Dell Streak: $500 unlocked in US, available next month
We've just learned at D8 today that Dell will be offering the Streak to US customers direct from its website -- unlocked -- starting next month for $500. That's later than the June 4 date that UK customers will be enjoying, but it's earlier than it could've been -- Dell had merely been giving "later this Summer" guidance previously. More on this as it develops!






















.... and then?
@Xtole NO MORE "AND THEN!"
@Xtole
The price is an EPIC FAIL !!
@Xtole Im waiting for the FREE on contract update engadget...
@SteveyAyo
No doubt.
base don UK pricing, FREE or damn close to it on contract sounds right.
@Krekiere No it isn't, it's on par with most unlocked phones.
@Xtole Profit?
@Kilowattson
And then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then and then!
@Slygathor Engadget needs to do an ALT piece on carrier subsidized pricing and unlocked unsubsidized pricing! I am so sick of reading people complain about a phone that costs $500
@Xtole
Why wld anyone buy a 5" for 500 when I can get a 10" for a dollar less????? The logic beats me…
@Krekiere Your cheapness is more epic fail...
@GadgetFunkie Can the iPad WiFi make cellular calls, do text/MMS, or give GPS instructions?
@Kilowattson dude, where's my giant 5" touchscreen phone?
@bachviet Actually yes the iPad can do those things. Any other questions?
@jsbaugh Without cellular radio (iPad WiFi)? Are you kidding me?
@bachviet No not cellular but it does make calls and it's free.
@Xtole
For some reason I thought there was going to be an AWS version... was I wrong? :(
@MoreGoogleAds
I will wait for 2.1 and the T-Mobile version.
@bachviet I've always wanted my paperback copy of Slaughterhouse Five to double as a phone.
@jsbaugh Not if you are not around a WiFi router. You can't compare a tablet with cellular phone capabilities to a WiFi tablet in term of price. At least compare it to the 16GB iPad 3G, which doesn't even do cellular calls.
@GadgetFunkie
The ipad's not a phone, and it doesn't run android.
And you can't put it in your pocket either.
Doesn't the streak have better features also, like HDMI and SD card slot?
@GadgetFunkie I dont want to hook it up to a pc or mac to get it to work.....
@MoreGoogleAds
That mat be true, but she's still your mom.
@DoctarPeppar My grand piano's not a phone either, and can't make calls. As for fitting in my pocket - no way! Don't even ask about multitasking! The rotten thing can't make photocopies - only does music :-( Why on earth did I buy the damn thing??
Why didn't I just buy a cheapo hurdy-gurdy with its useful attachments for baking potatoes and opening oil-drums? Runs Windows too I hear..
@Xtole
I hope this comes out on ATT. Does anyone know the specs?
@SteveyAyo Don't you get it? That's why this stupid thing is $500 in the first place. It probably cost them less than $200 to manufacture, certainly no more than $240, what the iPad costs. The only reason this is so expensive is because carriers want to chain to you a 2 year, $65X24= $1,560 financial burden. They'll probably still make a profit off the device as they laugh all the way to the bank with your cellular soul in hand.
@Kilowattson Worthless comment.
Anyways...who the hell is this targeted at? It's not a netbook, it's not a tablet, it's not really a phone...I don't really get who out there is clamoring for a giant phone/small tablet. It just seems to miss all the worthwhile markets...This while sell about at well as the N900 which is to say, not well at all.
@DoctarPeppar Not running Android is a HUGE plus for the iPad. Why don't the nerds understand this? Non-geeks don't want that garbage OS.
@Slygathor That is correct! It is cheaper than an unlocked Nexus One.. much cheaper than an unlocked iPhone 3GS (around $600 + tax).. And people should not compare it with an iPad since this is a Phone + Tablet.. The iPad does not make phone calls.. and the iPad 3G version is $650 and upwards.. still does not make phone calls..
This is a very competitive price considering the Snapdragon and 5" gorilla screen!!
@GadgetFunkie
Why are you reading engadget if you think $500 is expensive for a gadget?
I'm buying one. Price is fine. Size is no problem, I have man hands.
@Kilowattson Well it will be marketed now on UK.And will land on O2 carrier. Hearing it being unlocked is just great,. http://j.mp/tabletstreak-from-dell
@smithers
Haha I was thinking the same thing! I may be nuts, but I am really excited about this thing!
@adityakar Hopefully it loads up a webpage just as fast as my laptop while both are connected to my WiFi.
