My First Week With The Dell Streak

psionmark’s posterous ^ | 25 June 2010 | Psionmark

[MrEdd]

My First Week With The Dell Streak

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Yes, after a couple of years with the iPhone, I figured it was about time I checked out "the other side" and visited Android land. I went the whole hog and decided on a Dell Streak. I figured if I was going to contemplate jumping ship, I may as well do so in spectacular fashion!

These are really just my initial thoughts after a week or so with the device. Almost suffice to say I haven't felt the need to use my iPhone once in the past week. In fact, a couple of days ago I inadvertently left it at home and, rather than thinking I'd have to go back to pick it up, I though "what the hell, I've got the Streak with me". Guess that kinda says it all, but here's my initial list of Pros and Cons. Pros (Dell Streak)

That 5 inch screen is simply gorgeous

Battery life - after an initial problem due to a rogue app consuming way too much power, I'm now getting 12 - 14 hours with a mix of moderate use and standby and about 6-7 hours of heavy use

Web browsing is about as good as you're going to get on a device that can (just) fit in your pocket

It's fast!

Terrific camera (5 Mega-pixel, with a front facing one which I'll probably never use)

The sharing built-in to the camera app - saves having to buy all those apps that I had to pay for on the iPhone to do a similar thing

Actually more portable than I imagined it would be. It doesn't really feel any heavier in the pocket than my iPhone does

Cell reception. Both the Streak and my iPhone are on O2 here in the UK. The Streak seems to have confirmed what I've thought all along (but can't really prove) and that's that part of the problem with the reception on the iPhone (I currently have a 3GS) seems due to the iPhone itself (a foretaste of the iPhone 4 antenna problems?). The thing is, on the iPhone, I could almost guarantee to not have data access over the cell network about 30% of the time, often more, yet on the Streak, I've had one instance in a week where I couldn't access data, and it only took me walking 2 foot from where I had been to get it back

Pros (Android in general)

I love the "openness" of Android. I can choose which Browser, Input System etc I'd like to use, instead of the device manufacturer choosing for me (you know who you are). Small things like being able to install an app that speaks (in a very clear and hardly at all robotic voice) the name of the caller/sender when a phone call/SMS comes in, or using an app that allows my device to power itself right down during a time specified by me to preserve power during the night when I don't need it.

Swype is the best input system I've seen on any device

There are some awesome apps available and there seem to be a higher proportion of good quality free apps (but see Cons below)

Google integration (one of the main reasons I'm trying out Android)

Notifications. Let's face it, the iPhone is crap in this department. Sure, you can use things like Boxcar, but as soon as a second one comes in, you've lost the first and so on. The notification system on the Android is superb, showing everything that's come in on the status bar. Tap that, and you see a nice list on which you can tap to go to the relevant app. It's almost worth having an Android for this alone.

Cons (Dell Streak)

It's a bit on the heavy side when you're using it for a long time and don't have any method of supporting it

A lot of the available apps don't fill the screen

The cost of accessories is ridiculous

Cons (Android)

An awful lot of crap apps available (but see Pros above, and also applies to the iPhone)

In conjunction with the above, app discovery is not as easy as on the iPhone. That's partly a matter of me finding the right place to look, but on the iPhone App Store, it's very easy to find good - and isolate the bad - apps

So, is it a keeper? Most definitely yes. Oddly enough, I really got the Streak with the intention of it being a Dev machine for me, as I want to try my hand at a few Android apps. I never intended for it to replace my iPhone, but it has done, almost instantly. The fact that I don't miss my iPhone at all speaks volumes.

Right, on with some Android App development!

[MrEdd]

For those of us waiting for 5" screen phones...

[PugetSoundSoldier]

REAL interesting... I’ll have to check one out! Looks like a great device, and the ability to use microSD cards for expanding memory (I typically have 2 cards with me on long-distance flights, one with a few dozen movies, the other with my entire music library in WMA Lossless format - which Android plays, and iOS does not) make it a serious contender for a mobile entertainment platform, especially on planes (where even a netbook or iPad can be a bit too big).

VERY interesting comments about the antenna, too - antennas have always been a problem for Apple. They put them in the wrong place, or cover with the wrong material, mainly because of the push of form over function. Put the important devices where they need to be, cover them with what they need to be covered, and then make the rest look the best you can. Yeah, not as sexy, but what good is a sexy phone if it doesn’t operate as a phone?

[PugetSoundSoldier]

Thought you’d all be interested in this, given the discussions on alternative tablets/mobile computing devices.

This - or the Toshiba Libretto W100 - are a good sweet spot, I think. Anything much bigger foot-print wise (like an iPad, or the original Slate) and you’re not really “gaining” anything over a traditional laptop other than a little weight savings (are we so lazy that an extra pound or two will kill us?) and the wow-factor.

But having a screen and UI bigger than a typical phone allows so much more functionality. Something in the 5” to 7” screen range allows you to carry it in a pocket, or a very small bag/pouch.

Now I can’t wait for the HP Slate to come out!

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Too bad Google is evil.

[for-q-clinton]

I’m not liking it.

One issue I have with android and windows mobile is that it allows mulitple screen sizes so teh developers design for the worst one to esnure it runs everywhere.

I want the openess of android or windows mobile 6.5 but with the standards of an iPhone. I can dream can’t I?

[MrEdd]

Too bad Google is evil.

And you will notice one of the carriers for this in the US is AT&T.

Coincidence?

[PugetSoundSoldier]

YOU’RE A GD EVIL LIAR! HERETIC! SINNER! THERE MUST BE OPEN SIZES FOR USERS!

LOL...;)

I like having different sizes, when I went from my i760 (240x320) to my HTC Touch Pro 2 (480x800) most of my apps scaled properly; those that didn’t took a few months, but the developers ultimately got it right.

