My first 24 hours with the Dell Streak 7
Yesterday, I asked you all what I should do with my new Dell Streak 7, and how I should do those things. You've given me some pretty good advice in my first 24 hours with it, and I've got it set up pretty well already. I still haven't gotten around to hacking or flashing ROMs on it yet, but I'll get there when I have a little more time.
Anyway, I've used quite a few Android devices in my time as a technology blogger. The Streak 7 is only the latest of them, and in keeping with my other job, I thought I'd offer a review of sorts. It's not really a review, though; it's more of a first impressions piece. Join me below, won't you?
I usually start out my reviews talking about specs, but if you're reading StreakSmart, you know them already. Then, I head to build quality and design. So in terms of build quality, I think the Streak is fantastic. It's definitely one of the most well-built devices I've used, and in my opinion, much higher quality than something like the BlackBerry PlayBook.
As for design, I have been a huge fan of the Dell Streak series' design ever since last year, when the Streak 5 was "announced." The Streak 7 is really just a bigger variant of the original, so it shouldn't be a surprise to you when I say that I absolutely love it, especially the back. It's not glossy, which helps with finger smudges and keeps the device nice and grippy.
Then I go to the screen, which is probably the worst thing about the Streak 7. At a resolution of 800 x 480 and a size of 7inches, the display looks very, very pixelated. On top of that, the viewing angles are completely washed out. The PlayBook's screen, however, was a polar opposite.
In my opinion, though, what the Streak 7 lacks in the display department, it more than makes up for in performance. Since it sports a rather speedy Tegra 2, I have been able to do everything I've wanted to without the device breaking a sweat.
My point in this post was to compare it to other similar devices I've used and think about why the Streak series (particularly the Streak 7) might not have sold as well as other phones/tablets. For instance, if the Streak 7 and the PlayBook are sitting next to each other at a local big box store, which one do you think the average, not-very-tech-savvy consumer is going to choose?
Now that I've got the two preliminary posts out of the way, get ready for some way more important posts from me that will involve hacking and having fun. But before I go, what do you think of your Streak 7? Anything you would've changed?
