Dell Streak - A Tablet Computer And A Mobile Phone Combined

The Dell Streak appears to be some sort of hybrid cross between a tablet computer and a mobile phone, which could make it a jack of all trades; master of none or alternatively, the ultimate in smartphone advancement, but which will it be?

We enjoy the fact that the Dell Streak looks and feels like a mini iPad as opposed to a phone, with it’s beautiful 5 inch screen. Of course the benefits of a screen this side are obvious, as everything looks much better on a screen of this size as opposed to a tiny smartphone screen. Browsing the Web and watching YouTube videos is incredibly enjoyable on a screen like this and when used in landscape format the full width of the page is displayed so blogs and news sites are amazing. Featuring 3G and WiFi ensures that browsing is quick and convenient, however pages load quite quickly on GPRS and EDGE.

The 5 megapixel camera is admirable and provides lovely looking images for display on the Streak itself. With the Android operating system on board the Android Market can be accessed for cool apps and games. We would recommend that anyone with the Streak download a satellite navigation app or use Google maps as it stands in nicely for an in-car sat-nav.

Talking of doubling-up on devices, the Dell Streak is capable of much more than just a phone. As we have already mentioned, it is a great device to use as a browser, a sat nav and a camera, but of course it is also good as an e-book reader, largely due to the crisp 5 inch screen. It is much more portable than a Kindle, although the matt screen of the Kindle may win out when someone considers this as a purchase for that reason alone. The sound quality of the media player is excellent and by transferring media via USB or micro SD card, the Streak is easily converted into an excellent portable media playing device. The 3.5mm headphone jack allows you to use your own preferred headphones, however the ones that come in the box are surprisingly very comfortable and high on sound quality.

There are some things to be wary of before purchasing the Streak, including, of course, the size. Though we love the big screen it does invite some unwanted attention and jibes from people, as it is a bit of a brick in comparison to sleek smartphones on the market today. You can fit the phone into your pocket though and it can be held in one hand, however those with smaller features in this respect will not get the same result.

Correcting typos is a pain without a trackpad and deleting items from the homescreen is more complicated than needs be, so those new to Android will find that Dell haven’t made it easy to navigate properly. If you want to get the best gadget out of your money, try doing a mobile phone comparison to see their advantages and disadvantages.

The homescreen is set as a default to landscape orientation, which is perfect for browsing, watching videos and using apps, but it can be quite annoying for other functions. Having the phone permanently in landscape when on the homescreen is incredibly annoying, largely due to you always needing to hold the phone in two hands.

Our biggest complaint is most likely the fact that the Streak runs Android 1.6 Donut, which is ancient in our opinion. It can be really quite slow scrolling between menus and some aspects are not as slick as we would like them to be. However, this may be amended by Dell in the future.

To conclude we feel that the Dell Streak is a great attempt at a rival smartphone by the computer manufacturer. It is excellent for web browsing, watching videos and reading ebooks, however as a mere phone it may prove to be too cumbersome for most. Additionally, those who love the latest technological releases will sneer at the Donut version of Android and scoff at the landscape fixed homescreens, but those who want a load of great devices rolled into one shouldn’t be too disappointed with the Dell Streak.