Coming to T-Mobile as their first 4G tablet, Dell is set to launch its foray into the 7-inch tablet market with the Dell Streak 7. Packed with NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 dual core processor and a 7-inch 800×480 Gorilla Glass touch screen. Is it poised to take on the Tab? Check out the full review.
Hardware / Design
The hardware design for the Streak 7 is vastly improved from the Streak 5. I was one of Dell’s harshest critics of the Streak 5 as the back battery panel came to easily detached from the device.
Like the Tab the back of the Streak 7 is a solid non-removable panel. The back also contains a small diamond texture design similar to the texture feel Dell has been putting on more of their consumer notebooks.
One of the things that stands out the most with the design of the hardware is that it appears to be designed with landscape mode in mind as the major way the product will be used. From the camera positions, to the power and volume buttons and most noticeably the orientation of the side buttons.
The design of the Streak 7 is much like the design of the Streak 5 where the sides of the device, if you are holding it landscape, have a slight curve. On the top of the device there are only two buttons, off and one and volume up and down. The Home, Menu and Back buttons are on the front. One thing that is noticeable is the absence of the search button so commonly found on other Android hardware. This could mean Dell intends to make the move to Honeycomb quickly where search is integrated more into the core operating system, or it could just frustrate users.
There are two speakers on the Streak 7 on both ends of the device, which gives it a true stereo experience with applications that use audio. In comparison the Tab has two speakers but they are both at the bottom of the device.
The tablet itself is 7.9 x 4.7 x 0.5 and weighs 1lb compared to the Tab which is 7.5 x 4.7 x 0.5 inches and 13.4 ounces. In this side by side comparison you can see the Streak 7 is slightly longer.
Software and Performance
The Streak 7 comes loaded Android version 2.2. The only additional software Dell has pre-loaded on to the device is their own Dell Stage widgets which consist of a contacts, email, gallery, home, music, social and web widgets.
I did find the Streak 7 to be a bit more snappy than the Tab. Going in and out of applications, browsing apps from the menu and even browsing the web. Overall I found the speed performance to be better than the Tab.
Further from a performance standpoint the Streak scored a 1918 on Quadrant where the Tab scored a 980.
Even though Tegra 2 is a dual core processor, Android version 2.2 is multi-threaded however there is room for improvement. Along those lines not all applications are multi-threaded as well. So the full power of the Streak 7 and the Tegra will not be unleashed until either Gingerbread or Honeycomb are made available on the Streak 7.
4G
The Streak 7 is T-Mobile’s first 4G tablet. In many areas of the Bay Area where I live I got strong 4G signals and tested speeds in the 2.5 to 3.5 mb range of download speed. In full 4G areas web pages loaded quickly and more importantly when I was out and about using things like maps or other location based services applications.
Camera and Multimedia
Since NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 processor is capable of 1080p capture I was excited to test the video capabilities for both playback and capture. For 1080p video playback the Streak 7 performed admirably. The video played back flawlessly without skipping and with smooth frames. Capture however was a different story all together as 720P was the highest resolution option capable to capture video.
Graphics and games looked incredibly fantastic. I expected this as Tegra 2 coming from NVIDIA with their deep graphics expertise. I was able to play a few pre-release Tegra optimized games that NVIDIA provided me. One was a Tegra optimized version of Dungeon Defenders and the other was Galaxy On Fire 2. Games in particular shined on the Streak 7 and when it came to fluid and rich graphical gameplay it was much better than the Tab.
Here are some photos I took of my goats with the camera.
Battery
The battery life on the Streak 7 has to be my biggest complaint. Over the weekend I took it with me on a day trip to Berkeley and after a full nights charge it was dead by 5 PM. The next day faired a little better but just barely made it through a day.
The culprit is the Streak 7 only has a 2780 mAh battery while the Tab has a 4000 mAh battery. The bottom line is expect more frequent charging if you plan on heavy usage.
Wrap up
Having used the Tab for over a month and now after using the Streak for five days, the performance advantages of the Streak 7 give it the edge in my opinion. The Streak 7 will perform and in some cases outperform other tablets in the 7′ inch range with its capabilities as a rich multimedia device largely thanks to NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 super chip.
The battery life is my biggest complaint with the Streak 7 and in terms of battery life the Tab is a better option.
I want to see how the Streak 7 performs when either Gingerbread or Honeycomb become available as an update. From things like multi-threaded support, more tablet centric OS and speed / performance gains all things that will add value to not only tablets in general but the Streak 7 as well.
We’re already expecting the LG Optimus 3D to be made official at MWC 2011 next month – after all, it’s already been given one patchy pre-order listing and LG’s “new dimension” teasing invite isn’t hard to interpret – but now what’s believed to be the handset itself has seemingly leaked. Phandroid‘s tipster doesn’t confirm what exact LG this is, but the best guess is that we’re looking at the 3D Android phone.
