After prolonged coaxing, we finally got to lay our hands on the Dell Streak for a review and to our delight it was loaded with Android 2.2 Froyo. Surely sounds tempting! To know if it’s just another wanna-be attempt or a truly enticing gadget to own, peep into this review that has unwrapped several aspects of knowing the Dell Streak. The tech sphere is abuzz with new and advanced gadgets day after day, owing to manufacturers taking the plunge into ‘unexplored’ territories. By unexplored we mean the new developing categories in markets such as the region marked somewhere between smartphone and tablet. It’s a device with smartphone capabilities but in a larger tablet-like form alongside further enhanced capabilities. This description takes us straight to the device in our hands.
The Dell Streak came enclosed in a sophisticated box which was multiple times its size. The all black box had Dell scribble some information about the device along with a huge picture of the product on the top cover. On unboxing it, the inner view was demonish black with the product tucked into a protective case. The accompaniments of the device include charging/USB cable, earphones and information and warranty booklets.
As we pulled the Streak out of the casing, it looked like a sleek slab inclined on the upper and lower edges while the corners exhibited a curvy look. The front surface is smooth with no extruding buttons. A large 5-inch TFT LCD capacitive touchscreen looks straight into your eyes as you clearly see your face on its mirror-like surface. Touch shortcuts to Home, Menu and Back have been affixed below the screen while the camera and speaker take the position above it. The front side gives a simple and organized look. All in all, it looked like a large smartphone with the portrait orientation. The left edge is embedded with a port to connect the device to the PC while the right edge shows off volume controls, main power button and dedicated camera button.
On turning over the device, the back portion shows off the 5 megapixel camera with autofocus. The backflap has been cut out of the all-metallic back portion which is the only hardware part we aren’t happy about. The backflap with an etched silver logo slides out with some considerable amount of effort. On sliding it, the lower portion of the backflap covers the loudspeakers which are again visible once the backflap takes its closed position. It locks up a compartment for housing the battery, SIM card slot and microSD card slot. Astonishingly, one will not have to pull out the battery for inserting/placing the microSD card but would have to do so for the SIM card.
As aforesaid, in vertical position, the device poses its high-end smartphone attire, of course it does come with voice functionality. Taking calls did seem slightly weird at the beginning as smartphones are getting smaller and sleeker so this new category altogether didn’t stump us off our feet while a huge slab stuck to our ears for long. However, during a small trip out of station we did realize the importance of carrying a tablet with a huge screen that kept us entertained all along the journey with videos, music, web browsing, games and so on without the need to carry an additional phone for making calls.
As we switched on the device, the shortcut buttons below the screen illuminated to mark their importance. To see our unit updated with Android 2.2 was a sigh of relief as it helped us explore several aspects which would not be possible with earlier versions of the operating system. The Staged UI was one such welcomed change. The well organized look distributes its capabilities to up to seven home pages with huge widgets, revealing Contacts, Email, Gallery, Home, Music, Social and Web. The homescreen tucked most used applications and local weather, Email came with Exchange support while Social roped in Twitter and FaceBook feed. Transition between these pages was again a smooth affair.
The phone shows three basic touch buttons on the screen – Phone, Menu and Web. Simply tap below these touch buttons, and a launcher appears that lets one move across the seven pages just by sliding your finger across them. Froyo brings in Flash support, USB tethering, Wi-Fi hotspot ability, Google backup, 720p recording, Live wallpaper, and so on. Nevertheless, some of these functions also come along with the Android 2.1. The device shows off several apps like the Amazon Kindle, Evernote, Zinio Reader and more. Besides, you can also lay your hands on additional apps and games through the Android Market.
Those who were too critical over the iPad not carrying a camera would be glad to see the Streak come with a 5 megapixel sensor with auto focus and dual flash. The dedicated shortcut to camera also serves as a shutter button to take snapshots while an onscreen touch button also does the needful. The images turned out to be pretty good in bright light but the night mode could be disappointing. For a tablet, this camera is an added functionality. However, considering it as a smartphone we have come across better camera quality. The device lets one fidget with several settings options alongside geotagging, digital zoom levels and so on. It could also record some decent videos with the latest fad of HD quality. Moreover, a host of sharing options further adds to the convenience.
Now, as this device decides to erase the line between a tablet and smartphone, it has successfully roped in the voice functionality. Huge touch buttons enable simpler control on calls made. The call quality is good but we weren’t happy with the reception. The inclusion of Swype text input seemed a great addition. The 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, 512MB RAM and 2GB internal storage combined with the software abilities resulted into a fairly solid device. The microSD card slot can also be used to further extend the memory capacity to 16GB. Moving to web browsing, it delivers a great experience. We could effectively run through several blogs. The large screen makes it even more rejuvenating while the pinch and zoom function adds to the reading experience. We could instantly connect to Wi-Fi as well.
We are sure music certainly is an aspect which many prefer even while jostling with other online tasks. However, the Dell Streak may not satiate your thirst to a great extend. The Music interface looks good but the device lacks to show the same crispness with the audio quality. Moreover, placing the device on the back may simply cut out on sound due to the location of speakers. The included earphones look stylish but here again they do not prove to marvel the listening experience. The navigation app seems to have hit the right chord especially with the large, bright screen. Although it comes with varying battery saving options, we did expect some more from the battery life.
Overall, we feel this new category should be welcomed with open arms. Dell has come up with a rejuvenating and innovative device while the Froyo 2.2 helps elevate its capabilities. However, we wish the company could have lowered the amount printed on its price tag as Rs. 34,990 seems a hefty sum. The Dell Streak has gladly grabbed a rating of 9 out of 10 from us.
