Just over eight months have passed since we first looked at the Dell Streak. An impressive five-inch device with 2GB of built-in memory, powered by a Qualcomm SnapDragon 8250 1GHz processor, the Dell Streak ticks all the boxes as far as specs are concerned.
When it hit the scene, one of the glaring drawbacks we noticed was that it was only running Android 1.6. Even back in June, this was a puzzling decision by Dell.
The Nexus One had led the way with Android 2.1 (Eclair) almost four months beforehand, and the HTC Desire had exploded on the scene, also touting Eclair, shortly afterwards.
Priced at £399 direct from Dell (unlocked), and found at only £20 a month on contract, the Streak is now in the ring with the Nexus S and the HTC Desire HD, so Dell has given it a fighting chance by giving the Streak an upgrade to Android 2.2. Not only has the base layer of the Android OS been upgraded, but the UI provided by Dell has been overhauled with Dell's own Stage Launcher interface.
So how big is it really? As mentioned, the screen is five inches from corner to corner, but this fills the front of the device pretty well – not a great deal of space is used for a bezel. The device is 153mm in width, 79mm high, only 9.98mm thick and weighs in at 220g.
You might think that sounds hefty, but when in your hands, it feels lighter than you expect it to, and the design is far from clunky. It has curved edges either side, and backlit touch-sensitive Back, Menu and Home buttons. The Dell Streak certainly is an attractive device.
Your comments (20) Click to add a new comment
chad20
September 13th 2011
20. Bought the Dell Streak about four months ago and since then it has been a constant to and fro to the Dell Technical Support (principal problem : the screen will not light up after pressing the on button....you have to take out the battery and press it again to make the Streak switch on).
I have hardly used the telephone.
About a week ago, the screen of the Streak has shattered (so much for Gorilla Glass Corning !) because I had kept it my jean back pocket and was unable to stand the pressure.
Dell Support refuses to take this into guaranty.
I have lost more than 400 euros on this piece of junk.
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toonnigel
September 4th 2011
19. It is interesting to read this ancient historical commentary about the Dell Streak 5" as things have moved on. I think it has found a hardcore of dedicated users and I may be one. How do I know? Well, have you seen the price that unboxed used items are going for on eBay? £200 easily. How do I know? I crushed my screen in a camera bag and went looking for a replacement. (I have dropped it loads without any damage though) There is also a huge spares market - I bought and fitted an new screen and digitiser for £28. I am no tech engineer but it was, with a little patience and a You Tube guide, quite straight forward. If you have a 5" Streak and need to replace the screen - go for it! (Shame the 7" is not GSM!)
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ksjassal
August 28th 2011
18. I have had dell streak 5 since June 2010. Its big in size but that is not the problem. This phone does not seems to have options for making fonts large. All contacts and saved notes are fixed to one font size and that is too small for me. Also E-mails, there is no option for making text any larger. Can any one help?
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philmagicman
March 3rd 2011
17. Be carefull with this as its not a very robust piece of kit, fantastic when upgraded to Android 2.2, but drop it from greater than 8" and the screen goes, as I have now found to my detriment twice.
The problem is its just to big to fit in a mobile pocket in a suit jacket so it falls out consistently.
In summary a fantastic piece of kit but seems to be fragile.
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masterpfa
February 25th 2011
16. Higher class? Lower class? We are talking about phones? Both have their limitations.
There will be people who prefer iPhones and others who prefer Android, horses for courses.
Ease of use-Iphone
More control of your phone-Android
Screens full of all your apps-iPhone
Selective Widgets or icons-Android
Choice of one handset-iPhone
Choice of many-Android
Limited access to websites-iPhone
Full access-Android
Activation via PC and iTunes only-iPhone
Activation via handset-Android.
Down to the phones, the iPhone wins when it comes to Music and iTunes integration.
Dell streak, screen size and open source.
Pays your money, takes your choice. For me I like "Choice"
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bigarmydave
February 24th 2011
15. @kos1985-
Dont think you read my comments correctly. I own both devices. The iPhone 4 is still the best phone on the market. Androids are still in a lower class. Period.