Details are scant, with a display larger than 4-inches suggested (which we’d guess is most likely to be 4.3-inches) along with a nameless dual-core CPU paired with multi-channel memory. Given LG has jumped aboard the Tegra 2 train with the Optimus 2X, we wouldn’t be surprised to see NVIDIA’s chip at the heart of this device too. Finally there’s a front-facing camera to add to the list. SlashGear will be at LG’s press event at Mobile World Congress in just a couple of weeks time, when we’ll know exactly what the company has in store for us.
iBUYPOWER is a company that has all sorts of computer systems that it sells. The machines run from entry-level rigs up to fully optioned gaming machines that cost a fortune. iBP announced today that shoppers looking to get a new computer can now get some of the gaming rigs with the new NVIDIA GTX 560 Ti video card that debuted yesterday.
The new video card can be added as an option to the popular LAN Warrior II, Paladin XLC, and Level 10 gaming machines. I am a big fan of that Level 10 gaming rig, which is one of the coolest cases ever and looks very futuristic. It reminds me of a personal computer that would have been found in Atlantis on Stargate: Atlantis.
The GTX 560 Ti is an impressive video card on its own and doesn’t cost too much. The card has a MSRP of $250 and promises to deliver some very impressive performance in DX 11 games and older DX 10 and 9 titles as well. The card is a good choice for the gamer on a budget.
Texas Instruments has admitted that NVIDIA beat it to the punch with Tegra 2, managing to scoop up much of the CES 2011 processor hype despite having less than a three month lead to to market over TI’s own OMAP 4 chips. Questioned during the company’s investor relations call as to how TI envisaged OMAP 4 prospects in the light of NVIDIA’s market share, the company conceded its rival is “the player” to beat, but says it has its own customers waiting in the wings.
“NVIDIA, to their credit, was the first out with a dual-core applications processor. I believe they had a couple of months, maybe a quarter lead on our OMAP 4 product. OMAP 4 began sampling fourth quarter a year ago. So we’ve had that product in customers’ hands for over a year at this point. We’re well along in development program. And again, them being first for customers that are trying to get out with tablet programs right away, especially some that are based upon the Android operating system, they’re the player, they were the first player out so there is a natural alignment there” Ron Slaymaker, vice president, TI investor relations
One of those customers is RIM, whose BlackBerry Playbook tablet is confirmed to run on TI’s dual-core 1GHz OMAP4430 processor. It’s not clear whether the Playbook is the device in question when Slaymaker said ”we’re shipping to a customer that plans to ramp their tablet production based on OMAP 4″ during the call, or if the exec was referring to a different company.
As Slaymaker says, with none of the new slates announced on Tegra 2 at CES 2011 actually on the market yet, “the tablet market, as is the smartphone market, will be a competitive [one]” and the battle for chip dominance is nowhere near settled. As we saw in our own hands-on with the Playbook it’s a speedy, capable tablet, and there’s plenty to recommend the OMAP 4 CPUs. It’ll only be once this new breed of dual-core tablets actually reach the market that we see which company’s processors pull ahead.
We’ve got Tegra 2 in tablets and Tegra 2 in phones; why not Tegra 2 in a desktop computer? That’s just what the Compulab Trim Slice offers, a super-compact desktop – only slightly larger than a 2.5-inch HDD – which nonetheless offers both HDMI and Dual-Link DVI ports for twin displays, 1GB of RAM, WiFi b/g/n and gigabit ethernet in a fanless metal chassis.
There’s also Bluetooth, a full-sized SDHC slot and a microSDHC slot, up to 64GB of SATA SSD storage and S/PDIF digital audio. Other ports include four USB 2.0, one USB Device port and a serial port; Compulab say that more than one OS will be preinstalled out of the box, though don’t actually specify which platforms that will include.
Not bad for something measuring just 5.1 x 3.7 x 0.6 inches. Pricing is yet to be confirmed, but Compulab expects the Trim Slice to be “priced higher than a streamer, but lower than a tablet” when it goes on sale in April.
CompuLab is Introducing Trim-Slice – the first NVIDIA® TegraTM 2 based desktop
Haifa, Israel – 24-Jan-11 – CompuLab is introducing Trim-Slice – a miniature desktop computer powered by NVIDIA Tegra 2. With 0.6″ thick all-metal housing, Trim-Slice is CompuLab’s smallest and most energy-efficient computer to-date.
NVIDIA Tegra 2 integrates a 1 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex A9 and an ultra-low power GeForce GPU onto the same chip, making it the most powerful ARM based system-on-chip available today.
