Why did I buy it?
Yes I am a bit late to review a product that was released earlier this year but I can’t exactly buy every product that comes out. I write about things I buy and when I buy something that I like I try to get involved with it as much as possible. Keep in mind I already have an Droid X (1) and 1st Generation iPad 16Gb WiFi, but I was interested in a smaller tablet to more easily carry around and throw into my pocket on my cargo shorts. The second reason was I wanted an ANDROID tablet to be familiar with Honeycomb. Yes I know the smaller android tablets don’t have official Honeycomb yet but I was prepared to root whatever device I bought or patiently wait for the manufacturer to update the devices now that Honeycomb 3.2 is out. (Honeycomb 3.2 supports smaller screen sizes.) The HTC Flyer is a beautiful device but way to expensive for a 7” tablet at $499.99!! The Galaxy Tab is now a bit old for me and putting Honeycomb on that might not look so good. I didn’t even consider Dell with the Streak 7 because..well…they are Dell and I just gave up on Dell for several reasons. But the little guy caught my eye in Staples. I still didn’t want to even pay 299.99 for a 7” tablet. So I decided to wait and see what comes out in the coming months with Honeycomb already installed.The next day I came across a link that had a 100 dollar coupon off any Android Tablet in Staples (not including the Nook.) I thought the timing couldn’t be more perfect. I did some google searches and after reading that the processor was actually decent one being a Dual Core Tegra2 1Ghz from nVidia. Add the fact that DJ Steve was making progress over at the XDA Development for Honeystreak on the 7 incher. I just could not pass up the offer to buy it at 199.99. So I did buy it!
The Potential
People have been raving about the NookColor since it came out with all it’s possibilities. I do agree it’s a great buy for what it can do as is and when rooted. I feel the same goes for the Dell Streak 7 at the current point of $199.99. The processor is an nVidia Tegra 2 running at 1Ghz speed. That’s a DUAL core chip in there. To me that means Honeycomb will run just fine once it’s ready for the device. As is, the Froyo 2.2.2 is running quite smoothly. The big complaint as been that it’s running Froyo and not even Gingerbread, but if that means jumping straight to Honeycomb then I am ok with that for now. As of recent, it’s been made official that a Honeycomb update is in fact going to happen and the date will be announced. The big complaint about the device is the screen resolution at 480 x 800. That is small especially when I think of how beautiful my Droid X looks. I don’t care. I am not using this to stream movies on end. I bought it for fun and to hopefully get to play with Honeycomb. Flipping the device from portrait to landscape renders the widgets and icons very fast and I have not seen any lag yet in doing normal tasks popping in and out of apps. I do like that fact that it takes a full size SD card. If you’re out and about you can always take your camera’s card out and pop it in and upload to your online galleries or facebook. Of course you can use the 5MP on the back of the device but I don’t see myself using that all too much. I do have Vignette installed and it works just fine. I am excited to finally have a front facing camera and look forward to testing that out with a few friends. For what this little device can do and WILL be able to do it’s a fantastic price and I happy I jumped on the deal.
The Apps I Use
The best way to see if a new piece of tech fits into your life is to actually use it. As soon as it was charged up I put my google account and my Amazon account into their respective Apps. Don’t forget to enable to 3rd Party Apps install in the Settings or you won’t be able to install Amazon Appstore. Once I was all signed in all of my previousely purchased apps from the Market downloaded and Amazon let’s you decide if you want to install any of theirs. (which is great because I have all these free app a day apps that I never actually use) Some did not install on the Android Market or didn’t even show up in a search i.e. Google Voice. (read below)
The rest of the Google Apps look as you would expect them to on your phone as this is not Honeycomb but Froyo. I do wish the apps realized it was a bigger screen than a phone and gave two panes for Gmail or Google Reader. Again, it’s not Honeycomb so it’s to be expected. Comixology looks fantastic. The 7” format really does work well for reading types of application like Comixology and the Kindle App and it’s a lot lighter and easier to hold up than an iPad. From what I’ve seen so far, the Browser loads the full desktop site and not the mobile m. site which some people may prefer or not. I prefer a full browser experience. Since it’s Froyo Adobe Flash is built in so TWiT looks fantastic which is always a plus. Google Music Beta was a downer. I am unable to even select any option to Sync my google music to the device in the App or in the Settings. Again, I will assume this will all get worked out. I do however have the Amazon Music App installed and it works just fine. Google+ looks just the same as on a phone and seems fitting for the 7” format.
Phone Calls?
The Google Voice App does not even show up as a download in the Android Market. The app is relatively new and I expect it to be available on all Android phones at some point regardless of form factor and flavor of android. I will be testing from google voice’s browser site and see how that goes. I have Skype installed and when I click on a phone number in my contacts Skype is started. So If you do pay for Skype minutes you can in fact make this be a giant pone provided you are near a wi-hi hotspot. So it’s good to know that Skype after installation was set as the default method for placing calls and texts. I’m sure it’s the same for Fring and other VoIP apps. No one I know is a heavy Skype user so I’m betting on Google Voice to be my phone and text option eventually. Gtalk and G+ Huddle will be my method of messaging on the tablet til then. Now to just get my friends and family off of telco texting! I’m also excited to test out video chatting now that I have a front facing camera. Skype, Yahoo Messenger, and Fring are only some of the options.
So there ya have it! My review of the Dell Streak 7 coming from a budget minded tech geek who just wants to have fun. This is how I use it and it works. I think it’s a great little Android Tablet and I can’t wait to see the potential this has once I get Honeycomb or Honeystreak on it. As always thanks for reading. I’ll be editing this article and adding to it as I use the Streak 7 more and more.
