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Topic: Tablets

Dell Streak: Will it sell?

Summary: Dell has delivered some key pricing details about its Android-powered Streak device, which appears to be a tweener between a smartphone and a tablet. You buying?

Larry Dignan

By for Between the Lines |

Dell has delivered some key pricing details about its Android-powered Streak device, which appears to be a tweener between a smartphone and a tablet.

According to Dell:

  • The Streak will run you $299.99 with a 2-year AT&T contract and $549.99 without.
  • People that registered for a pre-sale can get the Streak on Thursday.
  • The general public gets the Streak on Friday.
  • The device ships with Android 1.6 and will get an over-the-air upgrade to Android 2.2 later this year.

The big question: You buying?

[poll id="139"]

I have my concerns about a 5-inch tablet. After all, you could get a Droid X with a 4.3-inch screen and the latest Android for $199.99 after rebates on Verizon. If you want a semi-big screen Android device the Droid X could trump the Streak. TechRepublic's Bill Detwiler pegged the problem early on: The Streak is too much like a smartphone and not enough like a tablet. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes adds that the Streak is a device without a defined audience.

The Streak...

the Droid X...

Meanwhile, John Gruber notes that a new iPod touch is on deck. Dell's Streak will compete with the tablet and smartphone categories because of its screen size.

There may be some initial demand for the Streak, but the real tell will be the sales after a few weeks and months. I have a hard time seeing the Streak hold sales momentum.

Related:

Topics: Tablets, Dell, Enterprise Software, Hardware, Laptops, Mobility, Smartphones

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Talkback

59 comments
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  • I think the Streak ...

    ... is an oversized smartphone and an undersized tablet. Besides, it does not pass the 'cool girl giggle test': i.e. would e.g. a college girl and her friends giggle at you, when they see you hold that oversized phone to your head?
    P. Douglas
    Reply Vote

  • I certainly would not buy it... it's an in-betweener

    The EVO and Droid X are already stretching the limit of what's pocketable ... then for more reading convenience we have the iPad. From the iPad I'd rather step up in screen size than down. I don't see much use for an in-betweener.
    http://www.cloudave.com/link/will-the-dell-streak-flop-in-search-of-the-sweet-spot
    Zoli Erdos
    Reply Vote

  • Streak:DOA

    Let's see, 1% to R&D. Worst CEO. Copy apple. Maby all the people who insist Dull is a good machine will buy it? Who really cares on this one? I have wasted a whole 4 minutes of my life typing this....on DULL no more opinions on worthlessness.
    Dr. Figgnuttan
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Dell Streak: Will it sell?

      @Dr. Figgnuttan
      now if they gave it 2.2 and relabeled as AlienWare would you consider it?
      rhonin
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Dell Streak: Will it sell?

      @Dr. Figgnuttan

      "Copy apple"

      You are, of course, joking.
      pub007
      Reply Vote

  • Non starter

    Without Android 2.2 at launch is DOA.

    Android 2.2 blows away 2.1 and 1.6 is forget-about-it!
    wkulecz
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Dell Streak: Will it sell?

      @wkulecz Agree!
      @...
      Reply Vote

  • It first needs to be defined (understood)...

    What is it? Is it a tablet or is it a smart phone? or both? Looks like it's straddling the line of both tablet and phone, which will easily confused consumers (DOA). <br><br>Lets call it like it is: The Dell Streak is a result of Android not quite being fully ready for tablets (maybe 3.0). Google still limits Android Market access to devices that meet certain hardware requirements (mostly Android Phones). So to take advantage of the all important Android Marketplace and compete with the iPad, we have this strange in-between Streak device.
    dave95.
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Dell Streak: Will it sell?

