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Dell's WiFi-only Streak 7 goes Euro-trippin', now available in the UK for £299
With one of the original 5-inch Streak's chief downsides being that it was considered too small to be a proper tablet, Dell did the sage thing this January and introduced a 7-inch variant in the Streak 7. The newer slate is outfitted with a nice Tegra 2 dual-core chip, 16GB of storage, a 5 megapixel rear- and a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera, a WVGA (800 x 480) display, and now the eminently reasonable UK price of £299 ($487). Alas, where Dell fell short with its Streak family expansion was in installing Android 2.2 on the 7, which hasn't changed during its trip over the Altantic, and in offering pretty poor battery life -- which might actually be a bit better here since Brits are receiving the WiFi-only model. Then again, if we're having to praise a device for improving itself by omitting a valuable feature like 3G, perhaps that tells you all you need to know about its viability. At least the Streak 7 is priced correctly and Dell does promise a Honeycomb update is in the offing. You can order yours at Dell's UK outlet linked below or jump past the break to familiarize yourself with the company's press release.
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 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 Inspiron Duo review
When Dell first demoed the Inspiron Duo and its vertically rotating screen on stage at IDF in September, our mouths nearly hit the floor. It looked like a plain old netbook until its 10.1-inch capacitive touchscreen did a magical backflip and folded down over its keyboard to morph into a tablet. It was like nothing we'd ever seen before. And we actually figured it would be the sort of system that would stay locked up in Dell's labs, but when its specs were revealed -- a dual-core Atom N550 processor, 2GB of RAM, and Broadcom Crystal HD accelerator -- it became evident that the netbook / tablet hybrid was the real deal. Running Windows 7 Home Premium and Dell's new Stage interface, the $550 netvertible has the potential to successfully straddle both the netbook and tablet world. It also has a real shot at being the perfect device for those wavering between buying a netbook and a tablet. Indeed, the Duo is filled to the brim with potential, but what's the thing really like to use? We've spent the last few days with the Duo (and its Duo Audio Station) to find out, so hit the break for the official Engadget review! Editor's note: The review unit Dell sent us was a hardware production unit, but we were told the software was about 95 percent done. We will update this review with our impressions of the final unit when we receive it. This review was updated / edited on 12.8.2010 to include impressions of the final production level Inspiron Duo. %Gallery-108438%
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 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%
