Dell has made it clear that they will not be leaving the mobile sector and will continue producing mobile solutions, it is simply ending the Streak line. Does ending the Streak line mean it will never again pick up a new Android line or that it is simply going back to the drawing board with its hardware design? Although we aren’t sure about the future of Android with Dell, we do know that Dell has expressed recent interest in Windows 8 tablets.

Dell has never ventured too far outside of the traditional PC market and any attempts to do so haven’t gone so well for the company, including its Phone 7 smartphones. Can Dell change how it is received in the mobile market with future devices such as Windows 8 tablets? I have my own serious doubts, but in time we will see.

The Mango update to Windows Phone 7, which is being referred to as Windows Phone 7.5 in many circles, comes with a whole bunch of new features and bug fixes. So, when are we going to get our hands on the delicious tropical fruit? If you happen to have a Dell Venue Pro, then Dell says it’ll have some Mango for you later this fall… but that comes with a caveat.

If you have an unlocked Dell Venue Pro, you’re in luck. If you have a Dell Venue Pro that is locked to T-Mobile or Cincinnati Bell, you’re also in luck. However, if you’re one of the unlucky souls who has a DVP locked to AT&T, Dell isn’t quite so forthcoming with the Mango for you. It says that information for AT&T-locked units “will be forthcoming.”

That doesn’t mean that AT&T DVPs will be without Mango, but it does seem to indicate that they’ll be the last to the party. With Mango around the corner and Nokia set to release its first official WP7 device very soon too, this could bode well for Microsoft’s mobile operating system. I imagine it’ll take quite some time before it can snag significant market share away from Apple and Google, but this is a good first leap.

Looks like Dell is really ready to embrace this whole Android tablet thing. They already have the 5-inch Dell Stream megaphone and we already know about the 7-inch Streak. Now, we’re getting a pretty good look at another member of the family: the 10-inch Dell Streak Pro.

If this holds up to be true, and we don’t really see any reason why it wouldn’t, Dell would then be better positioned to compete against all the other 10-inch (ish) tablets on the market like the Motorola Xoom, the upcoming Galaxy Tab 10.1, and even the iPad 2. By going with 5, 7, and 10-inch variants, they’re really trying to offer a size for every taste.

In terms of specs, it should come as little surprise that the Streak Pro will be running some build of Honeycomb, though it will likely have a modified version of the Dell Stage UI in there too. We’re hearing of the standard 1GHz Tegra2 processor and 1GB of RAM.

Along with the 5MP rear cam, 2MP front cam, and dual microphones, we’re also hearing that it’ll support AT&T’s 4G LTE. They’re also doing the usual storage configurations with your choice of 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB. Not surprisingly, they’ll have a bunch of accessories to sell you too.  Expect it this June.

Everyone is getting entrenched in the tablet game for 2011, hoping to knock the iPad out of the top spot (or at least carving out a sizable slice of the pie). What’s Dell doing? Well, we’ve got the leaked roadmap for at least three new devices.

Dell already has the five-inch Streak out there, but a larger 10-inch (1280×800) Dell Streak Pro is slated for launch in June of this year. That’s still some ways out, but we’re hearing it’ll rock Honeycomb, Stage 1.5 UI, and a Tegra 2 processor. This pretty much puts it on par with some of the offerings from LG, Samsung, Motorola, and others.

I’m not sure if this is still the brightest move at this point, but Dell is also planning a 10-inch Windows-powered tablet called the Dell Latitude ST. I suppose this will cater more to the enterprise market with its active pen support. Other highlights include the 1.5GHz Intel Atom Z670 Oak Trail processor, 1366×768 resolution, up to 128GB SSD, dual cameras, 1080p output, and Windows 7. Expect that in October.

The Inspiron Duo might be doing the flipping thing for consumers, but business folks may be more inclined to consider the 13-inch Latitude XT-3 convertible tablet. They’re using Intel Huron River Core i3/i5/i7 processors, 4GB RAM, active pen support, smart card reader, fingerprint reader, and an encrypted HDD. That drops in July.

As a suitable alternative to something like the Galaxy Tab, the Streak 7 boasts 4G connectivity via the T-Mobile HSPA+ network. That goes along with the seven-inch screen, Android 2.2 (hopefully with a Honeycomb update in the works?), and NVIDIA Tegra2 running the show. Naturally, they’re boasting that whole Flash support thing to differentiate the Streak 7 from a certain iTablet.

There’s also those front-facing camera for Qik video chatting, along with the rear camera for snapping pics. I don’t know how well these Android tablets are going to compete against the iPad 2, but it’s good to see that we’re starting to see more options. Android dominates smartphones and tablets are quickly becoming the next frontier.

Oh, and if you’re not one for contracts, the Dell Streak 7 is being sold for $450 sans agreement. Considering what you get, that doesn’t sound like too shabby a deal.