In this day and age, I don’t see why we cannot support a multiplicity of screen sizes (so we can have multiple price-points and sizes), and allow the user to make the UI elements larger or smaller and placed at THEIR command. The device should allow customization to the user’s needs, not what the developer thinks the user needs.

For my home screen, I have mainly big icons; on my secondary screens, the icons are smaller and more populous. I use the home screen a lot, so big icons make it easier/faster to use, but on the secondary screens I can take a little more time.

And likewise with contacts; I’ve mixed icon sizes, with my most-dialed people getting big pictures, and my lower-used contacts are small.

And as we see with the iPhone, even they have changed the screen size/resolution with this new version...

But at least we have more and more devices coming out with unique features, breeding competition and innovation!

[Richard Kimball]

People are going all over trying to find the “sweet spot” for screen size for mobile devices. In use, the larger the screen the better, in carrying and energy consumption, the smaller the better.

[PugetSoundSoldier]

We need a screen that expands/contracts! I can’t wait for flexible OLED screens, put a few sensors on it and you can fold and expose only a small part, or the whole thing and the OS responds and adjusts the display accordingly.

THAT would be slick!

[driftdiver]

My company has used Dell exclusively for the past 6 years. Lately I’ve been very disappointed in their products and support. The last call to tech support was trying to ship us over to the paid support line within 30 seconds.

I’ve also found them to be overpriced lately. Just my 2 cents.

[Richard Kimball]

Thread hijack alert. I recently read an article that posited that within a few years, nanotechnology would completely upend the current manufacturing process. A cell phone, or whatever replaces the cell phone, would be a solid single piece without individual components.

When I started doing digital photography, a 240 MB IBM microdrive was well over $150. Now, an 8 gig smart card is $15 or so. It also went from mechanical parts to no moving parts. A lot of this article was over my head, but if I understood it correctly, manufacturing would be able to align molecules with different capacitive capabilities so that the device would be a single piece. Visually, the inside would look like a potato. Also, they believe you'll be able to have a 3d "printer" that will allow you to download and "print" a three dimensional electronic device.

It's hard for me to wrap my head around something like a flexible newspaper page that functions like a touchscreen, but that's probably where we're going.

I don't know how old you are, but I remember when Pong first came out. People would stand around and operate the dial just because it was so incredible to be able to manipulate what was going on on a television screen.

[PugetSoundSoldier]

Times, they are a-changin! I think something like a flexible screen will completely re-write how we interact with our devices. Voice command is getting scary-good; it’s how I interact exclusively with my phone when on the road - press my Bluetooth headset button, the phone “dings” me a second later, and just talk.

The changes that cheap silicon have wrought are bringing us to the land of science fiction at breakneck speed!

Now where the heck is my flying car...:)

PS: Pong? Loved that game! And one of my early memories was of a birthday party/sleepover for a friend. His dad owned a local pizza joint, and had JUST GOT a new Asteroids game. We had pizza and played Asteroids all night (yeah, we even slept the night at the restaurant). The way it worked, the challenge, the whole ‘thrill’ of imagination...

And now we have places like Intellectual Ventures (I’m one of their inventors) that uses lasers to pick off individual mosquitoes!

[o2bfree]

I like the Dell Streak a lot. And Android Froyo is impressive on many levels. When they combine the two...wow! It will be difficult to resist the temptation to switch.

[for-q-clinton]

The one big thing holding back OLED is the batteries. What’s the point in having a flexible screen if the battery isn’t?

I wish battery tech would advance quicker. I like that they are getting wireless power it would be cool if we got to the point where your car could beam power to all the devices and the power supply/converter on the device was nanotech so it was very small and you didn’t even notice it. Combine that with oled and now you have something.

[PugetSoundSoldier]

Heh, I’ve been playing with some new flexible LiIon polymer batteries - it’s amazing how small a bend radius you can get on these things - we’re talking a battery barely more than 1.5mm thick, and can handle a 1mm bend radius.

Scary!

[chris_bdba]

We need wireless battery so they can be stored in a pocket to power the flexible screen. :)

[JerseyHighlander]

FR has a boycott so and so company threads and posts almost daily, however I try not to get involved.

On this occasion, I beg you all to read up on Michael Dell’s dealings with George Soros and the destructive company they co-own, One West Bank, (successor to the well known IndyMac)

http://onewestbankfail.com/how-george-soros-and-michael-dell-are-working-to-kick-homeowners-to-the-curb/

BOYCOTT DELL.

Let them rot in hell.

[PugetSoundSoldier]

And we can sell that for another purpose too - FixInThePocket! I’m not sure I want all that energy radiating out that close to the “family jewels”, if you know what I mean...;)

[for-q-clinton]

here’s a good example where allowing multiple screen sizes and resolutions kills you.

Look at peggle on the iPhone. It really looks great (and sounds pretty good too). Look at Peggle on my tilt 2. You can tell it was designed for an inferior screen and speaker. They just prettied up the border if you have a big screen but the resolution still stinks and it doesn’t scale for landscape (other than changing the pretty border from teh top/bottom to the sides.

[PugetSoundSoldier]

Now try Bubble Breaker (shipped with OS), ageye’s gInvaders, SPB Airislands, HTC’s own Tilt, and many more. They work great on my i760 and my Touch Pro 2.

So it depends on the programmer understanding that the screen resolution is NOT fixed. This is well-understood in the regular PC world, it’s a shame not all app developers understand this.

Otherwise we’d all still be on 160x160 square screens as done years ago...

But Windows CE has supported multiple screen resolutions and color schemes since the very early days, so I think this is more a case of lazy developers than a problem with standards.