Dell Streak Tablet Phone To Skip Android OS 2.1, Go Straight to OS 2.2

The Dell Streak debuted with Android OS 1.6, but Dell has committed to releasing an operating system upgrades for it. According to an official source at Dell, this device is likely to go directly to Android OS 2.2.

The company has put out a video showed off the Streak running OS 2.1, but it's possible an upgrade to this version won't be released.

Lionel Menchaca, a Dell's Chief Blogger and a Community Ambassador was asked via Twitter:

do you know if 2.1 OTA is in the roadmap, or will you skip to 2.2?

He answered:

Honest answer is that it's complicated. From the info I have, current plan in the US is to go right to Froyo.

New in Android OS 2.2 (Froyo)
The latest version of Google's mobile operating system -- code-named Froyo -- is required for devices to run Adobe Flash Player 10.1, which allows the web browser to fully make use of websites that use Flash for navigation, games, and showing video.

The base version of Android OS 2.2 includes tethering and portable hotspot software, allowing it to share its 3G Internet connection with other devices over a Wi-Fi connection. At this point, i's not clear whether the Streak will get this feature or not.

Because this tablet phone is apparently making the jump from 1.6, it's also getting the improvements that were part of versions 2.0 and 2.1. This includes much greater support for speech-to-text and multi-touch, built-in support for synchronizing with a Microsoft Exchange Server, and many other enhancements.

Overview of the Dell Streak
The design for Dell's tablet phone is centered around its 5-inch, WVGA (800 x 480 pixel) capacitive touchscreen. This device has a slim tablet shape and its casing comes in one color: black.

The Streak runs Google's mobile operating system on a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 512 MB of RAM.  On top of Google's standard user interface is a UI developed by Dell.

In addition to support for AT&T's voice and 3G service, this device sports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1. plus a GPS receiver.

It comes with 16 GB of storage in the form of a removable microSD memory card. Users have the option of switching this out for a 32 GB card.

The Streak includes a 5-megapixel auto-focus camera on its back, and a front-facing one for video conferencing. In addition, it has a 3.5-mm headphone jack.

The tablet is bundled with a suite of entertainment, communications and productivity software, including a highly-capable web browser, email software, turn-by-turn navigation app, and much more.

Overall, the Dell Streak is 6 inches x 3.1 inches x 0.4 inches (153 mm x 79 mm x 10 mm).

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