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kos1985
December 28th 2010
14. @bigarmydave if u dont know how to use an android,or you're not into customizing phone software then dont bother writing bad comments about streak..i've had iphone since 2g and i really got bored of the same software..it just became boring using iphone 4..streak is in different level and with the 2.2 update it makes iphone look like a grandpas phone
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disco77
November 6th 2010
13. I have my Streak running on Steve's 2.2 Froyo with no issues. It runs Swype the fastest texter anywhere and has a 5 inch screen to watch my "drag and dropped" avi movies on, oh and er it has Flash..eat my shorts iphone.... Seriously you can mod this tablet/phone to your hearts content until iphone. I've had both and if you have your own mind and not be a sheep, youll choose the Streak. Hold on, or you can have a 7" Samsung Galaxy Tab for how much???? The Streak is here people and its free on o2.
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consumer
September 30th 2010
12. The Dell Streak is a beautiful device. Easy to carry because it is so slim. It looks stunning and attracts attention instantly.
The screen is wonderful for internet browsing. The screen is as sensitive and smooth as the iphone's. You can enjoy reading websites, newspapers and even e-books. Games and videos are a joy. The 5 mp camera is very good, the photographs are lively and excellent. The Navigation sat nav powered by Google maps is amazingly large and clear, much better than TOMTOM. The only point to be careful with is that it consumes data and if you try using it abroad you will be charged roaming! Shame because in all respects it is perfect. Phone call quality is very good.
Well the pros end here and the cons start: The streak is not comfortable to hold with one hand as a phone so it would better suit those who need it as an internet tablet. The email programmes are poor, even though the screen is large you cannot zoom the email text so you end up with a huge screen and struggling to read tiny fonts on it. The email programmes are definitely inferior to Windows Mobile outlook, Blackberry and iphone so the Streak would not be suitable for business users.
One can buy the Touchdown application which is an Exchange substitute but even this is not satsfactory compared to Windows and Blackberry.
One can download Office documents and pdf files but to create them you need to buy applications and organising the files is nowhere as easy as in other platforms.
The Streak is much more fragile than the iphone, drop it and it breaks in 3 pieces with the battery, cover and phone going to different directions. So a case is necessary but then this kills its design beauty which is a main attraction.
Conclusion: the Streak is a fantastic internet tablet, pretty, smart and functional for internet browsing and multimedia. It is too big for a phone and it is unsuitable for business users who need email and Office functionality.
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jamesvparker
August 25th 2010
11. If you're thinking of getting a Streak to replace an IPhone - DON'T! The only advantage is the bigger screen - everything else is inferior and so very frustrating. Plus you can only get it from O2 - only worth it if you want to spend hour upon hour listening to their hold music. Its back to Vodafone and a new iPhone 4 for me.
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bigarmydave
August 2nd 2010
10. Hey guys,
If you are an iphone fan, then I believe the Dell Streak and indeed the Android platform, are not for you.
I own both (Streak and iphone 3-4)and I can honestly say that the iphone is more superior, faster and completes tasks effortlessly.
The iphone is so simple to use and thats the key here guys; simplicity in a beautiful and advanced device.
Android fans bang on about 'I can have widgets' and 'I can design my own home screen' Well done, but this feature offers me no real time saving abilities and makes my Dell Streaks homes screens, look cluttered and designed by a child.
The iphone 3-4 is less powerful than my Streak and yet the Streaks performance is often sluggish. The Streaks OS often crashes or stutters when closing apps/viewing images and the music player is shocking to say the least, not to mention the poor speakers, poor battery and absolutely pants facebook app oh and no Skype... (big thing for me because I travel a lot and like to stay in touch with family and friends. The Facebook app offers no chat and a poor interface, so its useless. There isn't even a Skype app.............)
If I could put an iPhone and an Android in to simple classifications, it would be this:
Android: Council estate, anything goes.
iPhone: Kensington, a £3 million flat.
As harsh as this comparison is, its true.
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bigarmydave
August 2nd 2010
9. Hey guys,
If you are an iphone fan, then I believe the Dell Streak and indeed the Android platform, are not for you.
