I do like the advice of providing users with an online content provider option, I am against having “an iTunes equivalent” as your only choice.

But it lacks a phone (like the iPad) so it’s not really a direct comparison either.

With the Streak I get all that and a bag of chips so to speak.

Anyway I left the store went home but just couldn’t get it out of my mind. As I been holding out for upgrade to the new Iphone 4 & was out of contract I went back to the shop & was offered a Dell Streak for £49 on a 12 month Simplicity contract. Offer I couldn’t refuse.

Absolutely brilliant piece of kit & my first Android device. I’ve been using it as my primary phone for past 3 days & its been excellent. Don’t feel at all silly holding it up against my ears for a call. My only complaints thus far is to do with the Google calendar & contacts apps, absolute tosh they are.

So no Iphone 4 for me then & I wear Levis 501 jeans nearly everyday & the Streak fits in the front pockets no problems at all & bcoz its so thin, theres no bulge either.

I guess that makes me the first one to comment that actually has one.

I have had this device for the last 10 days and as far as I am concerned it makes my iPad look huge and home bound. It also makes my iPhone look small and puny in comparison.
I am planning on selling both now that I’ve got something that can the job of both of them and still fit in my front pocket.
Yes, I said front pocket. Jeans, suite or chino’s, it fits in the front pocket. It also fits in my suite jackets inside pocket and is light enough that my suite does not hang funny while it is there.

At first I thought it would be awkward and clownish held to my head as a phone but in use this is not really the case. Don’t get me wrong, it is large, but not so much that most people are really going to notice this as you talk to someone.

Yes, it runs 1.6, that is because 2.1 is only 6 months old and Froyo 2.2 just came out.
It also has been rooted already and there are many people working on custom ROM’s already (including Froyo ports). Dell will be releasing a 2.1 port with their customizations in a couple of months as well. I am in no way worried that I am going to be stuck with an outdated device, far less so than I was with Apple and their history of upgrading desktop OS’s making every app you ever over paid for obsolete in a rolling 2 year cycle.

The screen size is just fine for reading web pages on the road, something the iPhone barely manages. It also handles .docs and PDF’s, I can actually read a PDF as a full width page on the road. Try that with an iPhone. And it is slated for Flash 10 in the update. I know the Apple heads out there don;t care but then I don;t really care what they think either, I like the 60% of the internet that they are missing.

All in all I am very happy that I chose this device and as far as I am concerned Apple and the others have a lot of catching up to do.

as for 2 and 3, they are linked. remember, its only 8 months since android 1.6 was unveiled, and until 2.1 was unveiled all devices that wanted to be google compatible had to have phone capability. Not compatible, no marketplace. And given the time frame, i suspect most devices we see now where started on around 1.6, with design, prototype testing, bug testing and so on. Streak gets marketplace as its a phone, a large phone, but still a phone. The devices out of china are more PMP with wifi, and so are not google compatible under the 1.6 requirements (what most of them ship).

as for 4, amazon? I dont see a need for itunes pr say, what i see a need for is a agreed on supported format, or even the ability for the customer to pick their format of choice. Have we already forgotten about the online music store that did big, showing that people where willing to pay once they could choose their format and such themselves, only to be shut down by the record companies because it didnt fit with their plans of forcing DRM on everyone? Heck, if your talking about direct download to the device in your hands then with android, anyone can set up such a store. Amazon can have one on your phone from day one. Hey, they could even do like symantec do with windows pc’s and pay the companies making the phones to bundle their store app.

MoMoMan said:
…IMO, the Dell Streak is a failure before it’s even on the market. Unless it’s less than $150, why would anyone chose it over the iPad?

I wouldn’t count the Streak out just yet, 5 inch is a tad too big for a phone but I might get one if I like it after I have held it. And, as much as I like paying less, $150 probably doesn’t even pay for the components, I would rather pay more for an unlocked phone than get a $300 one with a $2000 two-year contract.

I agree with the rest of the things you said, we need more ambitions designs of Android tablets than what we are seeing now.

I am not sure how they can compete with the iPad. The Chinese were making cheap tablets long before the iPad, but most were unusable. Now large companies are getting on the bandwagon, but putting out the same cheap-looking garbage.

I’ve been waiting for a well-designed, large screen (11″ or so) tablet since before the iPad came. Design, screen and hardware quality are all important.

The UI is important, of course, but I think most of us would be happy with a vanilla Android 2.2. Keep out Sense, Blur, etc..

IMO, the Dell Streak is a failure before it’s even on the market. Unless it’s less than $150, why would anyone chose it over the iPad?

Instead of a walled space for media and apps, I think we as consumers should seek diversity and the option to connect to more than one application or content vendor, and to use legal apps and media without restrictions based on their origin.

IMO a 5″ device is much closer to being a PDA than a UMPC. Ideally it should be designed so you can comfortably hold it in one hand. The Archos 5IT is a good example (4.8″ screen).

And I have a couple 5″ devices. All of the fit in my coat or shirt pocket. I wouldn’t put them in my pants pocket though; I’m afraid they brake.