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Dell’s Android-powered Streak with its 5-inch display is being billed as a tablet. But when it comes to pricing the device, it’s being sold like a phone.
After a false start last month, Dell has announced that the Streak will be available to U.S. consumers starting Thursday. The Streak will cost $300 with a two-year contract on AT&T and $560 without one.
The Streak is targeted at smartphone users who crave a larger display but at the same time need a device that’s portable and could potentially replace their phone. The Streak has a 5-inch display, a 5-megapixel camera, phone, browser and access to Android apps.
But does the Streak deserve the ‘tablet’ tag attached to it?
With its 9.7-inch display and a monthly data plan that requires no contract, Apple iPad doesn’t draw direct comparisons against a smartphone.
So far with the Streak, Dell has done everything that it would with a smartphone–including pricing the device on a long-term contract. The only thing that sets the Streak apart from other Android-powered smartphones is that the home screen on the Streak is locked in the landscape mode.
Meanwhile, Android smartphones are getting bigger–the Motorola Droid X and HTC Evo have a 4.3-inch display. The Streak with its 5-inch screen is not a big leap forward.
Dell may be insisting on calling the Streak a tablet because the company is afraid to directly jump into the extremely competitive and crowded Android smartphone market. With devices such as the Evo and Droid X, HTC and Motorola are constantly pushing the hardware specs for a phone.
By positioning the Streak as a tablet, Dell can avoid being directly compared to these other devices. At the same time, it can tap into the consumer demand for tablets. After all, Apple sold more than 3 million iPads in just about 80 days of the launch of the product in April and it says it hasn’t seen signs of demand slowing down.
If that’s the case, calling the Streak a tablet is clever marketing wizardry but it may not be enough to convince consumers.
