Highlighting the care that carriers will have to take over positioning MIDs, tablets, ereaders and other internet-connected devices is the Dell Streak (AKA Dell Mini 5) launch at 02 UK today.
Early this June the Dell Streak will be available across the UK at O2 stores, O2.co.uk, The Carphone Warehouse, and later in the month at Dell.co.uk. Pricing and data plans for the UK will be announced by O2 ahead of availability. Later this summer, Dell plans to make Streak available in the U.S.
Dell have previously said that a Wifi-only version will also be available via their stores.
Carphone Warehouse says: “Dell Streak: our very first tablet” and teases “A brand new range of Tablets is coming soon to The Carphone Warehouse, starting with the brilliant Dell Streak. ”
Dell says: “DELL STREAK TABLET ENTICES PEOPLE TO WATCH, SURF, CONNECT, LISTEN, AND PLAY ON 5″ OF POWER AND PORTABILITY”
A lot of people are questioning the use of Android 1.6 but we have to remember that the Dell Streak project was started over a year ago and that an over-the-air update will be available later in the year. It will include Android 2.2 and Flash 10.1
The big question is, will people buy this as a primary phone? Naturally there will be some that are happy with that and I have to say that given my data-centric usage profile (I use voice capabilities less than once per day) it would probably work for me too but unless the Streak is priced at a bargain-bucket level, which I doubt, it will stay with that niche of primary users and a secondary, iPad-like, community of users that want a casual, secondary internet tablet device.
Personally, I’m loving the look and specifications of the Streak. I’d kill for a Streak Pro with slider keyboard and double battery life (my ideal ‘Carrypad’) but this is about as good as it’s going to get in the ‘one-handed mobile internet device’ category for now. How do you feel about it?
Highlighting the care that carriers will have to take over positioning MIDs, tablets, ereaders and other internet-connected devices is the Dell Streak (AKA Dell Mini 5) launch at 02 UK today.
Early this June the Dell Streak will be available across the UK at O2 stores, O2.co.uk, The Carphone Warehouse, and later in the month at Dell.co.uk. Pricing and data plans for the UK will be announced by O2 ahead of availability. Later this summer, Dell plans to make Streak available in the U.S.
Dell have previously said that a Wifi-only version will also be available via their stores.
Carphone Warehouse says: “Dell Streak: our very first tablet inch and teases “A brand new range of Tablets is coming soon to The Carphone Warehouse, starting with the brilliant Dell Streak. inch
Dell says: “DELL STREAK TABLET ENTICES PEOPLE TO WATCH, SURF, CONNECT, LISTEN, AND PLAY ON 5″ OF POWER AND PORTABILITY”
A lot of people are questioning the use of Android 1.6 but we have to remember that the Dell Streak project was started over a year ago and that an over-the-air update will be available later in the year. It will include Android 2.2 and Flash 10.1
The big question is, will people buy this as a primary phone? Naturally there will be some that are happy with that and I have to say that given my data-centric usage profile (I use voice capabilities less than once per day) it would probably work for me too but unless the Streak is priced at a bargain-bucket level, which I doubt, it will stay with that niche of primary users and a secondary, iPad-like, community of users that want a casual, secondary internet tablet device.
Personally, I’m loving the look and specifications of the Streak. I’d kill for a Streak Pro with slider keyboard and double battery life (my ideal ‘Carrypad’) but this is about as good as it’s going to get in the ‘one-handed mobile internet device’ category for now. How do you feel about it?
It’s a question I’ve been looking for an answer to for a long time. There are plenty of tablet manufacturers that are in the dark too. Why doesn’t Google allow Android Marketplace on non-phone devices?
It’s crippled the Archos 5, the Camangi Webstation, the Compaq Airlife 100 and many other devices. There are also OEMs out there that I speak too that can’t even open a dialog with Google on the subject.
It was fairly obvious that they wanted to protect and preserve the quality of the Android experience but it has taken until now for official words to reach the surface.
Google argues that the reason it doesn’t permit tablet vendors access to Android Market just yet is to prevent devices that fail comparability tests from actually fragmenting the platform.
