The Dell Streak Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on August 15, 2010 6:59 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Dell
- Streak
- Gadgets
- Mobile
The Camera
The Dell Streak ships with two cameras: a front facing 640 x 480 camera and a rear facing 5MP camera (2592 x 1944). Both are capable of recording video but only at 640 x 480. As you’ll soon see, given the quality of the sensors, it’s not a problem that the Streak doesn’t support 720p video recording.
The Camera app gives you the usual set of Android camera options. You can manually set white balance, adjust JPEG compression and even sync the camera to 50Hz or 60Hz signals for recording videos of displays.
The Streak has a dual LED flash on the rear facing sensor. The two LEDs are bright but not quite EVO 4G bright. There’s no auto flash option, it’s either on or off. On top of that you can’t use the flash while recording a video.
The size and shape of the Streak pretty much dictate that you want to use it in landscape mode, with two hands at that. The problem is holding the Streak naturally with two hands often puts your left finger over the camera lens. It’s not an insurmountable problem, but annoying.
I’ve already complained about how long the Camera app takes to launch and take photos. The problems don’t end there. The live view frame rate in the app varies from what looks to be 30 fps to probably half that if you point the camera at a poorly lit scene.
Taken with the rear camera
Taken with the front camera
At web resolutions the images the Streak produces are fine, but blown up to native resolution they leave a lot to be desired. The pixels are all very vague and over sharpened. Color reproduction is slightly off, almost as if there’s an overactive UV filter on all the time.
Compared to an iPad, you at least get a camera with the Streak. Compared to the EVO 4G or iPhone 4, the Streak’s camera isn’t very good.
Video recording quality isn't terrible but not great.
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ned14 - Sunday, August 15, 2010 - link
Useful review - and good call on the button size which no other review bothered to mention. However how come you didn't try the Dell 2.1 build 6941 firmware which has been online for a while now? Here's a link to it:http://www.mediafire.com/file/bb9cvm5uaap2z8k/upda...
It *does* have bugs, hence why Dell haven't released it proper. Here's hoping that enough of you Americans buy the Streak to get a Cyanogenmod port working for the Streak ... so far the Brits haven't done much other than complain (if you look at the cyanogenmod forums).
Cheers,
Niall
Goty - Sunday, August 15, 2010 - link
Brits complain about Americans? Noooooooo....=P
In all seriousness, though, I don't see this device becoming a huge seller. It's simply too large to become popular with the public and so will probably be relegated to the few people like us who appreciate the advantages of such a device and to some corporate users.
neogodless2 - Sunday, August 15, 2010 - link
You stated that this will work for GSM carriers other than AT&T but other sites reported that it is "officially" SIM-locked to AT&T. Could you clarify this?Anand Lal Shimpi - Sunday, August 15, 2010 - link
Hmm the t-mobile support part came from Dell, let me clarify and update tomorrow.Take care,
Anand
Anand Lal Shimpi - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link
Dell just responded - you're correct, all Streak devices are carrier locked to AT&T. I've updated the article.Take care,
Anand
JHBoricua - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link
Sorry, that's a deal killer for me. I like the fact that all of my mobile devices now come with a standard micro usb connector for which I only have to carry ONE cable and for which I'm not held hostage by the device maker if I need it replaced.I can run to my local Microcenter and get 4 micro USB cables for $9 a piece. That's one for the house, office, car and my backpack.
How much do you think Dell is going to charge you for a replacement USB to 30-pin cable?
s44 - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link
Who cares how much Dell will charge? Monoprice will charge a lot less.medi01 - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link
" the Streak doesn’t perform anywhere close to the Nexus One, HTC Incredible or Droid X. Let’s forget about comparing it to the iPhone 4 or iPad."Should you've said "forget about Nexus One"?
damianrobertjones - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link
I was under the impression that all phone makers were moving towards the standard mini/micro/whatever it's called usb port on phones for sync/charge etc?I really wish they would...
JHBoricua - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link
I believe in Europe they mandated this, but enforcement starts in 2011. Also here is how it works:First option is a charger with a *fixed* cable that must terminate with a Micro-USB plug. How this connects to the phone is outside the scope of the EU mandate, it can be a direct connection or through an adapter.
The second option is that a *detachable* cable is used that connects to the *charger* using a standard USB A connection. Where the phone does not have a Micro-USB charging port and an adapter would be required, this cable is allowed to *be* the adapter; in other words it can terminate with a proprietary plug, it doesn't have to be a Micro-USB plug if the cable is detachable. An example of this is the existing iPhone charger.
Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/08/europe-univ...