StreakSmart

Dell Streak 7 is a Best Buy doorbuster sale, starting November 24th

The Dell Streak 7 is up for yet another sale. Best Buy has just listed the Honeycomb-equipped tablet under their "Cyber Monday" sales, which is the Monday after Black Friday (the Friday after Thanksgiving in the States,) although the sale actually starts on the 24th of this month. 

The price for this sale is yet to be found out, although if I had to take a guess, we should be seeing a price drop of at least $75. 

Are you interested in a discounted Streak 7? Dell just recently updated it to Honeycomb, which means that the company is definitely still interested in keeping it around for the foreseeable future. Who knows, we could even see an official Ice Cream Sandwich ROM if demand for the tablet and the software is high enough.

[Best Buy] Thanks, David!

USB charging works on Dell Streak 7, thanks to Honeycomb

One of the things that bugged the heck out of me with my Dell Streak 7 was the fact that, while I had the device plugged into my Mac, I couldn't charge it. It was the biggest downfall of the Streak 7 in my opinion, and it made me really upset. 

That was a few months ago, though, when I originally got my Streak. Then, the Honeycomb update rolled out and made the tablet a lot more useful. But one of the ways it did so wasn't very apparent until today, when I plugged my Streak 7 into the USB hub on my desk.

Lo and behold, the thing started charging! At first, I thought it was just a software glitch. But a minute later, the battery (which started out at 45%) shot to 46%, and then a few minutes after that, it was at 47%! 

It's not the fastest way to charge the Streak, but I think that even a little bit of extra juice while I'm importing my copy of M83's Hurry Up, We're Dreaming is definitely a good thing.

StreakSmart announces the CrowdGadgets holiday giveaway!

By now, you probably know that our acquisition by CrowdGather back in April has brought about some very cool, very awesome projects. One of them is the CrowdGadgets podcast, the official podcast of the CrowdGather gadget network. It brings together the biggest topics from the websites in that network, including Anythingbutiphone, Anythingbutipod, Good and EVO, Nothing But Tablets, Pocketables, and of course, StreakSmart. 

There's also the CrowdGadgets newsletter, which has all of the news from those websites nicely tied together in an elegantly-presented weekly newsletter that's delivered directly to your inbox. 

Now, we've got something extra fantastic for those of you who are subscribers of the newsletter: an eight-week holiday giveaway! Each week, starting on November 7, we will give away one great prize to a lucky newsletter subscriber. Each prize is specifically chosen to appeal to the audience of each of the seven sites included in the newsletter, although any reader of any site will be able to win any prize.

All you have to do is subscribe to the newsletter and you'll automatically be entered in the contest. The giveaway is open to the world; you don't have to live in the US. The winner will be announced in the newsletter itself and the lucky person will be responsible for contacting us to arrange the details. And now, here is the list of awesome prizes that you can win!

November 7: Dell Streak 7 WiFi (StreakSmart)
November 14: Samsung Galaxy S WiFi 5.0 (Pocketables)
November 21: Cowon iAudio 10 (Anythingbutipod)
November 28: Amazon Kindle Fire (Nothing But Tablets)
December 5: HTC EVO 3D (Good and EVO)
December 12: HTC HD7 (Anythingbutiphone)
December 19: Star Wars Xbox 360 (ZuneBoards)
December 26: Amazon Kindle Fire (CrowdGadgets)

Looks great, doesn't it?

Sign up for the CrowdGadgets newsletter now to be entered into our contest!

StreakSmart announces the launch of the CrowdGadgets newsletter!

Last week, we gave you a heads-up about our brand-new project, the CrowdGadgets newsletter. It's based on the CrowdGadgets podcast, so if you listen to that and enjoy it, chances are you'll sign up for our newsletter right away. 

Like the podcast, the CrowdGadgets newsletter brings together the top news from all the websites in the CrowdGadgets network,  including Anythingbutiphone, Anythingbutipod, Good and EVO, Nothing but Tablets, Pocketables, and naturally, StreakSmart, all in a beautifully designed, easy-to-read format that's a true pleasure to look at and subsequently read. 

While we don't have an exact list ready, it should also be noted that we'll be starting a holiday giveaway of great gadgets soon. You'll find out all the details about it next week when episode 12 goes live, but you need to be a subscriber of the newsletter to be eligible to win. 

If you're wanting to get in on some of that giveaway action, and receive the week's top news, sign up to receive the CrowdGadgets newsletter right now.

Thank you so much for your continued support of StreakSmart. Please join us every week for both the CrowdGadgets podcast and newsletter.

CrowdGadgets episode 10 is ready to be listened to!

Earlier today, we announced the CrowdGadgets newsletter, which is the companion newsletter to CrowdGadgets, the official podcast of the CrowdGather gadget network. StreakSmart just so happens to be a part of both the network and the podcast, and it's with great pride that we have announced our 10th episode! 