“Trim-Slice is designed to unleash the full potential of NVIDIA Tegra 2” said Irad Stavi, Director of Business Development at CompuLab. “Trim-Slice feeds the Tegra 2 with all the ingredients for supporting high performance CPU: 1 GB RAM, SATA SSD and dual SDHC for storage and GbE networking. Users can experience the outstanding multimedia capabilities of the Tegra 2 through full-HD HDMI, dual-head display and 5.1 channels digital audio.”
“CompuLab demonstrated many times over its expertise in power-efficient system design.” said Igor Vaisbein, Trim-Slice Project Manager at CompuLab. “The ultra-low power of NVIDIA Tegra 2 enabled designing Trim-Slice into a miniature form-factor with unprecedentedly low-power envelope while providing rich multimedia capabilities and PC-like user experience”.
High performance, low-power, rich I/O and miniature rugged design, position Trim-Slice as an attractive solution for a variety of applications – media player, IPTV, infotainment system, signage, gaming or even desktop replacement to name a few.
Trim-Slice differs from most other ARM based solutions by being a commercially available open platform for software developers.
“The software eco-system on ARM is evolving quickly” said Mike Rapoport, Director of SW Development at CompuLab. “The open-source community and ISVs need an ARM development platform that is versatile, open and powerful. Trim-Slice meets that by incorporating PC-like performance, memory, storage, display, I/O and networking in an open platform that allows installation of any supported OS and application. CompuLab will offer more than one OS working on Trim-Slice out-of-the-box.”
CompuLab will cooperate with ISVs that select Trim-Slice as a reference platform.
Specifications
• CPU: NVIDIA® TegraTM 2 Dual Core ARM Cortex A9 1GHz with integrated ultra-low power GeForce GPU
• Memory: 1 GB DDR2-800
• Storage :
o Full size SD (SDHC)
o Micro SD (SDHC)
o SATA SSD (up to 64GB)
• Networking:
o 1 GbE
o WiFi 802.11n + BT
• Display :HDMI 1.3 full-HD + DVI (dual head)
• Audio: Stereo line-out, line-in, 5.1 digital S/PDIF
• Video in: PAL/NTSC
• I/O:
o 4 USB2 ports (480 MBps)
o 1 USB device
o RS232 Serial port
• Extension: JTAG, 2 UARTs, SPI
• Housing: Fanless all-metal nickel-plated die-cast
• Dimensions: 130mm x 95mm x 15mm – 5.1” x 3.7” x 0.6”
• Power: 8-16V DC, 3W average
Availability
CompuLab expects to start accepting orders from Trim-Slice in April. “Trim-Slice pricing is yet to be finalized” said Mr. Stavi. “It will be priced hig¬her than a streamer, but lower than a tablet”.
Trim-Slice is guaranteed for long term availability of 5 years. It will be available in several configurations and will be offered to OEMs looking to re-brand the product.
About CompuLab
CompuLab is a leading designer and manufacturer of embedded computing products since 1992. CompuLab’s fit-PC line of miniature, fanless PCs – introduced in 2007 – positioned CompuLab as an industry leader in the field of miniature, fanless industrial PCs. CompuLab headquarters are located in Haifa, Israel with offices in St. Petersburg, FL.
NVIDIA is obviously particularly proud of its new GeForce GTX 560 Ti GPU – it suggests it “pwns the gamer’s sweet spot” in the press release – and at first glance the Fermi-based video card does have plenty going for it. Eight tessellation engines, a total of 384 CUDA cores, DirectX 11 support and a 52.5 billion/sec texture fill rate add up to a card 33-percent faster than the GeForce GTX 460 and up to 65-percent faster than AMD’s Radeon HD 6870.
In fact, NVIDIA reckons the GeForce GTX 560 Ti is up to 46-percent faster than the significantly more expensive AMD Radeon HD 6950, something we can’t see their rivals being particularly pleased about. That’s at the core 822MHz clock speed, too; NVIDIA expects some manufacturers to overclock the GTX 560 Ti to 1GHz for even more performance.
There’s also 3D Vision and NVIDIA Surround support, PhysX, Realtime Ray Tracing and, as standard, a pair of Dual-Link DVI ports and a Mini DisplayPort output. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti will start showing up in cards from ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI and more from today, priced at around $249.
Press Release:
The New NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti GPU Pwns the Gamer’s Sweet Spot
With 8 tessellation engines delivering a stunning amount of performance for today’s newest DX11 games, the GTX 560 Ti brings a new level of performance to PC gaming platforms, and well as super quiet acoustics and support for 3D Vision, PhysX, and SLI technologies, advanced features provided only by NVIDIA GeForce GTX GPUs.