Google, in this case, is none-other than Mr Android, Andy Rubin who in Michael Gartenbergs good article over at Engadget appears to argue that Android is not fragmenting, it’s just a fast developing environment that leaves older products in its wake and it’s up to everyone else to keep up. To me, it sounds like BS because 1 you’ve got a native code development kit that could break apps left right and center. 2 There are lamps, flashlights and screen sizes that have already broken compatibility. I have a Sony Ericsson X10-specific app that toggles the flashlight. 3 There are switches in the marketplace that try (and often fail) to prevent fragmentation and incompatibility reaching customers and 4 How can they say that when they’ve just introduced a huge element of fragmentation Google TV – a non-smartphone platform that uses a completely different set of silicon with a different instruction set. Fragmentation is already there.
As a customer, I find this ‘keep up’ message rather worrying although to be fair to Google, there aren’t any quotes from Andy Rubin to go on here and Gartenberg may have just spinned this message. To customers, fragmentation is real. Customers live in the wake of product development. Products may be released every six months but that doesn’t mean that all the old products are thrown away. Google needs to make sure it keeps up the pace of innovation but not so fast that the customer is left with a pocketful of six-month old products that are considered ‘old.’ Micheal Gartenberg picks up on this:
I’d argue perhaps Android isn’t fragmented, at least according to the classical definition, but that the practical result is the same. Devices going obsolete in months and new operating systems released on weekly cycles make it difficult for even Google’s best partners to keep pace. Worse, users care onfronted with a dizzying array of devices, many of which are out of sync from a software perspective at the time of purchase — causing some to delay purchases in fear of buyer’s remorse or purchase a competing platform.
Listen, I don’t mind fragmentation. I think it comes with the territory and I think it’s something dev’elopers will always have to consider. Sure, it would be nice to have one set of hardware but where would that leave us! Why doesn’t Andy Rubin just admit it it’s fragmented, that’s the way it will always be, it will get worse, deal with it. A non-fragmented Android is simply not possible any more.
Having got that out of the way, let us consider the marketplace for non-smartphone devices. Do Google consider tablets, MIDs, smart-books and related products to be a big market? With only one product out of hundreds actually having success and even then, only selling 1 million units you have to agree that it’s not exactly a proven market yet. These are niche categories right now and probably wouldn’t be big enough to support any large-scale business plan. The second consideration is, assuming Google do want to move forward with non-smartphone devices, how do they do it.
What devices are we talking about?
Tablets, navigation devices, ebook readers, slider handhelds, smart-books, cameras, gaming devices and a whole range of gadgets and gizmos that could benefit from a marketplace. [Sidenote: I’m looking forward to the day when a medium range digital camera is released with an ‘Nexus-One Back’ and access to all the hardware features. Can you imagine the applications that could be written!]
Solutions
There are three ways I see that Google could move forward. 1) Create multiple marketplaces. 2) Let the devices talk to marketplace so that incompatible apps can be removed from view 3) let the users provide feedback and the ability to remove down-graded apps from view and promote apps that are proven to work.
Of course, Google could also do nothing and let competitors like MeeGo and WebOS take up the strain. 3rd party Android marketplaces also have an opportunity.
Summary.
It looks like it will happen. Non-smartphone devices will get a real Marketplace. Obviously Google are considering it and when I see tweets from people like James Kendrick, the GigaOM employee that was given a Nexus One running Android 2.2 before the Google IO conference saying “Android is getting ready for a serious run into the tablet space. Mark my words. inch then I have to assume he knows somethin that we don’t and that there’s work going on right now.
Dell are working on the Looking Glass and Huawei on the Smakit S7. There’s even a Wifi-only Dell Mini 5 / Streak planned. These companies have experience with Google Android and they know the value of Marketplace. They also know what Google will require of them so I doubt they will be planning tablets without knowing that marketplace is going to happen for tablets soon. Look to the release dates of these products for clues about Marketplace for non-smartphone devices.
Fragmentation in Android IS happening and developers need to get used to it. Mr Rubin needs developers and will do everything he can to placate them in discussions about fragmentation but the truth is that it’s going to get harder to develop for Android in the future. Consumers, on the other hand, can look forward to some interesting developments soon. Computex, next week, should be an eye opener.
The internet was abundant yesterday with news that Google had announced Android 2.2 or Froyo. Whilst a new version of Android with extra speed and flash support is certainly an exciting thing, for me it was over-shadowed by the news of Google TV.
I know, I know, why would another box to go under the TV and complicate the already muddy waters that are TV, cable, satellite, DVD, Blu-ray, etc get someone who loves innovative technology excited?
