Dell preps the ground for possible Aussie release of its Streak 3G tablet, showing the Android slate to local telcos and raising the possibility of a carrier deal.
Dell’s Android-powered Streak tablet is looking good for an Australian release, with the company rumoured to be demonstrated the slate to local telcos.
With a five inch screen the Streak is both a smartphone and a ‘mini-slate’ – a unique combo which Matthew Telfer, Dell Australia’s General Manager for ‘indirect and
telco channels’, describes as “the sweet spot between phones and tablets … a perfect combination of functionality and usability”.
Dell launched the Streak in the UK under contract deals with mobile phone network O2, so it would come as no surprise if we saw a similar partnership with a local carrier should the Streak be launched in Australia.
“This is a voice-centric product that’s also optimised for the Internet and entertainment” Telfer told APC, “and the biggest growth market at the moment is for ‘pure mobility’ smartphones and tablets”.
The Streak is rated for 7.2Mbps HSDPA and is capable of supporting 2100MHz, 900MHz and 850MHz as 3G bands – so it can cover the dual-band networks of Optus and Vodafone as well as Telstra’s Next G network and Three’s 2100MHz-only network.
While the Streak currently runs on Android 1.6, Telfer confirmed that the slate can easily be upgraded and that Android 2.2 ‘Froyo’ was next on the roadmap.
“We will most likely skip ‘Eclair’ (Android 2.0/2.1) and move straight to ‘Froyo’ when that’s available” he told APC.
The likelihood of Froyo being preloaded onto the Streak “depeds when Froyo is available. There’s nothing locked in at this time (but) we believe that an over-the-air upgrade is one possible solution.”
Despite the show-and-tell meetings with carriers, however, Telfer was at pains to point out that “we don’t have any plans we can talk about at this stage” when it comes to a local launch of the Streak.