Tablet Hands-On Roundup
by Vivek Gowri on January 27, 2011 10:25 AM EST
We hit up T-Mobile’s keynote, and while the biggest news was the Honeycomb-based G-Slate by LG, Big Magenta also showed off the new Dell Streak 7. It’s a larger version of the previous 5” Streak that we reviewed last year, this time with a 7” screen (hence the name) and Nvidia’s Tegra 2 instead of Snapdragon. The industrial design is pretty similar to the smaller Streak, just stretched to fit the newly enlarged screen. It’s larger and thicker overall than both the Galaxy Tab and the PlayBook, and at 450 grams, it’s heavier as well.
The build quality is good, and the weight gives the system a very substantial feel. I’ve been a fan of Dell’s recent handheld products - the Venue and Streak families are well-designed, well-built products that are honestly pretty decent to use (now that the Streak has been updated to Froyo). As with the other Streak, this one has Dell’s proprietary Stage UI on it, and it’s a good bit quicker than the 5” Streak. Even with Froyo, we found that one to be a bit on the sluggish side, but given the extra power on tap here, that wasn’t a problem.
The rest of the specs are good, with an HSPA+ radio (supporting T-Mobile’s “4G” network), a 1.3MP front facing camera, a 5MP rear camera, 16GB of internal storage, 2.4GHz 802.11n, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS, and Corning’s Gorilla Glass on the screen. But there’s a big problem - the screen resolution. This is a 7” tablet with an 800 x 480 (WVGA) screen resolution in a world running at 1024 x 600. I’m guessing Dell stuck to WVGA because Stage UI didn’t scale well to WSVGA screens, but really, WVGA is considered the standard for 3.5-5” screens. On a 7” display, WVGA computes to 133 pixels per inch, which just doesn’t cut it.
Other than that though, this appears to be a well built and highly specced tablet that is one of the better Froyo tablets we’ve seen. Unfortunately, with Honeycomb on the horizon, Froyo isn’t going to cut it for much longer. Hopefully, Dell has something up its sleeve for the future.
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KoolAidMan1 - Thursday, February 3, 2011 - link
You nerds are so fucking retarded and detached from reality.Hilarious, please keep posting.
kraeper - Thursday, January 27, 2011 - link
I can't speak for the rest of the market, but I agree on $500 being too high, and would add that the carrier contracts are the real deal-killers for me. Yes I know they can be purchased without a contract, but they're pricing them to be purchased with one. Thing is, I have a cellphone. All I would want is a tablet with wifi. If I need data access on the tablet while I'm out and about, well, that's why smartphones have hot-spot capabilities. Another 2-year contract, even if it's 'just' a $30/month data plan, is still $720 on top of the tablet cost. Yuck.Sure, plenty of people are too lazy to hotspot, or just figure they'll stick their tablet in their pocket and use it with Skype as their cellphone (lol) but the marketing/pricing on these right now baffles me.
michael2k - Thursday, January 27, 2011 - link
Actually, at least with the iPad, you get significantly longer battery life and a slightly higer resolution than with the iPod touch for that extra $180.ImSpartacus - Thursday, January 27, 2011 - link
If you're looking for value, grab a Nook Color. Root that bad boy and enjoy a $250 Android tablet.pandemonium - Friday, January 28, 2011 - link
So, Apple can do it, but no one else can?Cheap and knock-off is highly subjective and showing how little perception you've given to the article or what's within.
Shftup - Thursday, January 27, 2011 - link
I think you guys need to add a new section - Tablets (there is a sub section for every other computing catergory), especially if 2011 is the year of tablets.....lazn_ - Thursday, January 27, 2011 - link
So what I want is a tablet with a good IR transmitter..One that can be used to control my home entertainment system. Say browse Netflix on it, then click a button to have my TV load that movie up.. Or with Hulu and all that.. But without having to buy into a brand (like the Panasonic).
With an IR transmitter and GoogleTV it should be easy to implement.
lazn_ - Thursday, January 27, 2011 - link
I don't have any use for a tablet as a tablet...But a tablet as an interface to other devices, that I could use.
soydeedo - Thursday, January 27, 2011 - link
You might want to take a look at the Vizio offerings from CES:http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/05/vizio-tablet-ha...
http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/05/vizio-phone-han...
They both have IR transmitters and universal remote capabilities.
Jorgisven - Thursday, January 27, 2011 - link
IR Transmitter? That tech is so 90's, a la Palm Pilots. New TV's are coming wifi/internet enabled, as are blu-ray players. It's all over network now. Google TV's have apps for android to control just that. Also, Comcast has an Xfinity App that, provided you're using their HD box, you can do all that - browse on demand listings, change channels, all from an iPad (or Android Phone). It's certainly not brand specific. I have a Dynex TV (cheap Best Buy brand). Getting the XBox App for Android allows Netflix, etc. In fact, Netflix apps are all over.IR is old and slow, and line of sight only, and I wish Nintendo hadn't bought into it. Cloud control is where it's all headed anyway.