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PDowns · 08-12-2010, 08:16 AM

Hybrid Dell Streak Phone-Tablet Goes on Sale This Week

Dell is slated to begin processing U.S. pre-orders for its hybrid smartphone-tablet on Thursday, with the Dell Streak going on sale Friday. Customers who sign up for a two-year service agreement with AT&T will be able to purchase the device for $299.99 -- or for $549.99 without the service contract.

"The Dell Streak has found a way to fit your whole world in a five-inch screen," said Ron Garriques, president of Dell Communication Solutions. "Its unique size will help people discover new ways to enjoy the web, connect with friends, and navigate their lives."

Key Differentiators

The tablet space is an exciting one to be in right now because it's still emerging and with the story still being written, said Kevin Andrew, a member of the Dell Streak development team. However, for a class of device "that sits somewhere between a smartphone and a full netbook or notebook" to succeed, "it needs to do certain activities better than anything else," he said.

One thing that differentiates the Streak from pure-play tablets is that it also can place and receive phone calls over 3G networks, Andrew observed. "What's great about Google is that if you have your contacts in your Google accounts or Gmail, it will actually pull all those contacts down to the phone when you log in for the first time," Andrew said. "So if I ever lost the device, I could actually go in and find those contacts."

Dell is also counting on the Streak's video-conference capabilities to differentiate the device from tablet rivals. Unlike Apple's iPad, the Dell Streak is equipped with a rear five-megapixel camera with dual flash for taking pictures at night as well as a front-facing VGA camera for video chat or snapping self-portraits.

Forrester Research analyst Henry Dewing sees a slightly larger touchscreen smartphone like the Streak as potentially ideal for completing collaboration tasks. "Information workers attend one or more meetings every day, and almost a third of their team members are not colocated with them," Dewing wrote in a blog. "This calls for solutions and devices that enable these mobile workers to communicate and collaborate -- and the Streak fits nicely into market white space to fill this need."

08-12-2010, 08:16 AM	#2
PDowns Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 100 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Milton, On. Canada Device: (jetBook)lost in mail;(Kobo;ipod touch;Samsung S	Hybrid Dell Streak Phone-Tablet Goes on Sale This Week Dell is slated to begin processing U.S. pre-orders for its hybrid smartphone-tablet on Thursday, with the Dell Streak going on sale Friday. Customers who sign up for a two-year service agreement with AT&T will be able to purchase the device for $299.99 -- or for $549.99 without the service contract. "The Dell Streak has found a way to fit your whole world in a five-inch screen," said Ron Garriques, president of Dell Communication Solutions. "Its unique size will help people discover new ways to enjoy the web, connect with friends, and navigate their lives." Key Differentiators The tablet space is an exciting one to be in right now because it's still emerging and with the story still being written, said Kevin Andrew, a member of the Dell Streak development team. However, for a class of device "that sits somewhere between a smartphone and a full netbook or notebook" to succeed, "it needs to do certain activities better than anything else," he said. One thing that differentiates the Streak from pure-play tablets is that it also can place and receive phone calls over 3G networks, Andrew observed. "What's great about Google is that if you have your contacts in your Google accounts or Gmail, it will actually pull all those contacts down to the phone when you log in for the first time," Andrew said. "So if I ever lost the device, I could actually go in and find those contacts." Dell is also counting on the Streak's video-conference capabilities to differentiate the device from tablet rivals. Unlike Apple's iPad, the Dell Streak is equipped with a rear five-megapixel camera with dual flash for taking pictures at night as well as a front-facing VGA camera for video chat or snapping self-portraits. Forrester Research analyst Henry Dewing sees a slightly larger touchscreen smartphone like the Streak as potentially ideal for completing collaboration tasks. "Information workers attend one or more meetings every day, and almost a third of their team members are not colocated with them," Dewing wrote in a blog. "This calls for solutions and devices that enable these mobile workers to communicate and collaborate -- and the Streak fits nicely into market white space to fill this need."