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Dell Streak

The Dell Streak has been called Dell’s answer to the iPad, but if rumors are true, Dell has much bigger things in store than one Apple competitor. Dell seems to be set to release a full line of Tablets, with the Dell Streak being the flagship of the line.

Dell has stated that they aren’t competing with Apple and that the iPad is fine for people who carry a purse. That’s quite a snub, especially from a tablet that is even smaller than the iPad. The Streak currently is designed with a 5 inch screen, which barely qualifies it as even a tablet computer, but it looks like the screen size will grow before it is finally released.

The Dell Streak and future models in the line will actually be more of a large Smartphone than a small tablet. Of course as technology merges, the line between the two continues to get thinner. The Streak will be 3G enabled and also will be able to make telephone calls.

The Streak will come packed with the Android operating system version 2.1. It will sport a 1 GHz Snapdragon processor and of course will be fully Flash capable.

Dell has reached an agreement with Amazon and the Streak will come with a Kindle reader application installed and will be fully capable of playing any Amazon content including MP3 and streaming video.

The Amazon media will be played on the device’s 5” screen (or slightly larger if rumors hold true), which sports a WVGA 800 x 480 resolution screen. Input for the Streak will be accomplished via a virtual keyboard. The keyboard will of course seem huge viewed on the small screen. The keyboard will even sport a full number pad, which is a first for an android based device. The keyboard has been reported to be accurate and to respond well. The screen should be fine for message writing and basic input, but full-fledged document creation will probably be left lacking. The Streak will also ship with a built in camera, which is a feature many users consider essential these days.

Initially the Streak will get its 3G service through AT&T, but plans are already in the works to bring it to a number of carriers. Shortly after initial release, an additional version should be available that will be compatible with t-Mobile’s AWS network. This greater network flexibility is another advantage over the iPad, at least for now.

The Streak will likely fill the gap between conventional smartphone and tablet computer. Though perhaps the middle ground is not always the best way to go since it can lead to less of everything good, as long as Dell is careful, they could find a niche market consisting of those who want something more than a phone, but something less than a full sized tablet.