The Dell Streak Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on August 15, 2010 6:59 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Dell
- Streak
- Gadgets
- Mobile
Cellular and WiFi Performance
The Streak only supports 802.11b/g and WiFi performance isn’t very good. Connected to an access point less than 6 feet away the best transfer rate I could get from a locally hosted PDF was 1.76Mbps. I tried copying directly to the microSD card over USB and got over 50Mbps. This may be an Android 1.6 limitation however as the Speedtest app managed 5 - 7Mbps consistently (on my desktop I get 17 - 20Mbps running the same test on the same network).
The Streak uses Qualcomm's QSD8250 SoC with integrated cellular radio:
| Dell Streak Network Support | |||||
| UMTS | 2100 / 1900 / 850MHz | ||||
| GSM/EDGE | 1900 / 1800 / 900 / 850MHz | ||||
| HSDPA/HSUPA | 7.2Mbps / 5.76Mbps | ||||
Cellular network performance was pretty good. Using the SpeedTest.net app I managed 2204Kbps down and 1007 Kbps up.
Cell signal attenuation was also in line with most other phones we’ve tested:
| Signal Attenuation Comparison in dB - Lower is Better | |||||||
| Cupping Tightly | Holding Naturally | On an Open Palm | |||||
| Dell Streak | 14.0 | 8.7 | 4.0 | ||||
| Droid X | 15.0 | 5.1 | 4.5 | ||||
| iPhone 4 | 24.6 | 19.8 | 9.2 | ||||
| iPhone 3GS | 14.3 | 1.9 | 0.2 | ||||
| HTC Nexus One | 17.7 | 10.7 | 6.7 | ||||
The Streak doesn’t appear to drop signal any more than comparable Android phones, and of course less than the iPhone 4. The wireless radio stack is less sensitive than the iPhone 4 but in line with other Android phones I’ve tested. I could hold calls at -109dBm but had mixed results below that point.
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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 :)