Posted by Tom Krengel
on 06/01/10
Computer giant Dell today sought to steal a bit of thunder from Apple’s iPad launch by announcing the release of its Google Android-based Streak tablet in the UK. It will be available to UK customers in early June and US customers later this summer.
The 5” device is hotly anticipated in the US because it will bridge the gap between smartphones and iPad style tablet computers, which typically have screens of around nine inches or larger. It will also offering the open Android platform rather than Apple’s closed iPhone operating system.
Dell says that the device is conceived as “data first”, although it can be used as a phone too. Web browsing on the larger screen means that most sites look very similar to their desktop equivalents, while watching films is also slightly easier than on a smaller mobile phone screen Also featuring turn-by-turn navigation and a 5mp camera, the Streak will run Android 1.6 but will be upgraded to the Adobe Flash supporting version 2.2 later in the year, for free and over the network.
The device uses the same Snapdragon processor that powers HTC’s much-lauded Desire handset and will ship with 2gb of internal storage, expandable to 32gb.
Neither HTC nor Dell are confirming prices until closer to the product shipping, but it is expected to be priced more like a high-end smartphone than the iPad. “The Dell Streak is a bold new class of product, something we wanted to bring to our customers first,” said Steve Alder, O2’s General Manager Devices.
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