Didn’t catch our Dell Streak review the first time around? Better catch up quick, as the Samsung Galaxy S isn’t the only powerhouse Google phone on the block right now. Dell’s slab has proved enormously popular with readers, even triumphing in polls, so we thought we’d do you all a good deed and track down the best prices for you right here. Thinking of buying one? Click here to check out our picks.
Read the rest of our Dell Streak review now:
Dell Streak review
Dell Streak review: Build and touchscreen
Dell Streak review: The first true tablet phone?
Dell Streak review: Android OS
The Dell Streak was an O2 only exclusive for a few weeks, and even now isn’t being sold on any other network, rather than unlocked. You might think that might limit the number of pricing options a tad, but there are still quite a few considerations to take into account – including whether you even want to make phone calls on the thing.
Data Only
Unusually for a handset, the Dell Streak is being sold on O2 with the option for data only – with no way to make phone calls rather than just surf the web – for slightly less than with voice included too. This would probably explain why it’s not referring to the Dell Streak as either a tablet or a phone, rather than simply as the Dell Streak, but it does mean quite cheap deals can be had.
You’ve got two options on O2, both stretched over an 24 month contract. The cheaper £25 per month included 300 text messages, a very generous 3G of data and 500MB of Wi-Fi on Cloud and BT OpenZone hotspots, while five pounds per month more gets you 750MB in the same hotspots. It’s not worth the extra money if you ask us, when there’s so much 3G on offer – go for the cheaper option if you have to.
However, if you read our Dell Streak review: The first true tablet phone? post, you’ll know that we urge you not to go down this route. As large as it sounds on paper, the Dell Streak genuinely is feasible to use as a phone, with great battery life, a thin profile and decent sound quality. It’ll fit in your pocket, but not if you start carrying another handset around with you too. We’d strongly recommend paying a bit more for voice, and using it as your primary phone.
Early adopters
As we said with the Samsung Galaxy S and the iPhone 4, if you like to stay on the bleeding edge, you’ll want to get your Dell Streak unlocked if at all possible. That way you can sell it on when the next big thing comes along, get a lot of your money back and upgrade without being tied in for two years, as you will getting the Dell Streak through O2.
Currently, your best option is to buy the Dell Streak through Dell‘s website, and it can be had for £449. You can buy it for £50 less on O2, but we’d pay the extra for the option to use any SIM – and it’ll be worth more when it comes to selling it on.
Smartphone users
Fully intend to use your Dell Streak as a phone, rather than a tablet, and for the full length of your contract, without getting roving eyes? That’s cool, we respect that. You’ve got a few tariffs to choose from on O2, and they’re fairly generous, on shorter 18 months tariffs too. For £30 per month and £149 upfront, you can get the Dell Streak with 100 minutes, 500MB of data and unlimited texts, but we’d go for either the £35 per month option with 300 minutes (£59 upfront), unless you know you make hours and hours of calls, in which case, go for the £40 per month with 600 minutes.
Accessories
Dell’s got a range of accessories for the Dell Streak on sale already, including a car dock (Google Maps Navigation on the Dell Streak is superb) at £54.99, a HDMI dock at £54.99, and a leather wallet case at £32. We’ve not been able to test any of these, but we’d honestly advise against the leather case. We genuinely feel that the Dell Streak is thin and scratch resistant enough not to warrant one (Seriously, you’ll never make a dint in the screen), and any extra bulk will be noticeable in your pocket.
We’d also hold off on buying an extra battery for the Dell Streak, priced as they are at £38.99. As we said in our Dell Streak review, the battery life is solid for nearly two days, far outpacing the likes of the HTC Desire and the Samsung Galaxy S, so you’ll do fine so long as you charge when you go to bed.
One thing you probably will need however is a spare charging cable, should you either lose one or need one for work. Sadly, the Dell Streak doesn’t use micro USB, but a proprietary 30pin plug, and you can buy spares for £23.99. Steep? Yes. Useful? Alas, yes.
Read the rest of our Dell Streak review now:
Dell Streak review
Dell Streak review: Build and touchscreen
Dell Streak review: The first true tablet phone?
Dell Streak review: Android OS
