Last week I started a new project of work and decided to take the plunge on a solution for web access on the move. I have my recently replaced iPhone 3g and have been using this for the last couple of years, impressed by the simple and responsive touch screen and elegant design, but increasingly frustrated by the slowness introduced by iOS 4 and the eye strain inducing small screen for web access. So it was, that I've been visiting my local Apple store over the last few weeks to try out the iPad at every opportunity. To their credit, Apple have kick started the whole idea of a future not tied to the desktop operating system... and iOS, while feeling restrictive to the techies amongst us, is more likely to be just what your grandma needs to get online. So the iPad is great, no doubt about that... but still, I wasn't convinced that it would be much good away from home - too big to fit in a pocket, too heavy to hold single handedly for extended periods and the data plan was another monthly expense I didn't want to commit to. And then I stumbled upon the Dell Streak in my local O2 store and a much better solution for me became apparent. A screen just perfect in size for me... reminiscent of my old Psion Series 5mx (10 years ago, multitasking OS 32hrs on 2 AA batteries), finally brought bang up to date - this is the size a personal organizer should be! Psion Series 5mx So, after the first week getting to know Android on the Dell Streak I'm confident that I made the right move for my needs... I upgraded my iPhone plan with O2 to the Dell Streak, which took my monthly bill from £20 to £35 for the next 2 years... I then bought a pay as you go data SIM and left the upgraded voice SIM in my iPhone and popped the pay as you go SIM into my Streak. I think that I will probably switch fully to the Dell Streak for voice and data - get myself a bluetooth headset and possibly an Apple bluetooth keyboard for lengthy typing. Only downside at the moment is that the power socket is a bit exposed - I'll have to get a protective case. Finally for now, the Android market place looked a bit sparse to begin with, but I've found some cracking Apps already... more on these soon, but my first purchase was SlideIT - which made it possible to type this post on the Dell Streak without getting repetitive strain injury! Cheers Brian
I think you'll find this space being filled very quickly in the next six months or so with a range of options running both Android and Windows. Samsung is bringing out a 7" model running Android and others will follow with many options. Cheers Ray
Yes, I'm aware that Apple has kickstarted the whole tablet industry and look forward to seeing some genuinely useful tools... this was a way to get into Android before the large format tablets arrive. Overall, I think I'll stick with Android for the foreseeable future... oh, by the way I upgraded the OS to version 2.1 on day of purchase... The Dell Streak ships with version 1.6 installed, which is a shame but shouldn't hold anyone back - the official update can't be far away. Cheers Brian
Well, a couple of things... first the official release of Android v2.1 is due from O2 tomorrow, and secondly, I'm typing this using the Apple wireless keyboard, which pairs perfectly with the Streak! (Surprisingly, neither the iPad nor the iPhone can do this). All you do to pair the bluetooth keyboard with the streak, is turn it on, scan for the bluetooth device from the streak wireless settings dialog, enter the 4 digit pin on the Streak and then type the same code on the keyboard and then press enter. Voila! One high quality external keyboard for when you want to type lots of text I also picked up from O2 the plastic protective sleeve... the gorilla glass is fine for the screen, but the surrounding plastic case needs the protection I think. Cheers Brian
