Dell Streak with Android 2.2 review

When we first reviewed the Dell Streak we had some reservations, largely due to shipping with Android 1.6. In December 2010, however, Dell finally updated the software to Android 2.2, and we’ve been using it on a day-to-day basis for the past month.

Perhaps surprisingly, the change in underlying OS makes a big difference in a number of ways. In the main the changes are for the good – it’s now a much faster machine – but we do have some reservations about the impact on battery life. It’s enough to earn the device a recommendation, but note its weaknesses before you blow your cash.

There are four key areas that see a change: performance, battery life, the user interface and the keyboard.

Performance

If you want one simple reason why the Streak is now much better, just try loading Angry Birds. Under 1.6 it was usable but jerky; with the speed boost on offer from the upgrade to Android 2.2, which seems to fully unleash the power of Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon 8250 processor, it’s just as smooth as on an iPhone.

More objectively, version 2.2 completed SunSpider in 6 seconds compared to 18 seconds in its previous version. The BBC homepage (the full desktop version) loaded in 9 seconds compared to 11 seconds – another improvement, albeit small.

The key, though, is that we never felt frustrated by the Streak’s speed under Android 2.2. It was more than fast enough for any app that we threw at it.

Battery life

If only we could be so positive about battery life. This is the Achilles’ heel of the Streak with 2.2 installed: our 24-hour test involves a 30-minute voice call, downloading a 50MB file over Wi-Fi, forcing the screen on for an hour, listening to music for an hour, and using the Gmail application set to defaults to poll a test email account for the remaining time.

With 1.6 on board, the Streak had 60% of charge remaining after 24 hours. With 2.2, this dropped to 50% (to be strictly accurate, 46%, but we round to the nearest 10% to account for the lack of accuracy within most battery meters).

In real-world-use, you’ll be recharging it far too often, especially if you use background services. For example, we used both the Twitter and Facebook apps that sit on one of the home screens, and it was quite normal for the charge to drop from around 40% to almost nothing (or sometimes, nothing) overnight.

User interface

We have mixed feelings about the new user interface. The original didn’t have a huge number of differences compared to a “raw” Android installation, but the minor enhancements worked. For instance, you could click an always-present dropdown to quickly jump into settings or to access all the applications.

With 2.2, Dell has made more of its own mark, courtesy of the Stage interface. This translates into seven different homepages, each with its own theme: Web, for instance, shows five recently visited websites and offers a Google search box; Music includes thumbnails of the ten previous albums you listened to, and includes shortcuts to playlists and albums.

While that does give consistency with Dell’s other touch-based systems (such as on its Inspiron Duo), we missed the shortcuts of 1.6. If you need to head into settings, you now need to leap out of your app, and find settings in the list of apps (or add it as a shortcut to one of the homepages).

The keyboard

One big improvement is the keyboard, courtesy of Swype. In its first incarnation of the Streak, Dell used its own cramped onscreen keyboard with a number pad on the right. That could be convenient, but it also meant the keys were very small. As a result, text entry was quite slow except for the most nimble-fingered.

With this updated version Swype makes things much easier. While you can use the Swype keyboard in the time-honoured prod-each-key manner, it’s far quicker to swipe your fingers over the keys. So if you were typing “typist”, you’d start at t, head right to y (keeping your finger on the keyboard), keep on going to p, head back to i, drop down to s and then back to t. It sounds confusing, but it works, especially if you put a little effort into working out its tricks – for example, looping on a letter shows that you mean to tap it twice (such as in the word “letter”).

And the rest: criticisms

The Streak comes with a pouch-style carry case. It’s made of soft cotton, so doesn’t offer much protection, but we regretted not using it more often after spending a month testing the red version: we were using it as a phone as well as a tablet, which meant shoving it in and out of a tight pocket, and at the end of our time together the edge was coming off its finish. We found no such problems with the black version.

We also took the Streak to a gig, and in traditional style whipped it out to take a few shots of the band on stage. The results were awful; we could only gaze in envy at the likes of the iPhone and Nokia N8 around us, all of which clearly produced much superior results.
Dell also makes much of the fact the Streak can now record video at 720p, but don’t get excited. The results are just as bad.

And the rest: positive points

The Streak is justifiably criticised for being “just a big phone”. What’s the difference, say detractors, between the 4.3in screen found on a device such as the HTC Desire HD and the Streak’s 5in screen? Certainly, when it’s only used for web browsing there isn’t much difference: you get the same 800 x 480 resolution and a similar capacitive, multitouch screen.

It’s only when you start using the Streak for non-smartphone activities that it comes to the fore. Most notably, you can buy the Streak with a navigation kit – essentially a holder, which kept the Streak held tight in our test, plus a car charger – and coupled with Google Navigation this worked extremely well as a basic satnav system.

Many users already swear by the Streak as an eBook-reading device, gaming becomes a more engrossing experience, and sometimes (such as when using an onscreen keyboard or gazing at Google Maps) it’s simply more useful to have a larger device.

And there’s more. Attach the Streak to your laptop via the USB cable and it can share your data connection (note you’ll need to download an update to make this work). This update sees support for Exchange (absent from 1.6), QuickOffice Editor for editing Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents, and Dell making the wise move to switch away from its own or third-party apps when there are Google versions that do the job better: think voice control, photos and email. Finally, we shouldn’t forget that Android 2.2 also brings native Flash support.

Conclusion

Overall, then, this is a positive update. It’s faster, more intuitive and has more features than before. It also helps that Dell has priced the Streak quite aggressively: £399 inc VAT is competitive for a SIM-free device with this amount of power and features.
We don’t suggest that everyone rushes out to buy one: many will be better served by a phone with a 4.3in screen, especially if you feel embarrassed holding a 5in slab of plastic against your ear when answering a call.

However, if you’re willing to put up with the niggles we’ve already identified – our primary concern is its battery life – then it’s well worth buying as a super-charged smartphone with the capability to step up to tablet status when you need it.

Detail
Warranty	2yr collect and return
Physical
Dimensions	152 x 10 x 79mm (WDH)
Weight	220.000kg
Display
Primary keyboard	On-screen
Screen size	5.0in
Resolution screen horizontal	800
Resolution screen vertical	480
Panel technology	TFT
Battery
Battery capacity	1,530mAh
Core specifications
CPU frequency, MHz	1,000MHz
Integrated memory	16.0GB
RAM capacity	512MB
Camera
Camera megapixel rating	5.0mp
Focus type	Autofocus
Built-in flash?	yes
Built-in flash type	Dual-LED
Front-facing camera?	yes
Video capture?	yes
Other
WiFi standard	802.11g
Bluetooth support	yes
Integrated GPS	yes
Upstream USB ports	0
HDMI output?	no
Video/TV output?	no
Software
Mobile operating system	Android 2.2