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Dell's 10-inch Android and Windows tablets get names, specs, release dates
Well, well, what have we here? A pair of 10-inch Dell tablets, one running Windows 7 on those fancy new Oak Trail chips from Intel and the other pushing Android 3.0 with a Tegra T25. We already saw these devices leaked in February, but now we have some specs and release dates. The Wintel powered Latitude ST boasts a resolution of 1366 x 768, 2GB of RAM, up to a 128GB SSD, GPS, an accelerometer, both front- and rear-facing cameras, an 8-hour removable battery, and "1080p video output," which we assume means HDMI-out. The Android-flavored Streak Pro opts for a 1200 x 800 panel, but keeps the pair of cameras (and two mics) for video chats, while adding an unspecified mobile broadband radio and slathering Dell's Stage UI on top of Honeycomb (whether or not that's a good thing is purely a matter of taste). Pricing is still up in the air, but the leaked roadmap indicates the Streak Pro will land in June, followed by the Latitude XT3 convertible tablet in July, and the Latitude ST in October.
StreakDroid 1.9.0 takes Dell Streak Own3rs to the frontier
Fans of rooting the Dell Streak are likely familiar with the efforts DJ_Steve, a tenacious phone enthusiast with a penchant for keeping the tablet at its bleeding edge. To the uninitiated, this five-inch smartphone is enjoying an underground renaissance, thanks in large part to the hacked ROMs known as StreakDroid. Even while Froyo has been available officially from Dell for some time now, the aforementioned spinner got it there first. Releasing a tireless flurry of updates since then, StreakDroid now sits at version 1.9.0. Dubbed 'The Final Frontier,' DJ_Steve's latest release brings Android version 2.2.2 to the Streak, along with a more polished, heretofore unreleased version of Dell's Stage UI. Additionally, users are now given the option to select a default launcher before installation, with LauncherPro, Stage UI, and Gingerbread's launcher available for the choosing. Issues of a flaky accelerometer are documented in the release notes, though initial user reactions have been overwhelmingly positive. Streak hackers, get your download on in the source below, and let us know how this particular mix resonates with you.
Dell rolls out Froyo update for AT&T and Rogers Streak 5 users
Dell already pushed out its Froyo update to users of unlocked Streaks way back in November, and it looks like those that bought their Streak 5 from AT&T or Rogers can now finally get in on the action as well. The company just began rolling the update for those users out over-the-air today, and it brings with it all of the features we've already seen on unlocked Streaks, including Flash support, Dell's Stage UI and, of course, support for any apps that require Android 2.0 or later. Hit up the source link below for the complete details on the upgrade.
Dell Venue ready to order now for $500 unlocked, shipping February 18th
In classic Dell fashion, the company's most legitimately appealing Android handset yet has just gone up for sale with nary a peep marking its arrival. If you'll recall, the US announcement for the Venue wasn't exactly overloaded with facts and figures, we were basically told that it's coming, and hey, here it is now! A cent under $500 buys you an unlocked Android 2.2 device -- with either AT&T or T-Mobile 3G bands, your choice -- equipped with a 4.1-inch WVGA AMOLED display, an 8 megapixel camera, and some of the best looks on any smartphone yet. The preliminary shipping date we're seeing is February 18th, let's hope that's a much more concrete number than we've experienced with the Venue Pro, eh? [Thanks, Spiridon and Tanjot]
Dell Venue review
Yes, it's the Dell Venue, and no, you still can't buy one outside Hong Kong or South Korea just yet. All we can speculate is that this Android phone is facing the same manufacturing issues as its WP7 cousin, but hopefully we're wrong. Anyhow, what matters is that we've finally gotten our hands on a retail unit of the Snapdragon-packing Venue. So is it worth the wait for Androiders distanced from the Far East? And will this handset be the answer for our love-hate relationship with the Streak? Head on right past the break to find out. %Gallery-114817%
Dell Venue launched in Hong Kong, we go hands-on
Isn't it fun when you hit the right place at the right time? We just happened to be chillaxing in Hong Kong when Dell chose the city for the Venue's global launch (and it's actually hitting the shops slightly ahead of South Korea), so a quick hands-on is inevitable. As we've seen previously, this HK$3,999 (US$514) handset is essentially the Venue Pro's Android 2.2 cousin, sporting the same curved (or "Shear Design") vibrant AMOLED display at 4.1 inches and 800 x 480, but missing the slide-out keyboard. Under the hood lies a 1GHz Snapdragon with 1GB ROM and 512MB RAM, along with the usual microSD expansion, 1400mAh battery, 8 megapixel AF camera with LED flash, Bluetooth 2.3 EDR, WiFi and AGPS. There aren't any surprises in terms of software -- the Venue shares the same snappy Stage UI and Swype keyboard with the Streak, except for the lack of landscape orientation for the homescreen (and that's with orientation enabled in system settings). As for hardware, the killer feature here is the screen, and we found its curved Gorilla Glass to be surprisingly nice for our thumbs while swiping across it. The AMOLED panel underneath is also vibrant with great viewing angles. Elsewhere, build quality is almost solid bar the squeaky battery door, but at least it provides some grip. That's all we got for now -- we'll delve into more details in our forthcoming review, so stay tuned. %Gallery-111900%