There are two reasons why;
Firstly at the heart of the Google TV set top box or new LCD is an Intel Atom processor. Intel have been making plenty of noise of late that the Atom can power Android, the operating system on which Google TV works and this has been the first real taste of this marriage which many have speculated about.
Secondly and more importantly, Google announced the full internet experience on your TV. Not Android’s standard mobile browser, the full internet experience including flash. To achieve this they will use Chrome.
Why is this significant? Just think about it, Android running Chrome, a full internet experience browser on an operating system that I think is going to be one of main two used in the emerging ‘smart’ devices market.
“The mobile operating systems are built with short-term use in mind and although they offer new and interesting features that you don’t get on your desktop, they don’t offer the full internet experience that we all expect. If you use the Airlife 100 as a traditional laptop, as one might expect from something that looks like a traditional laptop, you will run into issues inch
Imagine how the review would have gone if the Airlife 100 had Chrome, the several day battery life and instant on of Android and the full internet experience and browsing prowess of Chrome.
Will it happen? I don’t know and there is certainly no suggestion that Chrome will come with Android on these new bread of ‘smart’ devices. We also have to remember that Google announced its ChromeOS for this emerging market.
As the ZenPad and EviGroup Wallet are both coming from the same OED (SMiTs) it’s no surprise to hear that both the ZenPad and EviGroup Wallet are available at the same time.
Apparently in-stock now, the 199 Euro (215 Euro for the chrome edged version as seen above) mini-tablet doesn’t come with 3G but does include a good set of accessories.
Charger. Cable USB (+ PC connection charge), Suction mount (car and office), Pair of audio headphones, Car charger.
We’re not expecting this to blow away the competition (Archos 5) but it could make a nice small alternative to the Archos 7. A brief demo video on the specification page (French) shows some of the features but it’s not clear whether it’s coming with Google applications or any navigation software. Previous demo videos clearly showed Gmail and Google Maps.
Our specification page is here (English) and we’re trying to get some of the questions answered along with a review sample.
In terms of mobile productivity, I’m sorry to have to report that the Compaq Airlife 100 has a lot of holes. It does, however, prove that there’s a lot of potential in the ‘smart’ platforms. Long battery life (due to extremely low idle drain) and always-on/connected are features that, once you’ve experienced them, are hard to let go of. Android has potential too but there are 2 key things that need to be done. 1) The browser needs to be improved. The Airlife 100 is not up to doing any web-application work. 2) The marketplace needs to be put into place so that developers have a channel for productive and large-screen apps. Once these two issues are fixed though, it’s only a matter of time before productive mobile computing moves to ‘smart’ platforms with advanced mobile operating systems.
Do you agree?
As a consumer device, the Airlife is also missing a few features. Better media support and management is badly needed for a start so with the costs running close to that of the iPad, I suspect the latter would be a better choice.
Great progress by HP and signs of real promise mean that smart books have a future for mobile computing / mobile productivity but it could be 2011 before we se a real netbook competitor.
I feel I could already write an extended 10-page review on this potential game-changer after the marathon open-review session we broadcast on Tuesday but time is at a premium this week so let me just give you a basic but detailed review of the Compaq Airlife 100.
[Article text written on the Airlife 100 using the WordPress application (installed via ‘apk’ file.) Post-processing done on a netbook. The device we have here appears to be a final build with final packaging but there’s a possibility that firmware will change before launch so bear that in mind as we go through things here. Thanks to HP Spain for sending this over.]
I want to start by highlighting that I’m very positive about the potential for ‘smart’ laptop-style devices. Always-on, always-connected, location-enabled, app-store capable, dynamic and mobile-focused features are missing from most of today’s netbooks so any device that comes in and demonstrates these features is good in my book. These ‘smart’ devices show new angles on the old theme of desktop-laptops and highlight the separation of mobile and desktop Internet experiences. Unfortunately, these smart devices, have downsides. The mobile operating systems are built with short-term use in mind and although they offer new and interesting features that you don’t get on your desktop, they don’t offer the full internet experience that we all expect. If you use the Airlife 100 as a traditional laptop, as one might expect from something that looks like a traditional laptop, you will run into issues. Not only is there a learning curve and a new set of usage methods but you’ll trip yourself up looking for features that you take for granted on a standard netbook. The USB ports are missing for example. This is a slave device designed to be connected, in much the same way as an iPad, to a PC. This isn’t a device that you can simply plug a printer, webcam or smartphone into. User confusion, frustration and disappointment is going to feature heavily in early feedback.
