The iPad has energized the market for tablet computers, paving the way for an expected onslaught of slate-type devices.
The Dell Streak that I’ve been testing for a few days is a tablet, too. And that’s pretty much where comparisons with the iPad cease.
Oh, sure, folks will ask the same basic question of the Streak that they asked before the iPad appeared: Is there room for a slate that’s larger than a smartphone but smaller than a typical laptop? But where the iPad has a near-10-inch screen and a form that brings it into the ballpark of some notebooks, the Streak is at the other end of the spectrum. With its 5-inch, multitouch-screen, Streak resembles a smartphone that went on an eating binge, like an old-fashioned PDA. And Streak, unlike an iPad, will fit in your pants pocket, albeit with a bulge, or jut out of a shirt pocket by an inch or so.
Streak actually doubles as an Android-based smartphone. But phoning is not its strength nor the reason to consider buying one. I couldn’t hang up on a call when the dial pad was on the screen covering the “End Call” button. And while the Streak is petite for a tablet, it is gargantuan by modern standards for a phone — like a handset that belongs to the past century. It weighs in at 7.8 ounces. Streak is attractive and thin, though better suited for tablet duties.
Alas, I didn’t love the virtual keyboard. And Dell is a generation behind when it comes to Android. It runs Android version 1.6, making it a tad listless. Dell has added its own tweaks to Google’s operating system and says an over-the-air update to version 2.2, or Froyo, is in the cards.
Here’s a closer look:
*Availability. Dell won’t say but indicates the Streak is coming…