Dell Streak Android 2.2 (Froyo) update review
Dell Streak. Froyo. Need we say more? If you're not already getting giddy, let us remind you that said tabletphone's technically still stuck on the aging Android 1.6 OS, so this is obviously great news for all anticipating (and presumably very patient) users. Well, the handful of us anyway, given the majority's distaste for this five-inch device's abnormal form factor. Here at Engadget, we've been fortunate enough to give this final 2.2 build a thorough test over the weekend, but has it fixed the bugs that plagued the 2.1 release? And will it make the Streak relevant again? Read on to find out.%Gallery-107961%
Android 2.2 update starts rolling out to unlocked Dell Streaks, includes Stage UI
We've pretty much been waiting on the Dell Streak's Android 2.2 update for as long as the 5-inch tablet / phone has been on the market, and it looks like the time has finally come... well, at least for owners of unlocked Streaks. Word is that Dell has started to push out its over-the-air Froyo update to unlocked Streaks; those that purchased devices locked to a carrier will see the update hit those 5-inch screens sometime in December. (Note: Streaksmart also reports that Dell will start selling an unlocked Streak in the US with Froyo preloaded in the next couple of weeks.) There are details on the entire upgrade process at the source link below, but just as we'd heard, the update includes Dell's new Stage UI, which we've been told will eventually be included as a software layer on all of Dell's consumer devices. We got a chance to see the interface a few weeks ago, and have to say the widget-based UI looks really slick. Those who prefer their Android untouched will be happy to know you can turn off the layer. We'll be doing an in-depth preview of the updated software once it hits our AT&T and O2 Streaks, but until then you can check out a few pictures of the new Froyo goodness below. %Gallery-107464%
Dell's Stage UI headed to Streak, also unofficially works on EVO 4G (video)
The first time the words "Stage UI" passed our lips, they were in relation to the Dell Thunder leak, but now we're hearing that Dell's custom Android user interface will actually appear alongside Android 2.2 when the update finally arrives on the five-inch Streak. We've just learned that's going to happen this winter in Japan when the Streak launches on SoftBank at the very least, as both are advertised for early December there, but we expect we'll see the updated OS even sooner in the US and Europe for obvious reasons. What's more, an unofficial build of Froyo that leaked out for the Streak last month has since been found to have Stage UI on board. StreakSmart's got a video of a custom ROM running a series of Dell-specific widgets on the Streak, and sister site Good and Evo managed to trick the very same software to run on a rooted HTC EVO 4G. You can see examples of both on video after the break, but here's the basic idea behind the UI -- giant panes of contacts, apps and shortcuts that fill an entire screen each, but leave your app drawer accessible at a swipe. If you're feeling daring, you can try the ROM for yourself at our more coverage link. Just be careful flashing that new baseband, eh? [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Dell Thunder explodes Android with 4.1-inch OLED screen, promises Hulu app
It's like Dell's making up for lost time with smartphones: while "Lightning" is the company's answer to Windows Phone extravagance, the Dell Thunder that's leaking out along side does up Android 2.1 with similar aplomb and a 4.1-inch WVGA OLED screen. There's a heavily custom Dell "Stage" UI on top, which seems much different (and classier) than what we've seen on the Streak or Aero. It apparently ties into Facebook and Twitter for social networking, and taps Swype for a touchscreen keyboard replacement, along with grabbing just a pinch of HTC's Sense good looks. Dell's document also claims this has Flash 10.1 for watching web videos, along with a mention of an "integrated web video Hulu app." We're not sure how that works, but hopefully it's everything we ever dreamed mobile Hulu could be. Under the hood we'd guess there's the same Snapdragon chip that's powering the Lightning, but we don't have specific specs. There is supposed to be an 8 megapixel camera, however, and the phone will be sold in AT&T and world-friendly HSDPA versions around Q4 of this year, with an LTE model to follow near the end of 2011. We can hardly wait. %Gallery-91360%