all carriers at the same time. I don’t know if I can wait that long although, what’s my option for a 5 inch Google Android-based device?
Meanwhile we’re still to hear about the Mobinnova Beam, the Compaq AirLife 100 and a sack full of devices we saw at CES, CeBIT and MWC. Are they all waiting for carriers to sign before they fire up the production lines?
We’ve just had confirmation that Dell will be presenting the Dell Mini 5 at the Mobile World Congress ‘Pepcom’ event in Barcelona, next Monday.
We’ll be at MWC next week so we’re already registered for this event and will be aiming to get you some pics, video, hands-on thoughts and of course, we’ll be watching out for pricing and availability announcements.
Also related to the Pepcom event we’ve heard that HP will be showing some ‘touch’ and ‘mobile’ devices including a ‘new 3G addition.’ Intel will be showing their range of mobile devices (we expect the Intel-based LG GW990 to be there.) Qualcom will also be showing their Mirasol display technology so it’s going to be a busy evening!
Watch out for posts later on Monday evening and Tuesday morning.
The Archos A5 Android device is a great value mini tablet but what about 3G? Tethering (with certain phones) seems to work well but there’s nothing like built-in 3G and that’s what’s inside the Dell Mini 5 MID that appears to be getting nearer to launch (MWC, Feb perhaps?)
2 MicroSD card slots and a 1530mah (5.6wh) battery sit alongside the 1Ghz Snapdragon platform. Battery life could turn out to be on the low side for heavy users but if the Dell Mini 5 has a true Google Android experience built in along with the camera, a gps, compass and a ‘smart’ price, this could make things tough for Archos, especially as they are looking to release a 4.3″ Android phone.
The 5-inch tablet was shown today at CES 2010 in Dell’s suite at the Palm’s hotel in Las Vegas and given an official name. The Dell Mini 5. It will be part of the Dell Mini line of Netbook offerings included with the Dell Mini 3 and other Mini devices. No launch date was given and very few technical specifications are known at this time, but the device will be available in several colors including Red, Black, and Pink. It will also have a SIM slot for use outside wireless range. According to Pocket-lint, the device was running Android 1.6, but it remains to be seen which version of the popular cell phone OS will be included when the device ships. There are some great pictures over at Pocket-lint of the device at CES 2010, so head on over and check them out.