      @dave95. Well let's look a littler closer the Streak is not even 2.X yet. The price is outrageous, this thing will die like the Kin because of the cost and nothing else. I would not pay 300 dollars for this device with 2yr contract even if it were on my favorite carrier.
      mrlinux
      Reply Vote

      • Very true

        @mrlinux <br><br>I was just stating the reason I feel the Streak was born. It's not because Dell researched and found a need for such an in-between device, but they had no choice if they wanted to meet Google's early hw requirements to get official App support. My guess anyway.<br><br>It's priced much higher than other well known Android smart phones. Higher than the iPhone. Who would buy this as their primary phone, with 2 year contract? If you purchase it without a contract, it stilll can't compare to the iPad as a tablet. 1.6 OS. The screen is stuck in landscape mode, while many current Android Apps are portrait. So you will be contantly rotating. It would make for a nice browser but not at $500 +
        dave95.
        Reply Vote

  • Will it sell?

    No.
    davebarnes
    Reply Vote

  • No, it has already been surpased

    Well, as much as I like Dell, I don?t see this going anywhere. Maybe it made sense during the planning stage when the alternative was just the smallish iPhone, but it should have been killed as soon as the 4.3 inch phones showed up. While a different device than the iPad, which I consider a coffee table device, it?s just not big enough to differentiate itself from the bigger phones. It?s also too expensive. $199 WIFI only and I think they would move some units but not at $550. And what?s up with the AT&T deal? That right there is enough to kill anything not coming from Apple
    pmcgrath@...
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Dell Streak: Will it sell?

      @pmcgrath@... I agree about the AT&T issues, but disagree about the difference between either a 4" or 4.3" phone and the 5" Streak. Many, many users who have used both agree that the 5" screen size is the absolute minimum to have a great web browsing experience without having to constantly pinch/zoom. That's huge. They also say it's much easier to do email, better at playing games, and easier to read GPS navigation maps. That 1" or .7" difference is huge, huge, huge!
      mrxxxman
      Reply Vote

  • It won't sell

    It's oversized as a phone, and undersized as a tablet.
    Maybe this won't be true for women with purses, but this will universally be true for men with pants pockets!

    I think anyone handling a Droid X will already say "Wow! this is huge! I'd really have to think about this, that screen is nice, but that really pushes the limit... may be a little too far..."

    And since the Streak is even LARGER... not good for pocketability, in very practical terms.

    Maybe sight-unseen customers won't realize this?
    And since Droid X isn't available on AT&T... AT&T customers may feel locked in?

    IMO, a 4" Streak would be ideal. They've missed the mark in both directions with the 3" and 5" versions being available.
    geolemon
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Dell Streak: Will it sell?

      @geolemon A 4" screen is still not big enough for great web browsing. You still can't read a whole page and therefore have to pinch/zoom. Dell has explained their reasoning for the 5"size. It's based on tons of user experience testing with browsing and such.

      Many people are shocked that you don't have to pinch/zoom on the Streak to view web pages in their entirety. Even Mossberg, the Apple fanboi from the WSJ, was surprised that he could read a full size web page on the Streak without pinch/zooming.
      mrxxxman
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Dell Streak: Will it sell?

    5" phone is great to me, I want a phone/tablet. I don't want to carry both, and you have to angle towards the small end of the tablet range to make it truly portable...what you don't have to do is have android 1.6 and a low rez screen. They just missed the mark on that, but otherwise, it was a great idea.
    rdupuy11
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Dell Streak: Will it sell?

      @rdupuy11 I agree with the software issue, but that can always be upgraded so going forward that's not a problem. You can actually upgrade to 2.1 already.

      I disagree with the screen resolution issue. Why do you consider it low rez? In comparison to what? For it's size, the resolution is more than fine. I don't hear people complaining about the low res on the iPad, and yet, it has a lower PPI than the Streak. iPad=132, Streak=187.
      mrxxxman
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Dell Streak: Will it sell?

    I think it will join Dell'x Axim range, in the junk pile very quickly. Unfortunately the Axim was best of breed, the Streak is not.
    neilpost
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Dell Streak: Will it sell?

    Why would I pay $299.99 for any smartphone? To add to that it is way too big to be considered a practical phone.
    ctleng76
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Dell Streak: Will it sell?

      @ctleng76 It's a tablet first, phone second. Nonetheless, I still plan on using it as my only phone because I plan on carrying it wherever I go. However, I wish it was $100 less, or sold completely unlocked.
      mrxxxman
      Reply Vote
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