If you've been considering buying an Android-powered tablet, but have been waiting for a powerful, full-featured standout, Dell's Streak 7 is not the device for you.
Though it boasts a couple of high-end features like 4G connectivity and NVIDIA's Tegra 2 Dual Core processor, the Streak 7 is anything but. It falls short in just about every capacity, and for the cost -- $449.99 or $199.99 with 2-year contract -- it simply isn't worth the price of admission. Where did Dell go wrong?
The trouble with the Streak 7 begins as soon as you load up the specialized user interface, which, although unique, cannot mask the fact that it is a stylized version of Android 2.2. Though Android 2.2 serves smartphones well, it fails to create an intuitive user experience in tablet form factors. Text, websites, and media all feel awkwardly cramped given the amount of screen real-estate provided by the 7-inch screen. Dell promises to update the Streak series later this year when the tablet-specific Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS is released, but for the time being users are stuck with Android 2.2.
The trouble with the Streak 7 begins as soon as you load up the specialized user interface, which, although unique, cannot mask the fact that it is a stylized version of Android 2.2. Though Android 2.2 serves smartphones well, it fails to create an intuitive user experience in tablet form factors. Text, websites, and media all feel awkwardly cramped given the amount of screen real-estate provided by the 7-inch screen. Dell promises to update the Streak series later this year when the tablet-specific Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS is released, but for the time being users are stuck with Android 2.2.
Still, Dell has tried to give users a custom tailored experience with data, app, and media hubs, which they call the Stage UI. Broken down into email, music, web, social, and home panels, the Stage UI design provides quick access to apps, media, bookmarked websites, and social networking and email feeds. Rather than having to jump into your Facebook app to view status updates, users can simply scroll through the social Stage UI widget, which can be pretty handy for quick on-the-fly use. Ultimately, however, the Stage UI is largely superficial, and users must load the full-sized apps if they want more than just the basic functions of each hub.
But to be fair, the issues concerning the Streak 7's UI have less to do with Dell and more to do with the limitations of Android 2.2.
What was within Dell's control, however, was the hardware, and even here the Streak 7 fails to deliver.
At face value, the device's spec sheet looks pretty compelling -- 16GBs of internal storage, 4G HSPA+ connectivity, a front-facing 1.3 megapixel camera, a 5 megapixel rear-facing camera, and a Gorilla Glass multitouch display powered by a 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 Dual Core processor -- but the overall performance and quality is sub-par.
Despite being powered by NVIDIA's next-generation mobile processor, the Tegra 2, the Streak 7 is sluggish, with slow loading apps and media, and delayed or unresponsive software navigation. Games run fairly smoothly, but due to the limited availability of graphically-intensive software, it is difficult to really stress test the processors.
Worse yet, the 7-inch WVGA multitouch display is absolutely terrible, with a noticeably low resolution of 800x840, as well as poor color representation, and an extremely narrow viewing angle. The screen looks washed out, and if you view it at a 45-degree angle, it looks even worse. Similarly, the built-in cameras have pretty limited light sensors, and images come out grainy and drab.
The build quality is comparable to the Samsung Galaxy Tab, featuring black plastic casing and a large glass surface with a thick screen bezel.
The one saving grace of the Streak 7 is T-Mobile's 4G HSPA+ network connectivity, which depending on locale, can be quite speedy. Once the device clears the sluggish processing, downloads and streaming are fairly fast. The one caveat, of course, is data plan access.
T-Mobile is offering both contract and monthly service plans for the Streak 7, which are fairly expensive considering the limited data provided. The contract plans provide either 200MBs or 5GBs of data at $24.99 and $39.99, respectively, while the monthly prepaid variations include only 100MBs, 300MBs, or 1GBs of data for $10, $30, and $50 each. As for the device itself, consumers can snag the Streak 7 for $199.99 with a 2-year contract or $449.99 without.
At the end of the day, the Dell Streak 7 is a mediocre tablet at best, and considering the stiff competition from Apple's iPad and the forthcoming Motorola Xoom, doesn't seem long for this world; at least, not as it exists today.
| Rating | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| out of 10 | Click here for ratings guide | |
| 5.0 | Performance App loading is slow and menu navigation is sluggish. | |
| 7.0 | Build Quality Decidedly average with black plastic casing and a glass panel. | |
| 6.0 | Video Quality The screen is drab with a poor viewing angle. | |
| 7.0 | Features It has great features like 4G connectivity, front- and rear-facing cameras, and NVIDIA's Tegra 2 processor, but they fail to come together in the end. | |
| 6.5 | Value For $199.99 with contract, it is fairly accessible, but data access plans can be pricey. | |
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