This week, we talk about how Dell is starting to sell unlocked 4G variants of the Streak 7, among plenty of other things. Those other things are brought to you courtesy of my friends William Devereux, John Freml, and Stuart Cope of the following CrowdGadgets sites: AnythingbutiPhone, AnythingbutiPod, Good and EVO, Nothing but Tablets, and Pocketables.

Episode 10, this episode, was recorded in our brand-spankin' new, much more fun format. At least, it's more fun to record; hopefully, though, that translates to a much more enjoyable podcast for you guys. 

Be sure to rate us on iTunes and Zune, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter, if you like what you hear!

Subscribe: iTunes | Zune | RSS
Follow: Facebook | Twitter | Website

Honeycomb on the Dell Streak 7: First impressions

Hey! I don't know if you have heard yet, but Dell released the US WiFi Dell Streak 7's update to Honeycomb today. And unlike the EU updates, these will work on your US device. So if you have been waiting since day one of the Streak 7's life for Honeycomb, I'm happy to report that your wait is officially over.

I have been playing around with the new update for a while, and I've got to say that it's one heck of a needed upgrade for the Streak 7. Whereas scrolling and basically every normal, every day Android task was rough and not very smooth on Froyo, Honeycomb is incredibly smooth and efficient in everything you do on a day-to-day basis. 

Join me below for my impressions of the setup process (which is the worst part of upgrading) as well as some pictures that will show you the setup screen and what happens as you start using Android 3.2 for the first time.

Dell Streak 10 Pro drivers available to download, courtesy of Dell's FTP

Would you like some news that has to do with other Dell Streak devices, like maybe the Dell Streak 10? Perhaps you'd like something a little fresher than watching movies on the Streak 7? Well, today is your (and our) lucky day, because we've just learned that Dell Streak 10 Pro drivers are now available to download directly from Dell's FTP. 

Thanks to a StreakSmart tipster, we have the link for you to download the drivers (past the break) and we also know when Dell put it up on its FTP, as well as who is going to be manufacturing the Streak 10. Firstly, these drivers were posted on 9/14/11, only five days ago. That means that Dell is playing around with when to release the device, which should be pretty darn soon. Secondly, during the installation of these drivers, Pegatron is listed as the manufacturer if you customize your install and follow the path. Screen shots are past the break, as well as the direct link to Dell's FTP.

App review: Netflix on the Dell Streak 7

When Netflix decided to update its app to be able to run on any Android 2.2 or 2.3 device, I'm sure many of you, like us, rejoiced. Both the Dell Streak 5 and the Dell Streak 7 are (officially) running Android 2.2, so being able to finally watch your Netflix TV shows and movies is huge. 

I've been using it on my Streak 7 for about a week now, and I wanted to show you how incredible it is to have a 7-inch tablet and watch full-length movies and shows on it. So join me after the break so I can give you a run-down of just how cool Netflix really is on your pocket tablet.

If you could, would you throw Windows 8 on your Dell Streak 7?

In case you didn't know, Microsoft today unveiled some more information about its next iteration of Windows, aptly named Windows 8. Among many other tablet-focused features, 8 touts the ability to be run on ARM processors . . . much like the Tegra 2 found in your Dell Streak 7. 

Windows 8 is able to run on older, much less-advanced hardware, so the Tegra 2 processor will probably be a fantastic fit for it. So my question for you is this one: if you could, would you throw Windows 8 on your Dell Streak 7? 

The only problem I see in installing Windows 8 on a completely (hardware) stock Streak 7 would be your storage space, but that can easily be remedied by purchasing a larger SD card. Unfortunately, we won't be able to see how that's going to work because, while a developer preview of Windows 8 is available right now, it isn't going to be supporting ARM processors.

How does Windows 8 look to you guys? Is it something you'd like to see on your Dell Streak 7? I know that if there was a way, I'd be all over it. 

Is there a Dell Streak 7 shortage?

Oh, boy! Here we go again . . . sort of. According to an email received by a prospective Streak owner, the Streak 7 is being delayed. He reached out to a Dell customer rep and was told the delay is due to "engineering changes to the Streak."

I'm not saying that the 7-inch tablet will end up like its little sister, but any delay to any product probably isn't a good sign. Of course, there's a very small chance it could be that a higher-res screen, better battery life, or even the official Honeycomb update is coming. 

Anyway, here's the whole email he got:

Dear Customer,

We wanted to let you know that there is a delay with one or more items in your order.

Based on the latest available information, we have adjusted the Estimated Delivery Date and are confident your order will be delivered on or before 9/16/2011

We are sorry for the delay and appreciate your patience.

Have any of you received the same or a similar email? If you have, please let us know.

[Pocketables Forum]