After a lot of writing about the Dell Streak without actually testing it is time to put down my first hands on experience with Dell’s 5 inch offering, as it was just launched here in Eastern Europe. Unlike the US version it comes unlocked for all GSM networks for a price of approximately 800 USD, but a subsidized version is in works (the deal with local GSM provides is still being discussed).

    I won’t get into too much details about the specs of Dell Streak but I will make a short list of the most important specs then go on with my first experience of the device.

    Dell Streak Specs

    • 1 GHz Snapdragon CPU
    • 512 MB RAM + 512 ROM plus 2 GB available to applications and system files
    • 5 inch, 800 x 480 pixels capacitive touch screen with Gorilla Glass for toughness
    • WiFi, Bluetooth, HSDPA
    • accelerometer, proximity sensor, compass for A-GPS
    • 220 grams
    • 1530 mAh battery
    • Android 1.6 with a 2.2 version upgrade coming this year, with slightly customized interface

    How does it perform

    Here’s where the fun starts, as Dell advertises the Streak as a 5 inch tablet with smartphone functionality, so you can use it also for phone calls, but probably because of the size you’ll feel the need of using the included headset or a wireless Bluetooth model. That’s where the single most important problem comes: I can’t see the Streak as a smartphone (too big) or a tablet (too small). I have to admit that browsing on this device feels very solid, with websites loading fast and all elements looking exactly as on my laptop, but Flash is yet to come for Dell’s tablet (but officials say that the wait won’t be long).
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    The accelerometer is very fast and works pretty accurate, as I see it. The virtual keyboard is odd in the way the the landscape mode includes also a numeric keypad, something that makes keys slightly narrower (but still very large thanks to the 5 inch screen) and offsets the middle of the keyboard, which will confuse you at the beginning. After a few minutes of use I found it pretty accurate, as a virtual keyboard.

    The eReader application is pretty basic, but makes for a interesting use of the Dell Streak, as text looks sharp and big enough on the 5 inch screen. Sunlight legibility is not excellent, but is good enough for working with the Streak sort periods of time. What’s to say about the screen is that colors look very vivid, something Dell is proud of, saying they’ve calibrated the screen in factory especially for color quality and accuracy.

    An interesting addition for a tablet is the 5 megapixel camera with dual LED flash and the front facing camera that makes the Streak excellent for Skype video calls. Picture quality looks OK on the 5 inch screen, but I will have to get  my hands on actual files to compare them to other photos from mobile phones.

    The biggest advantage of the Streak is the Android OS, with its tons of apps found in the Android Marketplace. The device is excellent for social media freaks thanks to its Facebook, Twitter integration of various apps that will gladly and easily share your status with the world. The only thing I’m not sure of is the battery life of the 1530 mAh power plant that I’ve managed to drain 20% in approximately 40-5o minutes of playing with Dell Streak connected on a WiFi network. Probably it will last trough one day of moderate to heavy usage, but that’s to be confirmed.

    Overall speed of the Dell Streak is excellent, with things happening very fast when launching and switching applications, and also when panning and zooming in browser or photos applications. Thing should improve even further once the Android 2.2 update comes the door.

    Below there’s a short video hands on with Dell Streak, but don’t expect anything you don’t already know: