Hasta La Gadget!

Dell always told us the Streak was a tablet and not a phone, so it makes perfect sense to see Android’s latest version, the tablet-friendly Honeycomb, ported over to its 5-inch slate. As usual with these builds, we’re still at a very early stage, with the chap responsible for the hack noting that “no way is this close to release,” but it’s still rather exciting to see that brand new interface freshening up familiar pieces of kit. And hey, it’s not like Dell itself is going to be delivering Android 3.0 anytime soon either, right? Click the source link to keep yourself updated on how this community port progresses.

Update: Looks like DJ_Steve got his hands on the build and made a quick video — check it out after the break.

[Thanks, Chris]

Continue reading Dell Streak gets Honeycomb SDK port, starting to look like a real tablet (update: video)

Dell Streak gets Honeycomb SDK port, starting to look like a real tablet (update: video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Feb 2011 15:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember when we all laughed about making calls on the 5-inch Streak? Those were the days. Now it looks as if some clever tweakers have discovered a hidden phone app in Dell’s 7-inch model… but beyond the shell of a presentation, there’s not much to it. According to Streak Smart, rotation is enabled, there’s a dedicated voicemail button, and calls will not seem to connect (which is, in this particular instance, seemingly unrelated to the carrier). See the frustration for yourself in the video after the break; not to worry, fans of holding giant slates up to the ear when talking to loved ones, someone somewhere will assuredly get this working at some point.

Continue reading Dell Streak 7 phone app discovered, so far is much ado about nothing (video)

Dell Streak 7 phone app discovered, so far is much ado about nothing (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Feb 2011 16:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Dell Streak 7 will be available from T-Mobile starting Feb. 2.

For those of you with lengthy tech-toy wish lists and not-so-deep pockets, T-Mobile’s new tablet offering may provide the answer you’ve been waiting for.

Beginning Feb. 2, the Dell Streak 7 tablet will be available for $200, after a $50 mail-in rebate and two-year contract, T-Mobile has announced. Off-contract, the tablet will retail for $450.

The new 7-inch Streak is a bump up in size from Dell’s last 5-inch offering, as well as a dip in price from the $300 charged for the 5-inch AT&T version. But unlike its teensy predecessor, the Streak 7 will be able to connect to T-Mobile’s HSPA+ 4G network — although as we’ve recently noted, the term “4G” seems to be in the eye of the beholder.

We got our hands on the Streak 7 today, and our first impressions are generally positive. (We’ll follow up with a full review later in the week.)

It’s chunkier in shape than the iPad, but with rounder edges than the Galaxy Tab. It rests comfortably in one hand or two, suggesting it will serve just as well for passive reading and video watching as it will for more-active browsing.

The interface will be familiar to anyone who’s used Android, and neither T-Mobile nor Dell have mucked up the basic operating system with too many widgets.

The screen is bright and somewhat responsive, although it’s a little “jumpy.” While the screen moves quickly, it’s not quite as smooth as the iPad at tracking your finger motions when you swipe or pinch the screen. It’s as if the makers decided to compensate for the touchscreen’s lack of sensitivity by making the screen move faster, and the result is that the screen sometimes feels as if it’s jumping ahead of your finger.

Web browsing and video playback were all quite smooth, and stereo speakers built into the case provide decent if somewhat anemic audio.

The Streak will come packing one of Nvidia’s much-hyped dual-core Tegra 2 processors, while touting the suite of recent tablet debut standards — SD card slot, Wi-Fi access, Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity, 5-megapixel back-facing camera for photos and 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera with video-chat capability.

T-Mobile is targeting the lower-priced end of the tablet market with the $200 tag, beating out the Samsung Galaxy Tab, which recently dropped its sticker price to $250, after a $50 mail-in rebate. Though the Streak’s off-contract $450 isn’t exactly a bargain-basement price, its still 50 bucks cheaper than the lowest-priced iPad.

The Streak 7’s debut comes at the forefront of a 2011 tablet-debut onslaught. Rumors of a March release for HP’s new webOS-powered “Topaz” have been circulating recently, with the Android-fueled Motorola Xoom soon to follow. While the Streak may have a leg up on Motorola in terms of pricing — leaked screenshots suggest a hefty $800 price tag for the tablet on debut — it might be at a disadvantage running the antiquated Android version 2.2 (Froyo) against the version 3.0 Honeycomb-powered Xoom.

But despite version-fragmentation issues, a relatively low-cost option like the Streak 7 may be impetus enough for shoppers to jump on one of the first big tablet offerings of the year.

A textured back makes the Dell Streak 7 comfortable to hold.

Photos: Jonathan Snyder/Wired.com

After initiating the first on-contract Galaxy Tab price cascade back in December that quickly led Sprint to respond, T-Mobile may chop subsidy prices again today for the 7-inch tablet to just under $250 (after a pesky $50 mail-in rebate). Together, that’s only $62 more than the bargain bin CherryPad, which should infuriate early adopters who paid double that only a few months ago, not to mention sober up Samsung. However, when you consider that pseudo-4G tablets like the Dell Streak 7 and LG G-Slate will join Magenta’s lineup soon, it is a viable strategy for extending the Tab’s consumer appeal in this viciously competitive Android tablet world we live in. Then again, if the dual-core processors teased for the Tab’s successor actually pan out, we doubt Samsung will need any assistance getting back to its smug position on top of the Android heap. We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled on T-Mobile’s site today and be sure to update should the price change actually materialize.

Update: A recent peek at T-Mobile’s site shows the price drop is now official. If you’re in the UK and prefer buying the Tab unsubsidized, Amazon and Tesco have also chopped their prices to a palatable £341.24 ($542) and £359.20 ($571), respectively. Thanks, Raphael and Rupert!

T-Mobile expected to cut Galaxy Tab pricing to $249.99 (update: drop is official!) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 01:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve never seen an official price for Dell’s Streak 7 tablet, but we can now readily guess what it will be — thanks to T-Mobile’s website, which is now two for two. You see, the wireless carrier typically lets you pay for devices in monthly installments rather than one lump sum, and StreakSmart discovered the former number is already printed below. As we’re sure you’ve already discerned, that means four easy payments of $82.50 will buy you the Tegra 2-toting 4G tablet — assuming the figure is correct — and now that we’ve perfected our QVC salesman voice, we’ll let you decide whether or not that’s a deal.

Future Dell Streak 7 owners do the fine-print math, figure tablet will cost $330 max on contract originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 01:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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