Is the Dell Streak worth it?

[Guest rekirk82]

I currently have a Nexus One, love it, use it all the time. Also have an iPad, i am trying to justify buying the Streak to replace the Nexus One. Im also interested to see the new HTC Desire HD coming out.. Can anyone give me some valid opinions? The pre-sale has started and I dont want to get trigger happy and spend the money if its not worth it. Im specially interested to hear from people who have Andriod 2.1 or 2.2 installed on it bc 1.6 is a big step back. Thanks!

[Guest courtlandre]

Nobody has 2.1 or 2.2 yet except dell. The large screen is nice, but coming from an iphone I miss the responsiveness and polish of iOS. I'd say keep the N1 until 2.1 or 2.2 comes out.

[Guest WilhelmsBrick]

I currently have a Nexus One, love it, use it all the time. Also have an iPad, i am trying to justify buying the Streak to replace the Nexus One. Im also interested to see the new HTC Desire HD coming out.. Can anyone give me some valid opinions? The pre-sale has started and I dont want to get trigger happy and spend the money if its not worth it. Im specially interested to hear from people who have Andriod 2.1 or 2.2 installed on it bc 1.6 is a big step back. Thanks!

I've never used a Nexus One or owned an Android phone before the Streak so I can't really make judgment against the Nexus One, but as for my general experience I've found it to be great.

Coming from an Iphone, the main thing is the 5" screen - it's fantastic, if you're a heavy web user on the go then it's definitely one of the few phones to look for. All the stuff about size and pockets has been said before - it's pocketable. It's responsive, loads pages fast and smoothly runs apps. This can only get better with updates to 2.1 and hopefully eventually 2.2. As Dell have said we will be getting 2.1 (and 2.2 'down the line') there wont be any issues for apps running multi-touch and as such no worrying about what the store has to offer (i'm dying to get myself a SNES emulator).

A main problem has been the keyboard for a lot of people, although alot have managed to get Swype ayway, the version of the 2.1 UI Engadget tested has the number pad removed, giving a central keyboard - so finally no bending your thumb over to get at certain keys.

Which is another point - Engadget got given a 2.1 version to test, as such, if they're rolling it out to people to review it then the September date for updating really does seem accurate - so not that far off at all.

So basically, yeah, I am really happy with getting this phone. When I got it, which was UK release, there was nothing else like it - still isn't. Obviously you can wait for something like the HTC Desire HD, but by the time of its release there will be leaks and advertising for something else just as appealing. So if in a month I see some phone with a 5" screen running 2.2 with a slightly improved processor, RAM and ROM i'm not going to be that jelous.

Oh...and the phone part works fine too... :D

...and breath, essay over.

[Guest Amdathlonuk]

I've used both, I had a Nexus and sold it to get the Dell.

The Nexus was a great device especially on 2.1 and 2.2

The Dell isn't as quick as the Nexus because it is on 1.6.

However I thought I would miss the trackball notifications and the flashlight SMS alert....etc.

I haven't missed either and the 5" screen is a godsend even if it isn't an AMOLED.

I've bought mine KNOWING that when 2.1 or 2.2 comes out it'll be worth the change.

I sold my Nexus early to get a good price for it, I managed to sell it for £360 so I'm very happy with the 6 months I had it for.

Sell now, and enjoy the development of the Streak, if an AMOLED 5" screen comes out, I'll be getting it before the press release ink has dried :D

Edited August 12, 2010 by Amdathlonuk

[Guest tudorw]

love it, use it for at least 3hrs a day for filtering email, catching up on news feeds, online video, handles everything very nicely, there are some glitches, I have so many apps installed it would not be fair to blame it all on the streak but am hoping the reason they are taking time on 2.1 is to make sure it's rock solid...

personally most of my passwords have numerics in and I quickly got used to have a keyboard with a numeric pad, after learning to use it they better leave it in as an option for us early adopters...

gee, I even make and receive a call now and again...

highly recommend and I have been through a lot of handheld going back to the psion 5 (I have a receipt somewhere for a £200 4mb compact flash...ouch)

[edit] I reckon on buying a new handheld every 6 months or so, if you are likely to hold this next one for a couple of years and can wait a little longer you might want to look at Dell Thunder and by the end of the year there should be some Tegra2 based tablets that should run android in a slightly larger tablet form very nicely

Edited August 12, 2010 by tudorw

[Guest vonalim]

I haven't missed either and the 5" screen is a godsend even if it isn't an AMOLED.

I've bought mine KNOWING that when 2.1 or 2.2 comes out it'll be worth the change.

I sold my Nexus early to get a good price for it, I managed to sell it for £360 so I'm very happy with the 6 months I had it for.

Sell now, and enjoy the development of the Streak, if an AMOLED 5" screen comes out, I'll be getting it before the press release ink has dried :D

Beside the Streaks' screen being large it's also perfectly readable outside at direct sun (probably transreflective technology). It's the best screen of the similar size I have seen...

[Guest HoTdiGiTi]

Yes

[Guest Ellis Grouse]

I would say... absolutely.

Coming from a Desire, I sold that to buy a Streak as soon as I realised it was actually a phone.

The screen is absolutely incredible, alone reason enough for it's value in my opinion. Visible in direct sunlight, bright, and let's not forget absolutely huge.

Since Android performs UI scaling also, images on the screen appear roughly the same size as they would on a Desire/Nexus one, meaning you can fit a lot more stuff on the screen at once ie. apps, widgets etc.

2GB of internal storage for apps is a godsend, too, as I filled up my Desire's rather paltry amount in a matter of days.

Basically, after having the Streak for a few weeks I wouldn't want to go back to the Desire at all. It's just too... small.