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Video review
Dell may be hawking the Android-fuelled Streak as a multimedia tablet but it’s got more in common with its smartphone brethren than the likes of the Apple iPad. For starters, it can make phone calls, while on paper its 5in display isn’t much bigger than smartie giants like the HTC HD2 and Sony Ericsson X10.
But that extra inch of screen real estate makes a big difference. This expertly made 220g solid slab is too kingsize and heavy for even the most XL of pockets. Also putting the slate up to your face to make phone calls feels utterly ridiculous, failing as a candidate for your primary phone.
Screen dream
But it’s hard not to be impressed with the Streak. The 5in capacitive touchscreen is stunning, vivid and ultra-responsive but its size might rule it out for reading books – unlike the iPad. It’s also made from Gorilla Glass – tough and scratch resistant enough to withstand aggressive pen pokes and in-bag scrapes.
Unfortunately, the Android 1.6 OS is old news but a 2.2 Froyo update, complete with support for Flash 10.1, is expected imminently. The user-interface is also a familiar sight with a drop-down main menu window and notification pane – while you can add up to six sliding homescreens for major customisation.
Beyond personalising the screens with the usual shortcuts, apps, weblinks and folders, Dell has created convenient tailor-made Facebook and Twitter widgets, allowing you to flick through recent messages without leaving the main hub, although you will have to hop online to reply.
Multi-touch master
The Streak, with its Chrome-based WebKit browser, is a dream for surfing full-fat web pages, loading super-fast over HSDPA, while its multi-touch pinch-to-zoom action is the equal of Apple’s slate. The smattering of embedded movie trailers also shows the Streak's adept at smooth video playback.
Review continues after the break…
Thanks to the supersonic 1GHz Snapdragon processor, the Streak purrs along and didn’t once falter in our test, even under the demands of multi-tasking and marathon web browsing sessions.
Class camera
The Streak is still the on right side of compact to comfortably use as a camera. A dedicated shutter key fires up the 5MP autofocus snapper and the user interface is intuitively arranged for making quick mode tweaks and accessing previously taken pics.
The lens captures colourful and crisp snaps and although there’s no macro mode, it retains nice detail in close-up shots. For a dual LED flash, illumination is surprisingly weak but posting your snaps online to Facebook and Flickr straight from the camera’s menu system, is a cinch.
The music player lacks any equaliser modes but plug in your own bass-accented earphones via the side integrated 3.5mm headphone jack and the audio gets some flesh on its bones. The Amazon music store is on hand for downloading tunes.
The Dell Streak clearly occupies the space between a smartphone and tablet – a smartlet? – but while it’s more compact and portable than the iPad, it’s still too clunky to make you ditch your phone.
The Streak proved a joy to use and we struggled to find major faults in its overall performance. But its identity crisis may just be its Achilles heel.
Comments
doibi
12 weeks ago
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djburke
36 weeks ago
I have had the Dell streak for a few weeks now and it is a fabulous device. Browsing the web, reading emails and facebook are all a joy. It plays movies, music and has an increasing library of FREE games. the Camera is OK, you can read Ebooks and tinker with the way it works endlessly.
You get used to the size after a while and even taking calls is OK. You can carry ONE device for everything, can't tell you how great that is.
The battery life is rubbish, get the 1800 mah battery and turn off the features you are not using. It then lasts a full day.
Android is still developing, it has no native TODO list or Memo and you have to spend time altering the device to get rid of DELL's junk and install your favourite apps but it is worth it.
There are better phones.
There are better Tablets
There are better GPS units
There are better MP3/Movie players
There are better games machines.
There are better cameras.
I can't find anything better that can do all of them.
8/10
ice makers
1 year ago
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richardjames2010
1 year ago
Okay, so in the space between the smartphone and the netbook the Dell Streak comes in at the end nearest to the smartphone. The Streak performs calls, unlike the iPad, but according to Dell the Streak isn't primarily meant for voice calls and its handset size doesn't mean you can comfortably slip this in your trouser pocket... http://www.simbasics.co.uk/dell-streak-review/11089
Drewesq
1 year ago
I have been using the my Streaky for 2 weeks now and I prefer it to my old iPhone 3g. I was flirting with getting the iPhone 4 but I after using Streaky I don't understand why people would want to shell out 200 notes on top of a 40 quid a month contract? Yeah, this phone's OS isn't Apple sexy, but the screen is amazing and you get used to the size after a while, besides the speaker phone function is good, you get earphones and if, like me, you have a bluetooth car stereo then you won't have to worry about putting it up to your mush! Killer feature has to be the voice controls, they're ggrrreeaaaat!
raulty
1 year ago
DELL HAVE GOT THE STREAK SPOT ON & WITH A BLUETOOTH HEADSET THERE IS NO ISSUE HAVING THIS IN YOUR POCKET. iTS NOT TOO BIG & ONCE IT HAS THE NEW GOOGLE SOFTWARE ,IT WILL BE LEAPS AHEAD THE I-PHONE AS YOU HAVE NO FLASH PLAYER & CAN'T MAKE VIDEO CALLS TO ANY OTHER PHONE EXCEPT I-PHONE WHAT A GREAT IDEA NOT.BE DIFFERENT & GET A STREAK LIKE ITS NAME SUGGESTS ITS STREAKS AHEAD.THE SCREEN & APPS ARE SO RESPONSIVE COMPARED TO I-PHONE APPLE HAVE LOST THE PLOT