Lets start at the beginning - I had an iPhone.

It was the older model (3g) and was starting to annoy me for several reasons: 1) I wanted battery life of more than 6 hours (4 with bluetooth) 2) It kept crashing on me 3) I didn't want it to slow down when I upgrade to iOS4 (which it does) 4) I'd really like to write some mobile software but don't want to buy a Mac whe n I have an office full of perfectly good computers(!) 5) It decided that I didn't need to connect to the internet on the move anymore, without asking me 6) I really wanted to watch the world cup clips on the BBC website (which are in Flash...) So I looked around - I considered the iPhone 4, the HTC Evo, random Nokias and t he Dell Streak. I liked the idea of Android - totally open source, development environment is fr ee, can be installed on ANY operation system and you can deploy applications you rselves without having to go through an App Store or Market place. The reviews on the Dell Streak were coming in thick and fast - fits in pocket, l ovely screen, fiddly keyboard, promise of Android 2.2 and Flash in the future. I wanted the HTC Evo but couldn't wait for that to come to the UK so I opted for the Streak. Turns out it was a good choice. Let me review it from a User perspective - I've had the phone for a week, I've c arried it around, made calls, used it in the car with Bluetooth, browsed the int ernet, used email, twitter and the like, watched movies, listened to audio, inst alled apps and generally done most of the things you'd do with a phone. Firstly lets look at usability - (cue recurring theme...) It's a really big pho ne. The screen is 5" before you get to the outside bit. However Dell have done their homework - it fits in a suit pocket nicely (rather like a dress wallet), it fits in all my trouser pockets (jeans, suit pants, casual trousers) without s ticking me in delicate areas or making me unable to sit down. No unsightly bulg es (unless you are into trousers that require talcum powder and a potato peeler to get off). You do notice it more than a normal phone, but that's because it's a really big phone. Weight wise there is nothing noticeable compared to normal phones - it's heavier , but you don't feel like it's heavier in a trouser pocket. In a suit pocket it will make one side of your jacket feel heavier, so you'll need to counterbalanc e that or get used to it. It can be trickier to slide out of your trouser pocket when sitting down, but th at's no biggie. You do have to slide it to the side sometimes, especially if yo u want to run up stairs. The Android interface works nicely - three buttons on the side, two on top (side is Back, Menu, Home and top is Power and Camera). The idea of the Back and Men u buttons cuts out so much screen clutter you find on other phones (this isn't m eant to be an iPhone comparison, but you don't need to have lots of screen wasti ng buttons when you have a single menu button!). Home button is the same as on the iPhone - takes you back to your home page, but this can contain apps and gad gets on it, so you have DIRECT access to your twitter feed, no need to open an a pp.

Oh, and it multi-tasks really well. Download app whilst browsing internet? Che ck. Watch movie, drop out to check twitter status, resume movie? Check. Lets look at each function that I use it for now: Email: There is no direct Exchange Integration - it ships with an app preinstal led (on trial) called Touchdown. This may seem like a bad thing at first, howev er Touchdown is awesome - it supports a much better level of intregration than t he iPhone and also supports tasks and task creation. Setup and push email is se amless and it still notifies you on mail arrival if you wish (swiftly turned off for me - too many emails!). Only downside is you need to buy the app after the free trial, but it's well worth it. Keyboard: Much maligned on the internet - it's actually good once you get used t o it. Hint: turn on predictive text. The predictive text is much quicker and e asier to use than any I've used before - you start typing the word and it gives you suggestions as you type - single tap to confirm. It even suggests the next word in the phrase to save you a lot of time, and picks up your favourites and ' learns' from you. Very intuitive and easy to use. The keyboard itself is best in landscape mode (the whole phone is designed to wo rk landscape - think PSP instead of iPhone), and you get more keys, left + right arrows, numeric keypad and a few standard symbols - plus it's obvious where the next set of symbols are (shown on the keys). Caps lock is nice as well. Messaging: The SMS interface is fine, same predictive text (with a pointless 'sm iley' option). Browsing through texts is simple and intuitive Video: I need to recode all my video for the higher resolution, but watching an ything on this screen is lovely. It's a lot bigger than other phones (it's a RE ALLY big phone...) so you are watching them in a good size. Good support for vi deo codecs, plus you can get apps that do other codecs (more on the way). Also supports DLNA stuff as well which I need to play with more. Audio: No complaints, good sound quality Browsing: Being 800 pixels wide, browsing is an absolute joy - pinch zoom on no n-wap sites is easy, navigation is simple with multiple tabs (hidden in the menu button - no need to scroll to the top to find) and the integration into Google is nice (even shows where you are when you go to www.google.com for *really* loc al searching). Sites display very cleanly, and those written for SVGA work with out an issue. Flash upgrade with Android 2.2 will improve this dramatically. Social Networking: No tweet deck yet, which is my favourite client, but still pl enty of good apps. Haven't tried the Linked In client as it hasn't got great re views and isn't official - Facebook is easy to use but I don't use that much. Battery/Build: It comes with a normal SIM (yay!) and a removable battery (doubl e-yay). Best feature by far is the storage - it's Micro SD. So if you want to upgrade to 32Gb, just buy a 32Gb Micro SD. If you want more space for movies, b uy another Micro-SD and swap them over! Bluetooth: Integrated with my car straight away, no issues, excellent sound qua lity. WiFi: Connected to three different networks (home, work, friends house) using W PA2-PSK, runs like a dream, doesn't drain battery. Battery life: Full day of use with high use with everything on (watching video on train, constant checking of email, several phone calls, plenty of texting and browsing) with battery to spare (barely in yellow). Two days easily if you are

light on use, possibly three if you disable things (Bluetooth/WiFi). Signal strength: Excellent, no issues with weak areas (doesn't work on the Tube , but that's hardly surprising!). Reconnects quickly when required, no signal d rop if you hold it funny... Google Maps is nice and quick, very smooth integration (apparently does turn-byturn, but I have inbuilt satnav in car). Overall I'll say I'm very happy with my purchase and would recommend it to anyon e else. The high points are: <LI>the screen size (it's a really BIG phone) <LI>sheer fluidity of the interface - Google really did their homework, <LI>multitasking (being able to leave apps open and come back to them updated... e.g. twitter) The low points: <LI>the charger - it's another proprietary charger which is a bit like an Apple charger. If it had been USB C (Blackberry) or similar it would be much nice <LI>headphone jack - it's on the top (landscape), not the side - would have been better on the side (so it doesn't dig into your leg and/or not fit in your pock et).