Though I really am doubting that. Even the wireless radio on cellphones are much weaker compared to their laptop counterparts.
I think Google Chrome OS needs to come out and tablets need that instead of Android. Android is for cellphones and it should stay within the cellphona arena. Mark my words and watch the future for the next 10 years.
You will see Android will be popular in smartphones while the ChromeOS will be popular in tablets/netbooks/notebooks/laptops.
Thanks,
Slick.
hmmmmm
@rojorojo just wait for dell deals to come up or buy it refurbished in a month or so for $300... I bet it will be subsidised on AT&T anyways but $500 for any unlocked phone is amazing! Even the iPad 3G costs more than $500... To put it in perspective, an iphone 3GS is more than $500 unlocked and thats way less bang for the buck....
@rojorojo
This would be a perfect fit for Jay Leno's chin.
@rojorojo
I got to be honest, for 500 dollars I would much rather buy an Ipad because dell is gonna have something way better than this in like 2 months.
@seanGadget Honestly thats what scares me. I know tech constantly updates that force cant and should not be stopped but for some reason I feel like they will have its replacement up and running within 3 months of this baby which is good but also bad but hey it'll take me that long to save up the cash so do as you will DELL!
@rojorojo This thing is great. I'm totally going to hold it up to my head to make phone calls.
@rojorojo
Hmmm. can the keyboard handle 2 essays a week+casual typing? Can it replace a college laptop for a couple of months? Will it blend?
Come to think of it, in soviet russia phone carriers buy you. (into their extortion schemes)
Why does this cost so much? Didn't Dell tell everyone that it was "a tablet first and a phone second?"
@bravokiloromeo. It actually coat less than Every high end smartphone off contract and its unlocked!!!
@bravokiloromeo
Before reading the following post, please know that I am in no way a fanboy; I'm just giving my opinion.
Why is this "tablet" so expensive? When I first heard about this device, I was really looking forward to it. I thought it was being marketed as some sort of competition to the iPad, what with its large (but still portable) size and decent array of features. I admire the iPad and what it has brought to the portable device scene, but in my view, it's just too big for any of my needs. Even though people may gawk and laugh at its limited functionality, the thing that caught my attention was the 3G data service plans. How Apple managed to pull that off with AT&T baffles me. Seriously, look at how nicely the plan fits with the iPad: no contract, $15-30 a month. To me, the Dell Streak seemed perfect, assuming it was going to follow a similar data plan.
Alas, I read this post and see that the Dell Streak is just another phone. I'm in the middle of a Verizon contract and really don't feel like switching carriers. In all, I believe the Streak had the potential to succeed. If only, if only....
@Joseph9307 It's a ridiculously good price when you compare it to full priced iPhones and even the Droid Incredible.
@bravokiloromeo It's a Dell. Nobody's going to pay full price anyway.
Give it a month and through Fatwallet or similar I guarantee you'll be able to pick this thing up for $350 or so.
@bravokiloromeo Are you serious? I knew you Americans were cheap, but come on, I just WISH I could pay 500 usd for it here in Norway. If I calculate the Norwegian kroner price I think it would get, it's close to 750usd!! And same price for that really really bad iPhone when it came out.. Stop whining, you guys have superb prices in electronics!!
@DefPoet
Well then why call it a tablet but then market it as a smartphone? I'm just looking at it from a tablet standpoint and it seems like many are viewing it from the smartphone point of view.
@Joseph9307
You bring up some valid points about the 3G data. As a college student surrounded by WiFi everywhere, I don't need to depend on data services to use my iPad. I also feel like 5 inches is an odd size; not big enough to be entirely useful, but yet a little bit too big to be a comfortably sized phone. It barely fits in the dude's hand in the pic.
I have a Droid and if anything, would upgrade to the Incredible because of Sense and faster hardware. I like the Acer Liquid E, but a 768 MHz snapdragon? C'mon, we started with 1GHz right after the Droid released.
@bravokiloromeo
Well, you are comparing a product who is not a tablet and neither a smartphone, up against an oversized iPhone-tablet? How is that right? It's like comparing a medium sized pizza with all the goods on it, with a sloppy cold huge one with only cheese.
@Carnival
Even the crappy Android tablets are 7", which actually seems like a more comfortable size than my iPad to be honest.
I also don't know why it's useful if it's neither tablet nor smartphone.
@bravokiloromeo It's useful to me. I don't complain about fitting it in my pocket, or that it's to big.. I like it just the way it is, and with froyo on that thing I will be in love and probably married with it as soon as it comes out in Norway! :)