Dell's first Android-based tablet to make U.S. launch in late July

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The iOS operating system used by Apple iPad is much more advanced than Google’s Android 1.6 operating system that is going to be used in Streak during the launch period, but will be upgradeable to Android 2.2 in near future.

Apple iPad uses high performing Apple A4 processor (contains a Cortex-A8 CPU core paired with a PowerVR SGX 535 graphics processor) compared to Streak, which uses Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 processor, one of the first chipset in Snapdragon family, but clocks in at 1GHz speed similar to Apple A4 processor.

When it comes to browser, Dell has WebKit (Android) browser which provides support for Adobe Flash 10.1, whereas Apple iPad uses Safari browser without the support of flash, but should overcome the odds with its over 2,00,000 applications. As Streak is based on Google’s Android platform, Dell Streak will also have access to 70,000 Google apps.

Apple iPad is available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities without support for card slot for expanding the storage. The Dell Streak on the other hand supports 512MB RAM, expandable up to 32GB through a microSD card slot and it also features 2GB of memory used specifically to store applications.

Dell’s Streak has a standard Li-Ion 1530 mAh battery compared to iPad’s built-in 25-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery. (Note: Lithium ion batteries when compared to lithium polymer batteries, has greater energy capacity. That means, in devices that have higher current requirements, lithium ion batteries are preferred, but in applications where size is paramount, polymer battery is the choice. Lithium ion batteries start to degrade from the moment they are made and will become inoperable after two or three years even if they aren't used. Also Lithium ion batteries are cheaper to manufacture.)

Dell Streak has added features of making calls and possesses a camera when compared to Apple iPad.

The conclusion to Apple iPad verses Dell Streak is that, iPad has more applications, a larger screen and a higher resolution screen compared to the Streak. But Streak overshadows iPad with added features of making calls and by possessing a camera. Also the handset from Dell will available unlocked through Dell’s website and may cost $500, if so, same price as an entry level iPad. Basically, pricing scheme is relative depending on what model the consumer is after, but with iPad 3G plus Wi-Fi, users can access the internet from anywhere.

The table below illustrates the difference between Dell Streak and Apple iPad:

Now Dell Streak can be compared with HTC Evo 4G, as Evo 4G is one of the biggest smartphone in the market.

In terms of display, Evo 4G has a smaller TFT capacitive touch-screen display of 4.3-inch (480 x 800 mega-pixels) compared to Streak’s 5-inch display. And the memory capacity of Evo 4G is 512 MB RAM with 1 GB ROM compared to Streak’s which has 512 MB ROM, 512 MB SDRAM and 2 GB non-user accessible microSD, but both the devices memory can be expanded to 32GB using microSD.

The Evo 4G offers 8 mega-pixels (3264x2448 pixels, autofocus, dual-LED flash) camera whereas Streak only offers 5 mega-pixels (2592?1944 pixels, autofocus, dual-LED flash) camera.

Also, Evo 4G has advanced Android OS version 2.1 (Eclair) compared to Dell Streak’s Android OS version 1.6, but both Dell Streak and Evo 4G has Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 1 GHz processor. As it comes to battery, Streak offers higher capacity Li-Ion 1530 mAh than that of Evo 4G which has Li-Ion 1500 mAh battery.

Ultimately, Dell Streak can be a variant device which can both act as a tablet device as well as a smartphone.

The table below illustrates the difference between Dell Streak and HTC Evo 4G