I own both (Streak and iphone 3-4)and I can honestly say that the iphone is more superior, faster and completes tasks effortlessly.
The iphone is so simple to use and thats the key here guys; simplicity in a beautiful and advanced device.
Android fans bang on about 'I can have widgets' and 'I can design my own home screen' Well done, but this feature offers me no real time saving abilities and makes my Dell Streaks homes screens, look cluttered and designed by a child.
The iphone 3-4 is less powerful than my Streak and yet the Streaks performance is often sluggish. The Streaks OS often crashes or stutters when closing apps/viewing images and the music player is shocking to say the least, not to mention the poor speakers, poor battery and absolutely pants facebook app oh and no Skype... (big thing for me because I travel a lot and like to stay in touch with family and friends. The Facebook app offers no chat and a poor interface, so its useless. There isn't even a Skype app.............)
If I could put an iPhone and an Android in to simple classifications, it would be this:
Android: Council estate, anything goes.
iPhone: Kensington, a £3 million flat.
As harsh as this comparison is, its true.
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bridboy
July 20th 2010
8. This is my first time with Adroid and so I'm impressed it seems to me to be faster than Windows Mobile, I am looking forward to the 2.1 update. As to the unit my opinion is that it is a micro mini computer with a mobile phone tacked on. I have only had it for 3 days. I will review my opinion in a months time.
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steve_price
June 27th 2010
7. Excellent in-depth review - many thanks. I could have done with some info on how well the Streak's antenna works as that seems to be a problem with 3G phones. I'm definitely buying one but not until it's available unlocked and unbranded. What does it for me is its portability - I need a device that fulfils my communications needs in my pocket - the iPad doesn't fit in my pocket and smartphones, until now, aren't big enough. This for me renders comparisons with the iPad and Archos irrelevant. An iPad is a wonderful device that is simply useless in the street. Also this debate about pad vs phone leaves me cold. Who cares? If you must give it a name, call it a phad. In labelling it a pad, Dell have invited comparison with the iPad, which wins for the things that the iPad can do, but the Streak does so much more, and it fits in your pocket.
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mmp669
June 11th 2010
6. Against
>
No dictionary
>
Poor music player
>
No Flash
>
No Android 2.1
All this can be easily fixed by a system upgrade. Put your act together, Dell
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digitalzen
June 11th 2010
5. Re: Archos
But does it make phone calls?
Duh.
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wantz
June 11th 2010
4. I've had one since Tuesday. It's really good and I am pleased I've left Apple. So far though the battery life is worse than expected, even with a power saving app. I'm informed it should improve some after a dozen charges or so. Also the charging cable / socket does feel a bit flimsy which is a worry.
Those are the only real criticism I can make and I don't think those are enough to go against it. It's impressive, and proper fun.
Also it will be even better when Android is updated to the next version. Get one, you know you want to ;)
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backstroker
June 10th 2010
3. Fascinating. Do we have a new sub-category consisting of this and the Nokia N900 and/or its successor?
Not sure where the somewhat off-the-cuff observations about the respective merits of the Webkit and Opera browsers comes from. To take one example, on my Hero (1.5) at least, there are sites where Opera will open tabs which the native browser ignores. It would be useful to see a full comparative test of browsers.
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charbax
June 10th 2010
2. Archos 5 Internet Tablet is nearly 3x cheaper (available for £179 on amazon.co.uk right now vs £429 for this Dell Tablet). Archos has also been available on the market for over 9 months with Android and over 5 years with other flavors of embedded Linux OS. Archos also plays way more video codecs than this Dell tablet, such as MKV h264 high and main profiles, WMV, Mpeg2/AC3, Flac, Ogg Vorbis and more. Archos also outputs full Android and video playback to HDMI. Archos is about to release their next generation Android tablets based on 45nm ARM Cortex processors, while the Dell Tablet uses a 65nm previous generation processor.
Sure having capacitive touch, front and back facing cameras, built-in 3G is awesome and all. But those obviously increase the price a lot.
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