Dell Streak Cell Phone

Dell Streak finally came to Indonesia. Newer Smartphone with 5-inch screen with support for the Android operating system comes with scratch-resistant glass and durable from Gorilla Glass. Dell ready to present the first time in Southeast Asia, this is a good time for those who want to get a cell phone. Although still using a system of Android 1.6 (Donut), Dell Streak was kind enough to be considered as Android 1.6 is still able to be upgraded into Android 2.1 (Eclair)

If the previously rumored to be Dell's first smarthphone Dell Aero and continued with Dell Thunder that reportedly will use the Android operating system 2.1 (Eclair) but instead Dell Streak which will burst at first realease in Indonesia.

Located in the Atrium 4th floor, Plaza Indonesia, for those who are fortunate to check in at the location on the launching day, Friday, October 15, 2010 at 16:00 pm until 19:00 pm is entitled to bring home 1 pc dell streak. Dell, presents the first smartphone, and invite the community foursquare for check-in at its launching site.

The Dell Streak tests the limits of that barrier with its 5in 800x480 display; in all other respects, it's technically just another Android smartphone. At 153mm long and 79mm wide, the Streak divided opinion in the office: some felt it was far too large to hold to your ear for a phone conversation, while others decided that if it fit in their pocket, it counted as a phone - and it does fit into most pockets.

Opinion wasn’t divided on the Streak’s ability as a tablet device though. The screen would benefit from a higher resolution for reading web pages, but it is well-suited to video - even though its 5:3 aspect ratio means you’ll have to put up with black bars in most widescreen videos. Luckily, the screen’s contrast is good so the black bars blend into its bezel and are almost invisible.

As the Streak’s only running Android 1.6, there’s no support for Flash, meaning online video services such as iPlayer and 4oD are off-limits for the time being; YouTube does work though, thanks to a dedicated app. It also supports a variety of video formats, including h.263, h.264, MPEG-4, WMV and .3gp – you’ll need to make sure you select the Media Transport Protocol option when transferring files to the device, however.

Certain issues do crop up with such a large screen, however. Dell has had to modify the default Android interface for the extra-large home screens, which only work in landscape mode. It has added new elements to the notification bar at the top of the screen; instead of one single bar that you pull down to access notifications, the bar is now split into four interactive elements.

The first displays your app tray, listing all your installed apps in a grid, which means you can access all your apps from any application screen, rather than having to go back to the Home screen. The second lets you manage your home screens and lists recently used applications - also accessed by long-pressing the Home button. The third is the traditional notification tray, while the fourth area shows the icons for WiFi, wireless signal, battery, and such. Tapping it displays a subset of the Settings page so you can quickly toggle WiFi or 3G, or add alarms.

While these customisations are innovative, the long development process meant that Dell started with Android 1.6, and despite the inclusion of Android 2.1 icons in the settings page, it's worth remembering the limits of the older version. Most notable of these is the lack of Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync support, and despite Dell's integration of Twitter and Facebook accounts, the Streak lacks Android 2.x's support for multiple integrated accounts.

This means that, although you can add your Facebook and Twitter accounts, only contacts from Facebook are integrated into the Contacts app and you can't manage synchronisation as you can with the built-in Google account. The lack of ActiveSync support means that you can't get push email from a work Exchange account, although you can still access it via POP3 or IMAP.

Dell has partially got around this by including a 30-day trial version of NitroDesk's TouchDown application, a fully-featured Exchange client, although this means you'll end up with two contact lists and two email clients. There's also a trial version of Quickoffice, which lets you view but not edit office documents. Aside from that, Dell hasn't added to the default set of Android apps.

The downside of a large screen is that they generally use more power, so we were pleasantly surprised when the Streak lasted for just shy of 21 hours in our light usage battery test. This doesn't take into account highly variable but power-hungry usage such as 3G data, WiFi or GPS, and more importantly the screen is off for most of this test, but compared to other Android devices the Streak performs well.

Design-wise, the Streak is dominated by the screen, which uses Gorilla Glass toughened glass and has a capacitive touch interface. In its default landscape mode, the left bezel contains a secondary camera, while the right edge has three touch-sensitive controls for Back, Menu and Home (there's no dedicated Search button), and both edges are tapered towards the rear of the case. The case itself has an automotive-quality paint job, and while the black model we saw was rather dull, the coloured models have a deep, shiny gloss.

On the rear you'll find the 5MP camera with twin LED flashes, which is typical of phone cameras. Snaps are colourful but lack sharpness, especially when shooting in dark conditions or when subjects are moving. It can also record video at a maximum 640x480 resolution. There's a dedicated camera button along the top edge of the phone, along with a 3.5mm headphone jack.

A large and loud speaker sits under the battery cover, but with the Streak laying on its back the sound is muffled significantly. You can buy a docking station from Dell, which also charges and syncs your Streak and lets you connect it via HDMI to your HDTV, but this doesn't hold the phone at a suitable viewing angle.

Dell has promised an update to a more recent version of Android, but hasn't announced when this will happen. Until this happens, however, we can't recommend the Streak as a phone, as the lack of ActiveSync support is a show-stopper. Samsung's Galaxy S, which we’ll be publishing our review of soon, has a smaller screen but the same resolution, and with far superior colour and brightness, and is all-round a better Android phone.

If you’re looking for a tablet device for browsing the web or watching videos, the Streak is more attractive thanks to its large screen, but the lack of support for video-on-demand services does limit this appeal somewhat. Right now, there isn’t really anything that competes with the Streak in this form factor so it’s best to wait for other devices or the promised software update.
(Source: expertreviews.co.uk)

Specifications:
5” WVGA touch display with Gorilla Glass
Android 1.6 OS with full GSM functionality and Marketplace.
Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 1 GHz processor
Data GPRS Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
3G: HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
Dimensions : 152.9 x 79.1 x 10 mm
Weight : 220 g.
5.0 MP rear-facing camera with autofocus with Geo-tagging feature
VGA front-facing camera
H.263/264, 4GP, MPEG, WMV compatible video
MP3, MP$, WMA, AAC/AAC+/eAAC, AMR, Midi and Wav Sound Compatibility
3.5 mm audio jack
WebKit Android internet Browser
SDRAM: 256 MB
ROM: 512MB
2GB non-user accessible system and application files
microSD cardslot with 8/16/32 GB pre-installed options ( expandable to 48 GB)
Wi-Fi: WLAN802.11b/g
Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP
USB 2.0
Weight: ~220 grams
Battery: 1530mAh
Ambient Light Sensor
Accelerometer
E-compass
GPS
Capacitive Sensor Keys

Price: Rp. 5,999,000 (Black)  -  Rp. 6,200,000 (Red)