Cost conscious
Having the Google stamp of approval you will find the Android Market as well as all the usual Google apps like Maps, Navigation and Gmail. Dell has also installed QuickOffice and the Swype keyboard, both worthwhile additions.
Music and web options
For photographic duty you get a rear facing 5Mp unit and a 1.3Mp web cam. The main shooter has an LED flash and auto-focus and does a decent enough job though colours looked a little washed out even in good light. Not being Skype-with-video approved, you can’t make Skype video calls but Qik comes pre-loaded. Video can be captured up to a maximum resolution of 720p but the results look rather rough and over-saturated when played back.
Battery life is frankly disappointing. In a knock-down and drag-out test, looping a standard definition AVI video file, the power lasted 3hrs and 10mins. In day-to-day use, I was always looking for a mains socket well before I turned in for the night. Unlike the 5in Streak, the 7’s battery is built-in.
Not quite a winning Streak, but the price helps forgive its shortcomings
Yet the best thing about the Steak 7, is the price. At £295 it sits comfortably between the sub-£200 Android Market- and GPS-less devices and more up-market machines like the Flyer and Galaxy Tab. Of course, the latter can sometimes be found at a similar price but you have to forgo the Tegra CPU.
Verdict
Better late than never, the Dell Streak 7 fixes most of the problems found in its predecessor, at a much reduced price. With a quick CPU, plenty of storage and a near enough up-to-date version of Android, it makes for a convenient hand-held connected device. But it’s a shame the screen is a bit low-rent and low-res – the battery life could be better too. Still, this is progress, but you have to wonder how many Streaks Dell would have sold had it done the job properly in the first place. ®
Thanks to Expansys for the loan of the review sample.
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Dell Streak 7 Android tablet
Expansys' Dell Streak 7 page
COMMENTS
Screen resolution fail
So this device has the same resolution screen as my £80 Orange San Francisco smartphone!
I can only conclude that this device is for those with deteriorating eyesight.
For this device to be useful it needs 1024 x 600 screen - the same as a 7" netbook.
Here's my pricing guide for all you fondleslab pretenders to the throne
7", 800x480, GPS, WiFi £150
7", 1024x600, GPS, WiFi £200
7", 1024 x600, GPS, WiFi, 3G £250
10" iPad , GPS, WiFi £400
Always, always compare what you have to the iPad, since all your customers will. It needs to be significantly cheaper.
Gorilla glass
The reviewer can tell Gorilla Glass by touch? It feels nicer and smoother?!? Sorry, I'll have to see a blind test before I believe this.
How exactly...?
does a capacitative screen disappoint you?
Dell
A basic summary of all Dell products:
Desktops: Terrible. Components bought from the lowest bidder. Often proprietary. Prone to breakage. PSUs suck balls.
Laptops: Pathetic. Screens are prone to dying, components as above.
Printers: Appalling. Stab yourself in the eye with a rusty fork, it'll be better.
Peripherals (keyboards, mice etc): a big bucket of "meh".
Monitors: Decent. For some reason.
Fail on screen resolution...
In general, I prefer Android to iOS, but something Apple got right with the iPad was the decision to go for a 4:3 resolution display. At least in the West, it's significantly better for reading, as tablets tend to be held in "portait" mode and we read left-to-right. And most physical media (magazines/comics/newspapers/etc) are still presented in the 4:3 aspect, as are the majority of electronic documents (Word docs, PDFs, etc).
Give me an Android tablet with a 4:3 screen (and halfway decent battery life) and my iPad will be on Ebay quicker than you can say "SD card slot and no jailbreaking required"...