The design of the Airlife 100 is nice. Good clean lines, a light, 1KG, weight, large and quiet keyboard, good plastics and silent operation leave a good impression. There’s only one design fault of significance and that’s the screen angle. It simply doesn’t open up far enough and you end up with the screen pointing at your chest. This wouldn’t be a problem if the screen had a wide viewing angle but it doesn’t so you’re left with the constant desire to adjust the screen. I’m finding it frustrating. The screen frame houses a 10″ resistive touchscreen of 1024×600 which doesn’t provide iPad-levels of dynamics but does the job well. Coming from a touch-enable netbook myself, I found it useful and quick to use. The touchpad provides a mouse-pointer and integrated select button though so you have an option if you’re not used to touchscreens on netbooks.
The Compaq Airlife 100 uses Android 1.6 with some HP enhancements but doesn’t provide the Google experience. This is the Achilles heel of the device and we’ve seen it on so many non-smartphone products now that we’re beginning to wonder what game Google is playing. They’re protecting their valuable smartphone marketplace from splintering into multiple screen sizes and yet failing to offer OEMs and developers the chance to expand into new form factors. The Airlife is crying out for a set of productivity applications. Even a twitter client that takes advantage of the huge screen real-estate would be nice but unfortunately, it’s not going to happen on the Airlife. Not only is the Market missing but all the important, ney, expected Google applications are missing. No Gmail app, no contacts sync, no buzz, no maps, no Goggles, no Sky map. As a Google user and Android phone user I find this extremely disappointing. 3rd party marketplaces like the Andapp store and SlideMe just don’t fill the gap so you’re left with a very sparse application suite. In HP’s defense, they too have created an app store framework that carriers can use to funnel applications to users but if it works anything like the Appslib framework on the Archos products, it is going to be very underwhelming. We can see how carriers could potentially do a deal with Google to cherry-pick applications and place them in this channel but based on Google’s history with Market, we don’t see it happening. Hunting down APK’s is possible, and the reason I’m able to write this article on the Airlife is because I found a raw install package of the WordPress application. That sort of work-around doesn’t fit with where I see the Airlife being targeted.
Let’s talk about this always-on component for a minute. It’s groundbreaking, lock-in and a feature that netbooks need to work towards. For mobility-minded users like me, it also enables scenarios that aren’t possible on a standard netbook. In the live review session, JKK (JKKMobile.com) argued well that the phone is the notifier and that always-on is not a critical requirement but in my opinion, not only is it nice to have a device that takes the load off a smartphone for high-load events like podcatching and file syncronisation but it’s also nice to have a device that provides a secondary notification system for events, especially when in the home zone where your mobile phone may not be by your side. Its also nice to think about push applications too. Tracking is one example. Finally, never having to turn a laptop off and having it ready and connected to the internet the instant you open it is something I’m going to miss when I go back to my desktop-style netbook after my time with the Airlife 100.
Not only is the always-on feature good but the battery life overall is excellent too. In regular measurements in the live session, we saw a consistent 12-hours when we extrapolated the drain rates. The device has a 28Wh battery which means this device is running in under 2.5W of power requirement when in-use. That is, quite frankly, stunning. Latest generation netbooks are taking three times that amount of energy. In a 24hr test (on, connected to 3G and Wi-Fi, unused, screen off) the device used just 4% of its battery. Not only is the processing platform very efficient, the Wi-Fi and 3G modules seem to be very efficient too.
Finally, in this ‘brief’ review, I want to mention the browser. As we’ve seen on the iPad, ARM-based devices can be fast and the Airlife is another example of class-leading speed although with default settings, you’ll be getting the full versions of most websites and noticing that it isn’t as fast as an Intel-based netbook. Flash is missing along with important AJAX features used in online applications. Hover, too. Accessing the back-end to WordPress has its its issues and most Google applications aren’t working. Not even the full version of Google Mail. Without applications to fall-back on, there’s a huge gap in the full internet experience with this device. This is a very serious issue. People expect the full internet experience in a $250 device. Why not in this?
Other notes:
Screen is matte finish.
