T-Mobile Dell Streak 7 4G Android Tablet Review

We loved the Dell Streak, a 5” Android phone-tablet hybrid with an elegant build, sharp Gorilla Glass display and large but still pocketable form factor. So we had great hope for the Dell Streak 7, offered by T-Mobile and carried in their stores (unlike the Streak 5 that never appeared in AT&T stores). Granted, the Streak 7 has strong competition in the Samsung Galaxy Tab, an excellent 7” Android tablet that went on sale before the holidays with a mega-marketing campaign behind it. The Streak 7 has something the Tab doesn’t: a Tegra 2 dual core CPU that means more speed when multi-tasking and the possibility of an upgrade to Honeycomb/Android OS 3.0 (Honeycomb targets dual core CPUs). The Dell also has HSPA+ 4G while the Tab has 3G HSDPA, though Samsung’s Hummingbird CPU-based Galaxy products do take some advantage of T-Mobile’s upgraded network and achieve nearly the same speeds in our tests.

Now the Dell Streak 7 is here for $199 with contract ($50 less than the Galaxy Tab), and it isn’t trouncing the Samsung. Why not? Dell uses a lower resolution 800 x 480 capacitive multi-touch display, just like high end smartphones and the 5” Streak, and the result is big fat pixels that make the Dell seem slightly cheap. The LCD is better than the budget Android tablets sporting resistive displays, but text isn’t as sharp as on the 1024 x 600 pixel Galaxy Tab: images look grainy and viewing angles are extremely poor. We’re actually shocked since Dell has gone with high end materials on their Venue Pro Windows 7 phone, Venue Android smartphone and Streak 5. We’d come to think of them as the largely unsubsidized boutique brand for those who appreciate and can afford nice hardware. But it seems Dell will be releasing a range of Android tablets, and the Streak 7 is meant for budget conscious buyers. We’re just not sure that $50 less than the Tab will lure even tight-fisted shoppers.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab (top) and Dell Streak 7.

The Streak 7 is certainly a better pick than Android budget tablets sold in the US in retail stores: it has full access to the Android Market and it runs Android OS 2.2 Froyo with Flash 10.1. The Streak has a complete selection of wireless radios (WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and GPS), a dual core 1GHz Tegra 2 CPU, front and rear cameras and 4G. Build quality and materials aren’t as impressive as the Streak 5, but we’d say the Streak 7 looks a little classier than the all plastic Galaxy Tab. It has the same rounded ends as the Streak 5 (a lovely look) but oddly only 3 of the 4 standard Android buttons (the Search button has gone MIA- why, oh why?). And no, the Streak 7 is not capable of making calls over T-Mobile’s network, it’s data only like the Tab and iPad.

Dell Streak 7 Video Review

(458 days ago)

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