Okay Geek Farm
Dell's smartphone line-up comes in both Android & WP7
Daniel Carey
When most think Dell they generally associate them as being one of the world’s largest computer manufacturers, but what most don’t know is that Dell also produces mobile handsets. Okay, so we know what you’re thinking, “past Dell handsets have been blessed with a slew of problems,” but what if that were to change? Recently Engadget received a leak comprised of none other than Dell’s 2010 / 2011 smartphone line-up and we must say that we’re extremely impressed. So with that we suggest you read past the break for the full lowdown on Dell’s latest and greatest.
Dell Lightning: A Lightning Quick Windows Phone 7 device
Okay pun aside; Dell’s lightning is the crème of the crop when it comes mobile leaks (iPhone 4G aside). Running Windows Phone 7 the Lightning comes in the form factor that you secretly wanted (aka. A larger Palm Pre). Now whether a portrait slider on this device will be as slick as the renders make it appear is a whole other question, but considering its internals who cares.
Okay we know what you want, and we’ve talked for long enough so here’s the Lightning’s component breakdown: 1GHz QSD8250 Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, WVGA 4.1-inch OLED display, AT&T and T-Mobile GSM bands, 5-Megapixel camera, 1GB of flash memory (with included 8GBs of memory on a microSD – However with Windows Phone 7 not supporting expandable flash memory this will most likely be non-user replaceable), 512MBs of RAM, GPS, accelerometer, compass, FM radio, and full flash playback including video. We’re a bit dubious on the flash integration, especially after Microsoft made it perfectly clear that Windows Phone 7 won’t support flash in the first initial build.
Dell Thunder: Causes quite a rumble with Android 2.1
Imagine the Dell Lightning minus Windows Phone 7 and a hardware keyboard. Essentially what we’ve got here is the android equivalent of the Lightning, so we won’t bore you with a pointless intro. Making use of Android 2.1 atop of a 4.1-inch WVGA OLED display, the Thunder implements Dell’s custom “Stage” UI. Now we can’t give you a definitive answer, but the Thunder’s version of Stage currently looks much different to versions seen on the Streak and the Aero. So is this a different UI altogether? Your guess is as good as ours at this point.
Dell’s documentation also claims Flash 10.1 integration for watching full web videos, along with a mysteriously mentioned Hulu app. Considering that flash integration on mobile phones has been terrible in the past, we don’t expect the Thunder to perform any better than the Droid Incredible or the Desire (For those wondering on the point of comparison both devices also run a Snapdragon processor).
Dell Flash: Luckily has no relation to its Adobe namesake
Adding to the kit we’ve got the mid-range Dell Flash. Straight of the bat you notice the overall aesthetics of the phone and continuing along the overall fashion aspect of the Flash, Dell plans on fashioning this thing out of curved glass. This strategy plays well on the overall structural design resulting in a device that’s 11mm thick with a 3.5-inch WVGA LCD. Other specs include: Qualcomm’s MSM7230 clocked at 800MHz (and yes the MSM7230 is Qualcomm’s next generation of processor), 850 / 1900 / 2100 MHz HSPA maxing out at 14.4Mbps down and 5.6Mbps up, a 5-Megapixel camera with image stabilization and smile / blink detection, 512MBs of RAM and ROM with microSD expansion (up to 64GBs), WiFi, TV-Out, 3.5mm headphone jack, and Bluetooth 3.0.
Similar to the Dell Thunder [featured above] the Flash makes use of Dell’s “Stage” UI above an Android core; however, unlike it’s higher specked brother, Dell plans on upping the ante with Froyo. So you may be thinking when’s this thing going to hit the market? Well, unfortunately there’s a slight wait with a rumoured Q1 of 2011 launch. But remember, patience is a virtue.
Dell Smoke: Helps Dell wisp into Android
Okay, okay, so we know what you’re thinking: “You’ve already used that joke” true, but considering how wild this device is we decided it needed covering again. With that said, we’re not going to bore you any further, so to refresh those listless memories here’s a quick once over. Running Android Froyo on a 2.8-inch QVGA display the Smoke rocks out with its full portrait QWERTY keyboard, Qualcomm MSM72300 processor clocked in at 800MHz, 5-Megapixel camera, 14.4Mbps HSPA, microSD expansion (up to 32GBs) WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and dual microphones for you know… noise cancelling.
Dell Streak: Still not available, but continuing to impress
By now the Dell Streak (formerly the Mini 5) has been talked to death, but as with any major product announcement we do have some more info for you nosey Dell fans. Okay, here goes, brace yourself: Dell’s Streak will be getting an Android 2.1 update in September. Okay, it’s really not all that interesting and there’s currently no update on the vague summer launch, but in the meantime how about going gaga over its massive list of accessories?
