Dell officially preparing for Round 2 with a larger 7-inch tablet to join the Streak
We had previously heard that the Streak was only the first device in Dell's eventual family of tablets. Early info emerged in the form of some leaked images, followed by more details about a 7-inch MID known as the Dell Looking Glass rumored to be powered by an nVidia Tegra 2 chipset and running Android 2.1.
In a move reminiscent of the Streak's first official public demonstration, company CEO Michael Dell has confirmed the development of the next member in Dell's tablet family, giving the new 7-inch tablet a brief public debut at the Oracle OpenWorld conference. The new device is most likely the previously rumored Looking Glass, although there hasn't been any confirmation so far, and no mention of specs and hardware.
Even though details are scarce, the new Android tablet is clearly an addition to the existing 5-inch Streak, carrying a very similar design style. No mention was made regarding when we can expect to see Dell's latest MID, but with the Looking Glass rumored to launch in November, it's likely we should be learning more very soon.
It's good to see Dell continuing to expand into the MID/tablet space, and although it isn't perfect, the Streak is a very promising first attempt. From a purely hardware point of view, I think the Streak is excellent, with most complaints centering around the device shipping with Android 1.6, the delay in the promised upgrade to 2.2 Froyo, and a general lack of support.
Hopefully with the upcoming 7-inch tablet and the promise of more new devices, Dell can address these problems and provide the software support that the hardware deserves. Would you be interested in a 7-inch Dell Streak?
A video of Michael Dell's keynote is below with the new 7-inch tablet making its appearance around 1:27, and don't forget to check out Streak Smart for the latest comprehensive coverage of the company's current 5-inch MID/smartphone.
[Engadget]
