Apple iPad vs Dell Streak
Do you really want an iPad? Is it the best option for you?
For some time time, mobile phones featuring Google's Android operating system have been entering the market to compete with Apple's iPhone. A similar battle between Android based tablets and iPads is likely to develop. There's a difference though; Apple had a considerable head start with the iPhone and was able to take a grip on the market, whereas with the iPad there's competition almost immediately in the form of Dell's Streak.
Feature for feature, there are considerable differences between the Dell Streak and the iPad, but in terms of meeting your needs for a small portable device suitable for social networking applications and more, both of these devices make a claim for your hard-earned money.
Apple iPad
Apple's iPad has been on sale in the USA since April 3rd, but UK buyers have been forced to wait. Apple struggled to meet the unexpectedly high demand for the iPad in the USA and decided to delay its international launch so that its US buyers could be satisfied.
Now the wait's over, the first deliveries to those who pre-ordered were scheduled to arrive on 28th May, but those who didn't pre-order might have to be patient. Apple stores and some retailers - it's been reported that PC World and Currys have an exclusive deal for 60 days - were expecting stocks of the iPad from the launch date. However, it's likely that ongoing high demand will mean that many shoppers will go away empty handed. To buy online from Apple may mean waiting several weeks for delivery.
The prices announced for the UK are a little more expensive than those in the US and they are:
For the basic Wi-fi version the prices are: 16GB £429 32GB £499 64GB £599
For the Wi-fi + 3G version, add £100.
In the US, they're retailing at $499, $599, $699 with an extra $130 for the Wi-fi option. At current exchange rates, for the cheapest model that's about £75 more and for the most expensive it's about £110 more than the price in the USA. To save money, visitors to the USA might try to pick one up while they're there. Otherwise, buying one on the Apple US online store and shipping to a friend in the USA for onward shipping to you might work. In the latter case you'd have to factor in shipping costs and in either case you'd need to be sure that no duties would be imposed.
Display: 1024x768 pixels at 132 pixels per inch. 9.7 inches diagonal LED-backlit multi-touch display. 16, 32 or 64GB flash drive. 1GHz Apple A4 low-power system. Accelerometer
The iPad isn't a substitute for an iPhone. Although they are based on the same software and there are many similarities, the iPad is not a phone and it doesn't have a camera. It does have a microphone and headphone jack so you could make IP phone calls via an app like Skype.
Dell Streak Tablet
In some respects, Dell's Streak Tablet seems to sit half way between the iPhone (or iPod Touch) and the iPad. For some users it'll have the edge on Apple's offerings.
All are based on unix like operating systems; the Streak is based on Google's Android OS, which in turn is based on a Linux kernel;the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch are based on Apple's iPhone OS which is based on Mac OS X, which in turn is based on the Mach unix kernel.
Applications for the Streak can be downloaded from Google's "Android Market" and for the iPhone OS devices from Apples "App Store". With its multi-tasking Android OS and its dedicated 2GB internal storage, the Streak allows several applications to be running simultaneously, whereas the iPhone OS permits only one application at a time. It's debatable whether it's useful to run multiple applications as this can lead to performance issues; also, with small screens there's limited space for more than one application to display information. On the iPhone OS it's common practice for an application to save and restore state when it quits and restarts, so you can switch between applications without too much trouble.
The Streak's 5 inch WVGA screen has a resolution of 800 by 480 pixels, whereas the iPhone and iPod Touch's 3.5 inch screen has a resolution of 480 by 320 and the iPad's 9.7 inch screen has 1024 by 768.
In addition to a 5MP camera and a front facing VGA camera, the Streak has a removable battery, user accessible Micro SD expandable memory up to 32GB, a microphone and speaker and can be used as a phone.
The iPad has no camera, a fixed battery and a fixed amount of memory (64GB maximum at launch). The iPad's larger screen and the ability of the iPhone OS to run apps from Apple's app store may persuade many people to stick with Apple.
The price of the Streak is still to be announced, but it's due to be available exclusively from O2 on 4th June.
Take a look at Dell's promotional video and see what you think ..
