Times change. Things get old. Expectations adjust accordingly to reality.

Only two months ago I was salivating over the Streak. But then I was expecting it both sooner and cheaper. I don't understand what justifies the delay; as to the price, I am sure Dell will soon offer a deal that will make it irresistible again. So there's no rush...

FYI : Dell's Pre-sale just started (just got the email invite)

Not going to buy yet as ATT and the unlocked price put it out of reach


As a user of a N800, I was very much looking forward to the Streak as an upgrade. However the same issue I have with the N900 cropped up: the cellular radio / and having to deal with the Cell providers here in the US ( I envy those of you across the pond for this).

I would love a device with these specs (or even the N900's) with a modular cell radio. I'd put up with having a larger device for this. I really do not think that it would be too difficult, as all of the providers have some sort of USB Dongle cell modem now.

I agree that a year ago, when the Streak was first rumoured, it would have been very desirable. 18 months ago when the n900 was new this community would have been foaming at the mouth for it as an super-n800!! Snag is since then there are many new high performance devices, ok so none of this exact size, but now the Streak's no longer the only game in town! I don't consider the iPad in this, BTW, it's way beyond pocketable.

The streak might be $550 unlocked in USA, but the price in the UK is £450 i.e. $700... clearly pitching it in the iphone4 and ipad camp, but neither apple product's "premium marketing appeal" makes me willing to pay their price, nor will I pay that for the streak.

I can get an off-contract HTC Desire or Samsung GalaxyS for less than £350, I imagine the ACE/DesireHD will be around the same and the Desire will drop in price.

There's no way I'm paying more than £300 for a Streak unless that was for the full package - ie. with at least a full set of cables, if not a dock as well.

I bought my n800 for a little less than $200, adding memory cards etc brought the price up to around $300.

So, for the moment, I think I'm still firmly wedded to my Fujitsu U2010 whose only faults are thickness/chunkyness and a crap speaker!

The objections on the Streak seem to come down to pricing, or more specifically US pricing.

It does seem that US consumers are royally screwed over and with government acquiescence. The comments section on this piece makes for informative reading to my UK ears.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/12/o...dt-wrongs-sti/

My N800 price in 2007 was £290 (including a 128 Mb SD card). The O2 Streak price on launch was £399 without contract i.e. only £109 more and I feel that is a fair differential considering the all round upgrade in specification.

However my question is not about cost, pricing, network provider or contract terms, important as those details are.

The internet tablet ethos was about having a minimum 4.3” screen pocketable device. The 5” Streak is no less pocketable than the N800 and the larger screen is even more useful.

The Streak’s single differential point over all the competition is that screen. The big question is whether the screen size in itself provides sufficiently compelling grounds to forgive the device’s perceived inadequacies.

Speaking for myself and having had the Streak for almost 6 weeks I am convinced that it is.

However, if there was to be any forum where I would expect to find like minds it would be this one. Clearly I am in a minority and it is that which I find surprising, recalling as I do the many exchanges on here in which this very form factor was being touted as the holy grail.

Granted, many things have moved on but the proliferation of 4.3” to 5” screen devices has not increased yet it seems that this requirement has receded into a non issue. I think it is that aspect which leaves me perplexed. It is as if I am the only one left still carrying the flag for large screen pocketable devices.

I sold my 3GS to buy the Streak and there is no way that I will go back to a smaller screen now. I checked out a Samsung Galaxy/Captivate the other day and promptly put it back down again out of sheer disinterest. Likewise an HTC Desire or whatever it is called.

Maybe I should just be given a long service ITT medal so I can shuffle off into retirement.

I just saw the news that the streak in USA can't be bought unlocked; in the UK for a while you couldn't buy it from Dell, only the accessories, so maybe when the ATT exclusive lapses then Dell will sell.

Of course it's quite possible it will get r00ted and unlocked easily, but I have a fundamental objection to buying anything over which I have little control. I bought a cheap Nokia 2730 for $60 recently and it irks me that it is simlocked despite it only being intended as a cheap spare! I also have a playstation3 and the loss of otheros really offended me!

Paul

I absolutely agree with being sick and tired of straitjacketing by companies who more often than not do it to us simply because they can.

Perversely enough one of the reasons I bought an iPhone, the ultimate locked down drm’d restrictive device, was that I was confident in being able to jailbreak and carrier unlock it.

And I could and did courtesy of the incredible hacker community.

Posts like this one give me hope of a similar community growing up around the Streak
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=752370

That has already been done
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=750085
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=713591

Carrier unlock seems to be a separate issue and I am less confident of that but who knows. In US AT&T seems to be universally disliked and if there is a groundswell of clamouring Streak enthusiasts then anything could be possible.

IMHO the Streak is more of an enthusiast device and less of a consumer item.

This is just another **** android phone with poor quality. Enjoy slowness!

Really? Please elaborate.

Is this serious or just another puerile fanboy comment so atypical of this forum? Perhaps you could elaborate 'slowness'?

My hands-on experience related to my previous devices, N800 and iPhone3GS, does not give any indication of noticeable slowness that I can discern

Presently the Streak runs 1.6 which is accepted as being no speed merchant compared to more recent builds. O2 has (unofficially) confirmed that 2.1 will be available in September.

So I can look forward a few weeks to the already perfectly acceptable performance being increased by an average of approx. 50%.
http://www.streaksmart.com/2010/08/d...ndroid-21.html

Very2 interesting indeed...

I wonder how's the battery life?

I'd buy this in a heartbeat if it comes with froyo...

Streak is already rooted, so there should be no problem in creating unofficial 2.2 build for it.