The Dell Streak Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on August 15, 2010 6:59 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Dell
- Streak
- Gadgets
- Mobile
The Display
The major selling point of the Streak is its 5” 800 x 480 LCD display, and it’s a pretty good display. The resolution is well mated to the screen size and everything is very easy to read on the display. After using the Streak, the iPhone 4 and similar sized smartphones just feel cramped. For making phonecalls they work well, but for multitasking and being productive, the Streak’s larger screen is an asset.
The display on the Streak get’s bright enough. At 366 nits the Streak is similar to HTC’s EVO 4G.
Black levels are very low for a smartphone LCD. The deep black is what helps give it excellent on/off contrast ratio:
While not quite as good as a Droid X or iPhone 4, the Streak is much better than most others on the market. Despite the strong on/off contrast I found that dark scenes in movies are still tough to make out on the Streak.
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ned14 - Sunday, August 15, 2010 - link
Useful review - and good call on the button size which no other review bothered to mention. However how come you didn't try the Dell 2.1 build 6941 firmware which has been online for a while now? Here's a link to it:http://www.mediafire.com/file/bb9cvm5uaap2z8k/upda...
It *does* have bugs, hence why Dell haven't released it proper. Here's hoping that enough of you Americans buy the Streak to get a Cyanogenmod port working for the Streak ... so far the Brits haven't done much other than complain (if you look at the cyanogenmod forums).
Cheers,
Niall
Goty - Sunday, August 15, 2010 - link
Brits complain about Americans? Noooooooo....=P
In all seriousness, though, I don't see this device becoming a huge seller. It's simply too large to become popular with the public and so will probably be relegated to the few people like us who appreciate the advantages of such a device and to some corporate users.
neogodless2 - Sunday, August 15, 2010 - link
You stated that this will work for GSM carriers other than AT&T but other sites reported that it is "officially" SIM-locked to AT&T. Could you clarify this?Anand Lal Shimpi - Sunday, August 15, 2010 - link
Hmm the t-mobile support part came from Dell, let me clarify and update tomorrow.Take care,
Anand
Anand Lal Shimpi - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link
Dell just responded - you're correct, all Streak devices are carrier locked to AT&T. I've updated the article.Take care,
Anand
JHBoricua - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link
Sorry, that's a deal killer for me. I like the fact that all of my mobile devices now come with a standard micro usb connector for which I only have to carry ONE cable and for which I'm not held hostage by the device maker if I need it replaced.I can run to my local Microcenter and get 4 micro USB cables for $9 a piece. That's one for the house, office, car and my backpack.
How much do you think Dell is going to charge you for a replacement USB to 30-pin cable?
s44 - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link
Who cares how much Dell will charge? Monoprice will charge a lot less.medi01 - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link
" the Streak doesn’t perform anywhere close to the Nexus One, HTC Incredible or Droid X. Let’s forget about comparing it to the iPhone 4 or iPad."Should you've said "forget about Nexus One"?
damianrobertjones - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link
I was under the impression that all phone makers were moving towards the standard mini/micro/whatever it's called usb port on phones for sync/charge etc?I really wish they would...
JHBoricua - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link
I believe in Europe they mandated this, but enforcement starts in 2011. Also here is how it works:First option is a charger with a *fixed* cable that must terminate with a Micro-USB plug. How this connects to the phone is outside the scope of the EU mandate, it can be a direct connection or through an adapter.
The second option is that a *detachable* cable is used that connects to the *charger* using a standard USB A connection. Where the phone does not have a Micro-USB charging port and an adapter would be required, this cable is allowed to *be* the adapter; in other words it can terminate with a proprietary plug, it doesn't have to be a Micro-USB plug if the cable is detachable. An example of this is the existing iPhone charger.
Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/08/europe-univ...