SANTA CLARA, CA — (Marketwire) — 01/25/2011 — Last summer, NVIDIA astounded gamers with the introduction of the GeForce® GTX 460 GPU, which editors called “an incredible value”(i). Flash forward 5 months later, and NVIDIA is set to do it again with the immediate availability of the new GeForce GTX 560 Ti GPU. With average performance that is 33% faster(ii), overclocking headroom that is off the charts, and a performance per watt that puts competitive products to shame, the GeForce GTX 560 Ti is further proof as to why GeForce GTX GPUs are favored by PC gamers worldwide.
The GeForce GTX 560 Ti is the newest addition of the Company’s “Fermi” line of consumer GPUs that were designed to deliver stunning DirectX 11 (DX11) performance for PC gaming platforms. The GeForce GTX 560 Ti brings a new level of DX11 price/performance to the performance PC gaming market while maintaining super quiet acoustics and minimal power requirements.
Like all NVIDIA “DX11 Done Right” GPUs, the GTX 560 Ti delivers the world’s fastest performance for DX11 games in its class. When compared to the closest competitive product, the GTX 560 Ti is up to 65 percent faster(iii) in today’s newest DX11 tessellated games, and 30 percent faster(iv) in previous-generation DX9 and DX10 games. With a superior design that includes a default graphics core clocked to 822MHz, 8 tessellation engines and 384 CUDA cores that were architected for next-generation DX11 games, the GTX 560 Ti is even up to 46% faster(v) than the competition’s product offerings that cost upwards of 20% more!
“The GTX 560 Ti GPU has it all: awesome DX11 performance, terrific overclockability, and ultra quiet operation — attributes of the perfect performance GPU,” said Drew Henry, general manager of GeForce GPU business at NVIDIA. “With the GTX 560 Ti under the hood, and an awesome library of DX11 titles coming in the very short future, it is truly a great time to be a PC gamer!”
With full support for NVIDIA 3D Vision™ and NVIDIA Surround™ technologies, the GeForce GTX 560 Ti GPU also provides the graphics horsepower and video bandwidth needed to experience more than 500 games and high-definition Blu-ray movies in eye-popping stereoscopic 3D on a single display or spanning across three screens for an immersive gaming environment. And with NVIDIA SLI™ technology, the industry’s most scalable multi-GPU platform, gamers will be delighted by the sheer increase in gaming performance by adding a second GeForce GTX 560 Ti to their PC.
With an estimated selling e-tail price starting at $249 USD, the GTX 560 Ti is available starting today from the world’s leading add-in card partners, including ASL, ASUS, Colorful, ECS, EVGA, Gainward, Galaxy, Gigabyte, Innovision 3D, Jetway, Leadtek, MSI, Palit, Point of View, PNY, Sparkle, Zotac and others. At launch, there will be a wide assortment of GTX 560 Ti cards available, including those with stock clocks of 822MHz and others that are clocked much higher, including some at 1GHz.
For more information about the GTX 560 Ti, please visit www.geforce.com.
MSI has announced a new video card for its line of Twin Frozr II offerings. The cards all share the same cooling solution that has twin fans and uses heat pipes to keep the GPU and other components on the card cool. The latest card uses the NVIDIA GTX 560 GPU.
MSI is also announced an even more special Golden Edition of the video card, though it offers little details on the specifics of either of the cards. I would expect that the Golden Edition will likely be overclocked to provide more performance compared to the stock N560GTX-Ti card.
Both of the video cards have Military Class II components for long life and robustness. The twin fan thermal design promises to keep the card 20-degrees cooling that normal air-cooled solutions. The new offerings also support GPU overvoltage for overclocking via software. Pricing and a specific release date for both cards is unannounced at this time.
Sometimes it doesn’t pay to be the very earliest of early-adopters, as some Notion Ink pre-order customers have discovered. Unboxing joy turned to bricked-tablet misery after the recommended software update accidentally locked up the Adam slate altogether; Notion Ink has now pulled the update, and there are reflashing instructions at Notion Ink Fan.
At an early count, it doesn’t seem like more than a handful of users were affected – after all, the first Adam units only started arriving on doorsteps yesterday – but it’s a disappointing first experience for new owners. An updated version of the firmware is apparently in the works, and by all accounts Notion Ink’s customer support has been on the ball in dealing with issues.
Without giving away the whole surprise, we’ve got some big things in store for you readers over the next few weeks. New voices, free stuff, a whole new look for one of our outlets, and a variety of mini-updates you’re going to flip over. Today we’re bringing you a wild assortment of updates from all corners of the tech world, most of which are previews of devices you’ve almost certainly already got your eye on. Behold the coming of the next generation – stick with us as we cover it.
