Hasta La Gadget!

Streak. It needs no introduction, as this slate’s been gaining a lot of attention amongst gadget lovers around the world. Thanks to the UK launch last Friday, we were one of the first on this planet to procure Dell’s finalized Android 1.6 phone from O2. Yep, you heard right — Engadget’s now in possession of two Streaks, with the older one still in its original and somewhat unstable prototype state. Our new toy sports a matte “carbon” finish instead of chrome (no word on future availability; the red version’s coming in two weeks’ time), and now 399MB of RAM instead of 405MB (according to Android System Info app; yet it’s advertised as 512MB). Anyhow, now that we have the real deal, there’s plenty to go through, so join us after the break to see if the Streak’s really going to start a new trend.

Continue reading Dell Streak review

Dell Streak review originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Jun 2010 18:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Another small mystery, solved. We caught a glimpse of Huawei’s relatively undercover S7 tablet back in March, but little was known about what would actually power the device and what operating system would be pre-installed. Here at Computex, we learned the facts on both of those points. Sitting pretty at Qualcomm’s booth, the S7 was shown boasting a 1GHz MSM8250 Snapdragon processor, and our hunting around in the settings confirmed that Android 2.1 was loaded onboard. The Qualcomm reps didn’t have any other hard specifications available on the 7-incher (beyond those that we already knew), but we were able to spot a volume rocker, internal speaker, 3.5mm headphone jack, microSD card slot, USB connector and a fancy kickstand around back for sitting a spell and watching multimedia. During our time with the device, we instantly fell in love with the depressible side buttons, and the capacitive resistive touchscreen was as responsive as they come. The whole thing felt speedy and light enough for our liking, and frankly, it was easily one of our favorite tablets at the entire show. We’re still no closer to nailing down a price or release date, but at least you now know it’s worth your while to keep an eye out for both. Vid’s after the break.

Continue reading Huawei S7 runs 1GHz Snapdragon and Android 2.1 like a champ (video)

Huawei S7 runs 1GHz Snapdragon and Android 2.1 like a champ (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Jun 2010 22:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pick any of the smartphones launched this year and chances are it has a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor in it. The Snapdragon chips, which can run at up to 1 GHz, have been at the core of devices such as Google’s Nexus One, HTC’s Incredible and the HTC Evo 4G.

Now Qualcomm is getting ready to introduce dual-CPU chipsets that boost the speed to 1.2 GHz and 1.5 GHz. The chipsets, called MSM826, MSM8660 and QSD8672, are likely to show up in stores by the end of the year. Handset manufacturers are currently designing products based on the processors, says Qualcomm.

The dual cores and higher processing speeds will allow for better multimedia performance. The chipsets also include a graphics processing unit with 3-D and 2-D acceleration engines for better rendering, 1080p video encoding and decoding capabilities, and integrated low-power GPS. They can support 24-bit 1280 x 800 resolution displays, says Qualcomm.

As smartphones get more ambitious in their desire to offer a video and web experience similar to that of PCs, there’s greater need for increased processing power. Last month, Adobe showed an early version of the Flash Player 10.1 for the Android operating system. Flash Player 10.1 on Nexus One can display video and animation unmatched by most other smartphones. But the technology also requires more processing power than current devices can offer. In Wired.com’s tests, the Nexus One’s 1 GHz Snapdragon processor seemed sluggish and struggled to render Flash sites quickly using Flash Player 10.1. Adobe has said it is hoping a newer generation of smartphones will change that experience.

Qualcomm is certainly trying to encourage it. At the Computex trade show in Taipei, Taiwan, Qualcomm is showing a range of new Snapdragon-powered devices — not all of them phones. Among them are Acer’s newly launched Liquid and neoTouch smartphones, Dell’s Streak 5-inch Android tablet, Huawei’s S7 tablet and Lenovo’s LePhone smartphone.

See Also:

• Intel Introduces Ultra-Low-Power Processor for Smartphones
• Netbooks Set to Get More Video and Audio Oomph
• Review: HTC Droid Incredible Smartphone

Photo: Qualcomm Snapdragon (doctorserone/Flickr)

What if I told you there was an ultralight device that put all the functionality of a powerful tablet into the thinnest, lightest laptop you ever saw? It exists. It could be great. And it’s dying before its time. More »

Let’s all feign surprise now, as Dell has just gone official with its worst kept, though perhaps sexiest, secret ever. The former Mini 5 has been christened the Streak and is launching at the beginning of next month. The UK will be getting the first bite at this cherry, with the rest of Europe following soon thereafter and the US a disappointingly distant third with a launch “later this summer.” If you’ve been living under a (Round) Rock, this is Dell’s big foray into the smartphone market: a 5-inch supersized Android handset, housing a 1GHz Snapdragon, a 5 megapixel cam, 16GB of built-in memory (expandable to 48GB via MicroSD) and a customized UI. Curiously, Dell’s opting to market the Streak as “the ultimate portable tablet pc” and would prefer that this device, albeit fully equipped to carry out cellular calls like a phone, not be called a smartphone.

We got a chance to play with it during a briefing in London recently, and frankly, aside from the snazzier paintjob, there’s nothing new to report. Just like the prototype unit we’ve previewed to exhaustion, the device on hand was running Android 1.6 and Dell’s skinning team hadn’t yet laid on the goodies that we’ve been promised. The battery is the same 1,530mAh cell as before, and we even managed to get the browser to crash in the exact same fashion that our own Streak exhibits on occasion. Now that’s consistency. We’re not being told the specific Android version that the Streak will ship with, but a couple of flavors are being mulled over right now. Till we get more info, we suggest sitting back, relaxing, and perusing the gallery below for the roaring red number that’s currently on show. It won’t be available at launch — you can have any color so long as it’s black — but “a range of colors and designs” will swiftly follow to sate any aesthetic concerns. Video and full press release after the break.

Update: The Carphone Warehouse listing for the Streak shows Android 1.6 as the OS with an “OTA upgrade available soon.” Pair that with word direct from Dell that Android 2.2 and Flash 10.1 are coming “later this year,” and you can connect your own dots [Thanks, Azza].

Update 2: O2’s website now has a precise date for us: June 4.

Continue reading Dell Streak official: exclusive to O2 UK in early June

Dell Streak official: exclusive to O2 UK in early June originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 May 2010 05:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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