The Dell Streak! The new Android tablet

The Dell Streak. Though the idea of Michael Dell streaking through the streets is both amusing and disturbing, this happens to be the name of the newest addition to the Android tablet market. It’s sleek, it’s new, and it’s a tablet! Just like the last couple years had netbooks be all the rage, this is the year of the tablet PC. Admittedly this is a trend started by Apple, so when Apple starts something new you know you gotta jump on the bandwagon. It has some fairly impressive specs and is running the Android OS to boot (no pun intended):

Android 2.1

1GHz Snapdragon processor

5-inch multi-touch WVGA display

VGA front facing camera

Removable battery

3G + WiFi + Bluetooth

UMTS / GPRS / EDGE class 12 GSM radio with link speeds of up to HSDPA 7.2 Mbps / HSDPA

HDMI out

5 MP autofocus camera with dual LED flash

2GB of internal memory

Micro SD expandable memory available up to 32 GB (42 movies, 32,000 photos, or 16,000 songs)

Cushions made from 100 percent sustainable, compostable bamboo

(Information obtained from PCWorld.com) It is known as the “fat ” smartphone in some circles since it realistically is only a bit larger than a regular smartphone. Dell is trying to pitch it as a more business driven device that can be a companion to your regular phone although I think this is silly because that is what notebooks are for. Even the Apple iPad has a more decently sized screen and then there is the feature rich HTC EVO 4G by Sprint. Not only is the EVO 4G’s camera more powerful (8-megapixels vs the Streak’s 5-megapixels), it has a more spacious screen and even the brand new 4G Internet. I’ll say at the least Dell is planning on making 7 and 10 inch screens soon but I doubt pricing wise it will get any better. The Streak model described above is going for a hefty $500 to compete with the iPad, which is a risky move if you ask me. Dell is probably going to use its established market in the business world to sell this product, a market Apple has had some trouble breaching, which may be why it is priced so high. Other than all that, I am glad to see Android is moving up in the ranks.