Dell Streak 7 a disappointment

pikapp168

Member
Jan 20, 2011
74
0
The Dell Streak 7, Or: 10 Ways to Not Make an Android Tablet

If it was possible to drown in plastic and silicon, we would so choke to death on all the Android tablets coming soon. This is a guide to not making one. The Dell Streak 7 followed it precisely. The Dell Streak 7 is perhaps the last Android tablet from a major manufacturer that will follow this guide. In a couple of months, after the tablet-centric Android 3.0 becomes de rigeur for any decent producer of Android-powered knick-nacks and bobbles, we'll enter a new phase of Android tablets where across-the-field genericness is offset by the taste and utility of Honeycomb. (In fact, I hope manufacturers don't take too deeply to differentiating by tweaking Honeycomb, since they've proven over and over again Google has better designers than they do.) But that doesn't mean we won't see plenty more tablets from other manufacturers that follow the template set out by the Streak 7:
1. Use a middling, low-res screen with crummy viewing angles.
2. Use out-of-date software designed for a phone.
3. Halfway cover up said out-of-date software with a custom interface that is only mediocre—like covering a tiny face stretched across a giant head with a ski mask made out of wet flannel.
4. Make something with the heart of a cheetah—the Tegra 2—occasionally respond so slowly that a crippled turtle drowning in a meteor-sized ball of laffy taffy would move with greater speed.
5. Make sure that your pokes are ignored at least one quarter of the time you try to touch something on the screen.
6. Get rid of the search button without a good reason. (Was there not enough space? I do not think so.)
7. Require a two-year contract to buy it, tethering its money-draining corpse to you long after it's obsolete.
8. Turn the apps screen into a version of Minesweeper called, "App or Crapware?" (I am looking at you, BrainPOP.)
9. Design a paperback-sized device—that is still almost as much phone as tablet—around the idea that it'll primarily be held in a landscape position.
10. Pull all calling functions out of your giant phone-tablet.

If you absolutely must pick up a 7-inch Android tablet immediately, the Samsung Galaxy Tab is better at this very moment. The pickle is that the Streak has better guts and will one day be updated to Android 3.0, which will likely obliterate the software problems, while we've heard that the Galaxy Tab may not ever be updated to 3.0. (That said, Honeycomb won't do anything to fix the Streak 7's mediocre screen, which is totally inferior to the Tab, and we hate the idea of purchasing anything predicated on the hopes or promises of a software update, which is only slightly less risky than purchasing a lottery ticket.)
It's $200 with a two-year contract on T-Mobile, after a $50 rebate. Or you can buy it off-contract for $450. Given the flood of Android tablets that are in the pipe though, I'd very much just wait. Either for another Android tablet, or for this one to get 3.0.
 

xaueious

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 9, 2010
3,483
436
The tablet is fine. Just because Apple fanboys hate it, doesn't mean that it sucks.
 

jddalrymple

Member
Feb 23, 2011
2
0
I'm plenty happy with my Dell Streak 7. The display is just fine. I bought it without a T-Mobile plan as I have a Sprint 4G Overdrive MyFi. I am hoping that the battery life improves a bit once Honeycomb is on it though. As it is, I get better life than myold Sprint HTC Hero phone did.

Sent from my sdk using Android Tablet Forum App
 

jddalrymple

Member
Feb 23, 2011
2
0
Okay... I did a battery test yesterday. 14 hours from the time I undocked it before it told me to plug it back in. It was a day of what I would call average use. I had the device with me at work all day. The Wifi radio was on the whole time.

I dunno how that compares to other tablets, but it works for me!

Sent from my sdk using Android Tablet Forum App
 

RomanticEvil

Member
Oct 26, 2010
245
22
The tablet is fine. Just because Apple fanboys hate it, doesn't mean that it sucks.
Apple fans haahaaahaaaa! I've ran a test, I'm not kidding, around me there are several people with apple ipod/icrap/imac/iphone and ofcourse the hypepad. In total I've asked 7 persons about the hardware, all agreed it's better than anything on this planet! But NONE, seriously NONE of all these people were able to tell me... 1 hardware spec, not even the clockspeed of the proc, one did know his firmware version (well done newbie!). It's shocking how less these apple owners know about their devices, but why should they need to know more other than the fact they have the best device. Real odd, must have something to do with marketing, all the people I've spoken to about their apple stuff aren't that bright.
 

cgent

Member
Jan 10, 2011
3
0
Out of the box, the dell stage and standard bloatware suck.... But when tweak and fine tune everything with a different launcher, spare partsand taskmanager, this is a really great tabletfor the money. I had galaxy tab and had to return it twice. Then I got the ipad which was an even bigger piece of ****. The only downside to this tab is the battery life which will hopefully be fixed with honeycomb upgrade. This will be getting honeycomb no doubt.this has minor downgrades to keep it out of the 600-800 range.this is agood deal for the money and there is always going to be something to t take its place months after the release.all the new upcoming tabs are going to be top of the line and will come with price tags to reflect them. You really just need to carry around a charger with this tab. Mine does about every three hours with heavy use and about six hours just laying on my table.
 

strider_mt2k

Member
Nov 22, 2010
406
19
Personally, I'd like to give the Streak 7 WiFi a shot when it comes out.
It's everything I keep wanting my present Android tablet to be, but sadly, isn't.
 

mikekoz

Senior Member
May 15, 2011
53
2
I have had the wifi version of the Streak 7 for a few weeks now, and I love it! I only paid 199.99 for it and it was worth every penny. I really like the fact that it uses a standard size SD card slot! I have no clue why all these manufacturers are putting micro sd slots on large 7" or 10" devices. Standard sized cards are cheaper and more robust, plus you do not have to worry about losing one if you happen to sneeze while handling it!! I also have no idea why people are complaining about the screens resolution. Mine is razor sharp! I have 3 7" tablets and they also have 800x480 resolution. The Samsung tab and Blackberry tablet have higher resolution screens, and you can tell a difference, but it is not worth the extra cost. The Samsung costs a few hundred dollars more, and the Blackberry tab is also pricey, and is not Android. I also have no need for 3G/4G and an extra bill as most places I use my tablets have wifi. In a pinch I can tether the Streak to my phone. The Streak is also very fast and responsive. This and the Acer Iconia are the two best "bang for the buck" tablets I own. I also own a Motorola Xoom and an Archos 70 250GB tablet. The Xoom is a great piece of hardware, but it was overpriced. In my opinion, I would now not spend more than $450.00 on ANY tablet, no matter who makes it. You can buy a real good laptop for 450.00 to 800.00 plus dollars, and it will do more than a tablet. Just my 2 cents!!
 

Xpun3414

Member
Aug 8, 2011
14
0
I see mostly good opinions on this tablet. In fact Im getting one very soon. So I will be adding my 2 cents as well. But as some have spoke ill of this tablet,all I can say is : Root it ! You can root this thing to Honeycomb & from what Ive been reading. It makes all the difference in the world. I WILL be rooting mine after a few days of play. I want to experience the Streak 7 as is first to see how it is out of the box. Then I intend to root it to honeycomb in about a week or so after that. Again, Ive read a lot of up's & downs about this one. but all the downs Ive read have gone ahead & rooted it & then the downs went to up's. So if your not liking the streak 7 out of the box. Try rooting it & see what you think then. From what Im reading, You may not be disappointed. Android...Here I come :)
 
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