THE NEW COMPETITORS WILL BE PRESENT

Who hasn’t heard of Dell Computers Corp., its business computers, especially its blade servers, commercial desktop and notebooks? The company was founded by Michael Dell back in the 1980s. A dropout of the University of Texas, Dell is today one of the richest men on earth with an estimated net worth of US$14 billion.

Earlier this year, his company introduced an interesting product called the Dell Streak. It was launched here in Jakarta last October, making Indonesia the first country it was launched in ASEAN and fifth in the world. Courtesy of Dell Indonesia, I have been playing with a Streak for quite some time, and, honestly, the more I use it the more I like it — although the gadget isn’t flawless.

Actually, it’s a bit difficult to define what a Streak is. It’s definitely a smart phone, as we can use it to make calls and to send messages — SMS, MMS, email and Instant Messaging. The Streak currently runs on the Android operating system (version 1.6 and soon version 2.2). Since the Streak is an Android-based smart phone, it already comes with a slew of Google applications, such as Google Map and Google Search.

The choice of the Android operating system comes as no surprise, given the hundreds of thousands of free games and applications that come free with it. The availability of these free goodies seems to be a powerful weapon for smart phone platforms as they compete against each other.

However the Streak is quite bulky. While it boasts a nice, high resolution 5-inch screen, and certainly begs to be considered as a “tablet”, it may be more appropriate to call it a mini-tablet, as Dell’s consumer managing director for South Asia Andreas Diantoro says. Still, Dell seems to be trying to pit its Streak against the formidable Apple iPad – which, by the way, has just become officially available in Indonesia.

“One of the advantages of the Dell Streak is its perfect size,” said Andreas, a veteran in the computer business.

“The Streak is large enough to serve as a tablet, yet small enough to fit into the pocket of your jeans,” he added, shoving a unit into the back pocket of his own trousers.

While Dell’s core expertise clearly lies in computers, the company has been pretty serious about the mobile device market. Besides the Streak, Dell released an Android-based smart phone called Dell Aero and a Windows Phone 7-based smart phone, the Dell Venue Pro.

What are the main features of the Streak? To begin with, it is a 3G smart phone, of course. It also has HSDPA data capability, giving us up to 7.2 Mbps. The processor is a Qualcomm Snapdragon qs8250 running at 1 GHz.

The 5-inch TFT has an 800 x 480 resolution. It is a multi-touch screen, which is great for watching YouTube videos, especially when held in a horizontal position. It is also a GPS device, and its large screen makes reading maps quite easy. One important innovation here is the use of special glass called Gorilla Glass for the screen, which prevents scratches and even cracks.

The device itself is pretty simple. There are three buttons to take us home, call up the menu and return to the previous screen, and buttons to control the volume, turn the device on and switch the smart phone to camera mode.

The layout of the virtual keyboard is somewhat unusual (and being unusual does not imply necessarily better). When the Streak is held horizontally, the keyboard has a separate numerical keyboard. The Streak is the first and only smart phone so far to tout a dedicated numerical keypad. It helps when entering numbers in addition to letters. But frankly, I would rather have the ability to turn the numeric pad on or off.

Like other 3G phones, the Streak has two cameras. The rear-facing camera is a 5 MP with autofocus and a LED flash. The front-facing is a VGA-level camera meant for video-conferencing. The cameras will not work unless we insert the additional MicroSD. I just wish the camera did a better job in night shots.

For a feature-rich device like the Streak, the battery life is pretty impressive. Of course, it varies depending on how active you are. If you play games all the time, you may have to connect the battery recharger after a couple of hours.

What do I think of the Streak? With Android as its platform, it is definitely promising. I also like the maps. The turn-by-turn navigation is also impressive, whether you are driving or walking.

The phone’s sensitivity to network signal is also very good. I haven’t had any problems making calls from my house, which is sometimes a challenge when using other handsets.

The Streak’s width makes it hard for small-handed people to hold it though. On the other hand, I think it can be a productivity tool. I just wish it came with a stand and a foldable keyboard.

Dell seems to be trying to pit its Streak against the formidable Apple iPad — which has just become officially available in Indonesia.

Source : thejakartapost