Very clever of Dell to release in Europe first where you still can't buy ipads from Apple.
Also nice of them to put voice in there right away, that alone makes it a much more useful device. Screen size is significantly smaller though, so it is definitely aimed at the phone market, not as an ipad competitor, though it could very well benefit from the tablet hype.
One thing apple does a lot better than dell here though is that when they announce something you can go and buy it. The streak, though announced is not for sale on their website.
"One thing apple does a lot better than dell here though is that when they announce something you can go and buy it"
I keep hearing that, but it simply isn't true. Even for the iPad there was a wait of a couple of months, and it happened lots of times before with recent products.
They announced a sale date and the ipad was available on that day. Dell just announces. When can I buy it? There is no pre-order, no website page about the device, just an announcement.
I don't mean to say I expect to have one tomorrow, but at least apple will have their webstore up and running to capitalize on their marketing efforts.
Not much different from the top end HTC phones (HD2/Desire), which also have 1 GHz CPU and 800x480 touch screens around 4", with prices about 500 euro.
Interesting, in that it really blurs the line between a phone and a tablet. It seems to be pretty much a smartphone (it can make calls) with a slightly larger physical size, just enough that it becomes too large to be used as a phone and therefore becomes a small tablet?
If the ipad could make (regular voice calls, no need to point out the voip possibilities) voice calls and take voice calls from the network in the 3G version it would be a lot more useful as a device.
Why not point out the VoIP possibilities? I believe Apple/AT&T changed their terms and conditions and now permit VoIP over 3G.
These days even your land line calls are often converted to VoIP the moment they reach the local POP. (E.g. BT's C21 packet switched network.)
Give it another couple of years and it'll be all-IP all the way to the handset. The telcos will do it because it'll cut the cost of the equipment required in the cell towers and local equipment rooms. IP switches are going to be needed anyway, and it's cheaper to have one kind of router than two.
Latency and jitter will need to be improved but that'll happen eventually.
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[ 5.8 ms ] story [ 51.7 ms ] threadAlso nice of them to put voice in there right away, that alone makes it a much more useful device. Screen size is significantly smaller though, so it is definitely aimed at the phone market, not as an ipad competitor, though it could very well benefit from the tablet hype.
One thing apple does a lot better than dell here though is that when they announce something you can go and buy it. The streak, though announced is not for sale on their website.
I keep hearing that, but it simply isn't true. Even for the iPad there was a wait of a couple of months, and it happened lots of times before with recent products.
I don't mean to say I expect to have one tomorrow, but at least apple will have their webstore up and running to capitalize on their marketing efforts.
Dell announces this thing and their website doesn't even mention the device. It's such a total waste of good press.
Not much different from the top end HTC phones (HD2/Desire), which also have 1 GHz CPU and 800x480 touch screens around 4", with prices about 500 euro.
These days even your land line calls are often converted to VoIP the moment they reach the local POP. (E.g. BT's C21 packet switched network.)
Give it another couple of years and it'll be all-IP all the way to the handset. The telcos will do it because it'll cut the cost of the equipment required in the cell towers and local equipment rooms. IP switches are going to be needed anyway, and it's cheaper to have one kind of router than two.
Latency and jitter will need to be improved but that'll happen eventually.
Right now, if I want to make a call or be called on a mobile device it will be using the normal phone system, not via VOIP.
Why?
The first model comes with 3G and wi-fi connectivity, 16GB of storage, GPS and two cameras; one on the front and one on the back.