As Joel pointed out back in January Michael Dell showed a glimpse of the Dell Android tablet then known as the Dell Mini 5. The device launched this past week on O2 in the UK and is officially known as the Dell Streak. The folks at Engadget picked one up and posted a full review of this 5 inch display tablet. The Dell Streak should be launching here in the US in July for around $500. With my new Sprint HTC EVO 4G sporting similar specs and a 4.3 inch display for $200, I have to wonder if the slightly larger display will appeal to many looking for an iPad alternative.
Key features and specifications of the Dell Streak included:
- Google Android 1.6 OS (should get an upgrade to 2.2 this year)
- 1GHz Snapdragon processor
- 5-inch multi-touch WVGA (800×480 pixels resolution) display
- 5 megapixel camera with dual LED flash and VGA front facing camera
- 3G/WiFi/Bluetooth radios
- HDMI out
- 2GB internal storage and microSD expandable memory card support for up to 32 GB
Most all of the specs of the Dell Streak are the same as the HTC EVO 4G (processor, display resolution, HDMI out, microSD card) with the display size, camera resolution, and current operating system being the major differences. Personally, the higher resolution camera and 2.1 Google Android operating system are more compelling to me than the slightly larger display. The display size makes this much less like a smartphone while the EVO 4G is still very pocketable. Engadget shows Google Maps Navigation on the Dell Streak compared to the Nexus One, but I would like to see how the HTC EVO 4G looks instead.
The Dell Streak will be an interesting tablet device, but I personally think making the jump to a tablet over a smartphone requires a display size of at least 7 inches. Is there enough appeal in the Dell Streak over Google Android smartphones?
