Dell Streak

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Dell Streak 5 / Dell Mini 5
Front face of the Dell Streak 5
ManufacturerDell
TypePhablet
Release dateJune 4, 2010 (UK)
Introductory price£399 on O2 (UK) Pay As You Go
Operating systemAndroid 1.6 (Donut); upgrade Android 2.2 (Froyo) end of 2010[1]
CPU1 GHz Qualcomm QSD 8250 Snapdragon ARM or 600 MHz Qualcomm MSM7227
Memory512 MB ROM + 512 MB SDRAM + 2 GB non-user accessible MicroSD for system & applications files only  [2]
StorageFlash memory: 1.63 GB[3]
1 microSD slot: expandable up to 32 GB
Display800×480 px (0.38 Megapixels) at 186 Pixels Per Inch, 5 in (130 mm) WVGA in-cell TFT LCD with Gorilla Glass[4]
GraphicsAdreno 200
InputMulti-touch capacitive touchscreen display, Capacitive touch buttons, headset controls, 3-axis accelerometer
Camera5.0 megapixel with video LED Dual LED flash on back, front-facing camera on top
ConnectivityWi-Fi (802.11b/g), Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, GPS with A-GPS, UMTS 2100 / 1900 / 850 MHz, GSM / EDGE 1900 / 1800 / 900 / 850 MHz, HSDPA / HSUPA:HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps / HSUPA 5.76 Mbps, PDMI
PowerRemovable 1530mAh battery
Online servicesGoogle Play
Dimensions152.9 mm (6.02 in) (h)
79.1 mm (3.11 in) (w)
9.98 mm (0.393 in) (d)
Mass220g

The Dell Streak 5 (previously known as the Dell Mini 5) is a smartphone/tablet hybrid ("phablet") from Dell that uses the Android operating system, released in 2010. It comes with a 5-inch (13 cm) capacitive touchscreen and two cameras, a 5MP one with dual-LED flash on the back and a VGA-resolution one on the front for video calling; both are capable of video.

The three buttons at the bottom (or right, when held in its normal landscape mode) are capacitive. The Android buttons used are Home, Menu, and Back. It features a Dell skin on top and has a cradle adapter with HDMI out. The phone lacks the navigational trackball found in many previous Android devices. While FM radio support is not an official feature, an FM radio chip was found upon inspection of the Streak's internal hardware, and can be accessed though a user's modification of the OS.[5]

A seven-inch version of the Streak was announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2011.[6] The Wall Street Journal reviewed it unfavorably in February.[7] A long-rumored ten-inch model[8][9] went on sale in August in China.[10]

Dell discontinued the Streak 5 on as of August 15, 2011. Customers attempting to purchase the device were directed to a "Good Bye, Streak 5" landing page. The larger Streak 7 was discontinued on December 2, 2011; Dell continued to sell a 10-inch tablet in China at that time.[11]

Pre-release[edit]

The development was first disclosed in June 2009[12] and in October 2009 it was known that the tablet was capable of making 3G phone calls.[13]

Software[edit]

The versions released previously have had Android 1.6 installed, with Dell offering unlocked Streaks with Android 2.2 (Froyo) in December 2010.[14]

Streak 5, back side
Streak 7

Customers on the British O2 mobile phone network were given the opportunity to install Android 2.1 in early September 2010 through an Over the Air update. This update, however, caused an uproar amongst consumers, over bugs and removal of some features from the previous software.[15]

Source code and rooting[edit]

Following protests from users that Dell, by not including source code, had violated the terms of the GNU General Public License,[16] the source code for the Dell Streak became available for download.[17][18]

There is a root method for the Dell Streak, and many roms are available, including iterations of the CyanogenMod ROM. These are available from the xda-developers website along with other ROMS.

Reception[edit]

The Streak 7 received a tepid reaction from one reviewer due to its poor display and software bugs/glitches at launch.[19] The Streak was considered bulky, and the Android 2.2 "Froyo" that it ran was geared more for smartphones instead of tablets.[20] While almost all tablet computers released in 2011 had failed to gain much market share in the face of overwhelming demand for the Apple iPad 2, the Streak 7 compared poorly to other Android tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab.[1]

InfoWorld has suggested that Dell treated the Streak as a "Frankenphone business", where OEMs see tablets as a short-term, low-investment opportunity running Android OS, but this approach neglected the user interface and this failed to gain long term market traction with consumers.[21]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Dell Streak Tablet launching in UK and US". Dell. 2010-05-25. Archived from the original on 2010-06-05. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  2. ^ "Dell Streak Spec". O2. 2010.
  3. ^ "Dell Mini 5 prototype impressions". Engadget. 2010. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
  4. ^ Savov, Vlad (2010-05-29). "– Dell Streak's Gorilla Glass screen: torture tested for your amusement". Engadget.com. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  5. ^ "Easily Access Dell Streak's Hidden FM Radio With Streak Radio App". StreakSmart. 2010. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  6. ^ "Dell and T-Mobile USA Unveil Streak 7, Both Companies' First 4G Tablet Offering the Ultimate Entertainment Experience" (Press release). Dell. 2011-01-06. Archived from the original on 2011-01-10. Retrieved 2011-01-10.
  7. ^ Dell Streak 7 is No Real Deal Wall Street Journal 2011 Feb 09
  8. ^ "Dell's 7-inch and 10-inch Streak tablets leaked!". Engadget. 2010-04-14.
  9. ^ TeamVR on February 13, 2011 9:43 am (2011-02-13). "Dell Streak, Streaking Its Way". VR-Zone. Archived from the original on 2013-05-24. Retrieved 2013-07-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Streak 10 makes global debut in China VR-Zone, 19 July 2011
  11. ^ Another Streak Tablet Bites the Dust PCWorld. 2011-12-05
  12. ^ Scheck, Justin (2009-06-30). "Dell Is Working On Pocket Web Gadget". Wall Street Journal.
  13. ^ "Android-powered Dell Streak Leaked". DailyTech. 2009. Archived from the original on 2010-06-03. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
  14. ^ "New Unlocked Streaks Will Come with Froyo; New Color Options and up to 32GB". Dell. 2010. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  15. ^ "Dell Streak 2.1 Bug List". Archived from the original on October 11, 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  16. ^ "Dell comes clean on open source". The Register.
  17. ^ "Dell Streak Android Source Code 1.12 - Free Netbook Software Downloads". Netbookfiles.com. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  18. ^ "Source Code Now Available for Dell Streak and Aero Products - Direct2Dell - Direct2Dell - Dell Community". En.community.dell.com. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  19. ^ Perenson, Melissa J. "Dell Streak 7: Solid Design, Mediocre Display". PCWorld. Archived from the original on 2012-08-18. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  20. ^ Mike Elgan (2012-02-18). "Rise of the 'phablet'". Computerworld. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  21. ^ Gruman, Galen. "Anatomy of failure: Mobile flops from RIM, Microsoft, and Nokia". Macworld. Archived from the original on 2013-05-01. Retrieved 2013-07-21.

External links[edit]