Stereo loudspeakers are reasonable quality
Audio playback application is basic
Video playback is a hit and miss affair on this device. Very few codecs are supported. (Maybe this is something not fully implemented yet?)
The device works as a USB hard drive.
3G reception seems good.
No external indicator for notifications.
Keyboard has been good throughout the writing of this article.
Web cam works although it can only be used for video snapshots for saving locally. Quality is low.
Language can be changed between Spanish, English’US and English-UK. Maybe this is an indication of target markets?
Once again, the lack of Google experience is a big disappointment.
No way to turn off 3G and just run on Wi-Fi without removing the SIM card.
Built-in data usage tracker
This article will have to be post-processed on my netbook in order to check spelling, add formatting and images!
NDrive application is pre-installed, GPS locks quickly. (Western Europe maps are 2.5GB, 39 Euro)
Last.fm, Aldiko, WordPress and Seesmic apps all work.
Roadsync apps are included for exchange sync support.
Ebuddy app (Instant messaging) is included
Occasional hiccups in scrolling where the screen bounces back to where it was
SMS application is included
Bluetooth stack is typical of a smartphone and not able to act as a data recipient (in my photo transfer tests.)
Dolphin browser and Opera Mini 4.2 being tested.
At 1500hrs today, the Airlife needed its first charge. It’s been on, heavily used and connected via Wi-Fi and 3G (including 7hrs ‘screen-off’ time overnight) for 18 hours on a 90% charge with no attempt at configuring the device for long battery life.
More notes on productivity issues can be found here. The article is focused at the iPad but many of the considerations apply. The Airlife is clearly not targeted at productive or business use but for those thinking about (like me, like many have done with the iPad) this article is worth reading.
The Airlife 100 does the ‘smart’ thing better than any other ‘smart’ laptop we’ve seen before. The balance of amazing battery life, weight, communications features, always-on and performance matches casual and social scenarios well and netbooks will need to take-on some of these features to compete when the software issues on Android are solved. The lack of USB host support will be an issue for some but as smart books develop with more features and customers get more used to the application and cloud-driven usage model, the need for USB may fade away. On the subject of performance, don’t expect netbook-style browsing speeds and multitasking. What the Airlife offers is just enough for a pleasing two-at-a-time experience but there’s very little overhead.
We don’t know all the details about the pricing but with a 24 month contract, the total cost of ownership reaches up over €1000. That includes data of course and compares well with the iPad 3G that would cost more over the same period but without the applications store, you haven’t got the hope that amazing applications will develop over the next year. We suspect an outright purchase of the Airlife 100 would be about €400 to €500 which says two things. 1) That the $99 smart book is as hard to deliver as a $99 netbook and 2) That customers probably won’t be picking these up in the hypermarket for the next family holiday.
The biggest take-away from the Airlife is that it’s a smart book that ARM and their partners promised to bring us over a year ago and it’s still not ready for prime-time. The Airlife does have a customer but it’s still only a very specific type of customer. Adventurous, flexible, traveling types need to take a closer look. Unfortunately, there’s not enough ‘wow’ in the device to generate sales from marketing to other types of customer so sales will probably be limited to those that we see in the niche tabletPC and ultra mobile PC markets. Having said that, HP are doing the right thing by testing the Airlife out in a relatively small country-specific market in Europe. They will learn a lot and will be able to gauge potential for a larger project in 2011. The rest of the world needs to take a close look at the potential too because there are only a few software elements that need to be fixed before it becomes quite the competitor.
Summary:
Fantastic, always-on, always-connected and long battery life operation are desirable features but the gaps in the internet experience and lack of marketplace mean it’s only possible to use this device for casual purposes although video support needs to be fixed before that scenario is truly covered. [this may be happening in final builds we don’t have that information yet] Although the Airlife is an important step forward for ‘smart’ books and it proves that the hardware platform itself is fit-for-purpose, it also proves that work is needed on the software. Android may work well on leading-edge smartphones with slick overlay software and a ton of supporting applications but it appears extremely immature in large-screen, laptop-style scenarios. It’s possible that we’ll see the software evolve quickly but as a product, the Airlife 100 won’t hit the mark to become a huge seller, especially considering the price.
In this show, number 50 on the 21st May 2010 we have a lot to talk about from Google IO in San Francisco to Computex in Taipei. Sasha and myself will be giving you feedback from our time with the iPad and we also talk about the netbook summit.
