A fashion is nothing but an induced epidemic - GBS
|
|
|
Dell Streak will hit stores in June
TIN BOX FLOGGER Dell has announced it will partner with mobile operator O2 to launch its Streak tablet device in the UK.
The five-inch touchscreen tablet device was first shown at CES in January running Google's open source Android operating system. Since that time, Dell has managed to tidy things up a little and interest O2 and mobile phone seller Carphone Warehouse to peddle the device from June.
Beneath the screen is a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, the same one found in Google's Nexus One and other smartphones. With WiFi, 3G and Bluetooth, the out of the box connectivity options put Apple's Ipad to shame. A 5 megapixel autofocus camera with flash along with expandable MicroSD card storage to supplement the 2GB built into the device round out the specifications.
Dell wasn't able to get back to us by press time regarding what version of Android the Streak will be running, however it did post an update saying that Android 2.2 will be pushed over-the-air later this year, which would bring support for Adobe's Flash.
The second largest PC brand has managed to steal a march on its traditional rivals, Acer and HP, with the Streak. Acer seem to be in a state of denial regarding its commitment to getting a tablet out the door, while HP is sending out mixed signals about whether it will load WebOS onto a device.
The Streak's five-inch screen actually has a lower pixel per inch count than some Android smartphones. Whether consumers will deem the extra two inches or so of physical screen size enough to warrant carrying around another device remains to be seen.
Due to the bundled 3G connectivity of the Streak, O2 is likely to subsidise the device and use it to entice punters into signing up for overpriced data tariffs.
Pricing hasn't been released yet, however expect it to follow the lead of Apple's Ipad, which will be launched in the UK later this week. µ
Share this:
Share
My HTC Hero (Android) has Office apps... I doubt Sprint provided those, so I'm guessing they're stock... haven't tested them out to see if they're 2007 xlsX (etc) compatible, but im pretty sure there's office app support...
Dell would be wise to include out-of-the-box support for Word, Excel and Acrobat docs. These are chargeable extras on smartphones, which makes it tempting to buy a small netbook instead. I'd love to have a small computer / big smartphone in one device, but it needs to do everything that both do before it'll take off.
Wi-Fi + 3G adds £100 to the cost of the iPad, thus pushing the cost of the middle-of-the-road model to a significantly twatty £599.
If Apple were to charge £100 for all the other missing features (USB, camera and flash, SD slot, decent operating system and so on) it'll be almost as expensive as a certain other fruit-based computing platform whose customer base is exclusively Apple sheep and geeks as well.
A fule and his money...
"With WiFi, 3G and Bluetooth, the out of the box connectivity options put Apple's Ipad to shame."
Would that be the same WiFi, 3G and Bluetooth that Apple's iPad has?
Oh dear.