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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jmunjr - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link
If I am forced to use AT&T then I'm not buying it. Being a techie I get razzed all the time about my ancient V195 flip phone. I'm not succumbing to the subsidy scam that goes on in pretty much only the USA. I want a choice and if companies want to force you to use a specific carrier to get their phone and allow those carriers to cripple the OS/phone then they won't have me as a customer. I work from home so my PC will blow away any smart phone no matter what the challenge.cjb110 - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link
could try importing an European one? Try www.expansys.com/d.aspx?i=196312Adul - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link
Any followup going to be done on phones that have upgraded to Froyo like the evo, droid and soon incredible?nilesh_dd - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link
Sorry to barge in with my un-related request. But, is there any chance you will be reviewing the Samsung Vibrant/Captivate? I was interested in an AnandTech review of Samsung Galaxy S GT-I9000, but I assume any closest phone will do.Thanks
Nilesh
wildkarrde21 - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link
I second this request for a review of the Captivate/Vibrant. Thanks for the informative review of the Streak, but I'm not sure why you guys reviewed the Dell Streak first when the Captivate/Vibrant have been out for almost a month now... I would love to hear Anandtech's opinion of the Captivate/Vibrant or even Epic 4G :)Anand Lal Shimpi - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link
The Epic 4G should be here this week - expect a review later this month :)Take care,
Anand
JimmiG - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link
Where does the Streak get its excellent battery life from? At first I thought "big device - big battery", but it's not that much higher capacity than the Nexus One (5.661 vs 5.18 Whr). They both use the Snapdragon platform so internally, the Streak looks like just a Nexus One with a bigger screen. Is it all due to software optimizations, or are there other significant differences hardware-wise?Imaginer - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link
Why not have the phone be with multiple carriers instead of this exclusivity BS. I like the fact that the device has two cameras for things like mobile skype and the battery seems decent. The keyboard if it is as bad as the review says, hopefully can be updated.adonn78 - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link
I would buy a version without the phone as I use a prepaid phone for $50 a month unlimited everything. AT&T is the worst network out there. I would love to have a nice tablet PC without the phone and would pay $300. Just to surf the web and have a GPS and video watching device.brianmc - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link
Anand, thanks for another great review I didn't expect from the site. I've been seeing commerical after commerical on the new Samsung Galaxy S phones, would it be possible to review one of them some time?Also I think it would be a good idea to have a Bench for the cell phones too! Only dreaming :)