Donut. Eclair. Froyo. Gingerbread. Google Android is filled with all sorts of delectable treats, but not all phones are treated alike. Even when Google officially announces and releases a new version of its mobile operating system, you don’t get to enjoy that new Android OS right away; you have to wait for the carrier and manufacturer to push it to you (unless you like unofficial ROMs). So, who reigns supreme in this regard?

JP Raphael of Computer World has compiled a list of all the major Android smartphones released through the four major carriers in the United States, seeing which devices were able to get a taste of the Froyo (Android 2.2) before the rest. The results are quite interesting, to say the least.

In terms of manufacturers, HTC “is the best by a long shot.” Considering that the Froyo source code was released in June 2010, HTC has been able to push it to 50% of its phones within that calendar year. The average upgrade time is 56 days. Motorola is second with just 15.4% of its phones getting Froyo in 2010. Samsung has only upgraded one of its nine phones to Froyo, but that’s still better than Dell, LG, and Sony. None of their phones got Froyo in 2010.

What about on the carrier front? Verizon Wireless has really been pushing its DROID line of devices and they’re following through with the most Froyo upgrades too. A third of the qualifying Verizon Android phones got Android 2.2 in 2010, compared to 28.6% of Sprint phones, 12.5% of T-Mobile phones, and 0.0% of AT&T phones.

So, what’s the take home message? If you want the newest versions of Android to get pushed to you over the air in the timeliest of fashions, stick with an HTC from Verizon and you’ll give yourself the best shot.

As laptops get thinner and lighter, it becomes increasingly difficult for manufacturers to shoehorn in adequate sets of fans to keep the heat down. Dell’s Vostro V130 addresses the imminent overheating problem by utilizing Hyperbaric Cooling.

The Intel Advanced Cooling Technology system is what Dell uses, they still makes use of fans, but it does so in a much more efficient manner. It doesn’t just draw air universally into the laptop from its surroundings; instead, it redirects the flow of air as needed toward specific components. Say the graphics card is heating up a little too quickly; the Hyperbaric Cooling system will guide the air in that direction and then channel the warmer air back out.

Apparently, this is more efficient also helps to reduce the noise of fans too. That’s a good thing, but the effects on the battery life have yet to be determined. After all, it’s working a little harder than just blowing air randomly into the system as a whole.

The rest of the specs on the somewhat business-oriented Dell Vostro V130 aren’t really anything to write home about. You get a choice of Core i3 or i5 ULV processor, a 13.3-inch HD WLED display, full-sized keyboard, Bluetooth, WiFi, WiMAX support, and a 0.65″ to 0.78″ inch tapering profile. The whole package weighs in at just 3.5 pounds and starts at a cool $429.

[Crunch Gear via Dell PR]

It’s an 8GB unit and will be on T-Mobile, a 16GB Venue Pro can be had for $50 more.

[Dell, PR]

Do you want the largest Android smartphone on the market but not at all interested in signing a carrier contract? Well, you’re in luck. Head on over to Dell and they’ll gladly equip you with a factory unlocked Dell Streak. Better yet, it comes with Android 2.2 right out of the box.

As you may already know, the locked version of the Streak being sold by wireless providers can still come preloaded with Android 1.6, so it’s nice to see the newer OS version pre-installed on the unlocked variant.

The five-inch behemoth of a smartphone (you can call it a tablet if you prefer) does the multi-touch thing for zoom and it supports Flash. It’ll do USB tethering and 3G hotspot creation too, should you feel so inclined. I’m not a fan of a phone of this size, but I have at least one friend who is very interested.

For now, the factory unlocked Streak only comes in black and sells for $579. If you can hold out (and if you’re okay with carrier locks), AT&T will have a white model and a Cherry Red version too, both of which are $550 sans contract. Lock in for two years of data and it can be had for $300.

The concept of a convertible tablet notebook isn’t exactly new, nor is it all that popular among the popular masses, but that might soon be changing with the presumably more affordable Dell Inspiron Duo. It’s a netbook that can also serve as a tablet.

Most other convertible tablets feature a “twisting” mechanism in the hinge so you can flip flop the display to suit your needs. The Inspiron Duo does it quite differently, as you can see from the pictures. It opens up like a regular netbook/notebook, but the display can “flip” inside its bezel. I’m not entirely sure if this is better or worse, but it is certainly different.

Dell isn’t exactly forthcoming with the nitty-gritty details just yet, though, so we’re left wondering how much horsepower is going to plunked under the hood and how many doubloons we’ll have to put forth to get our hands on one.

We do know that it uses Windows 7 as its OS and, based on what we can see, we also hope that Dell provides a super touch-friendly UI overlay to make the tablet half of the equation a little more user-friendly. Either way, I think the Inspiron Duo is “cute,” and it should be able to carve out its own little niche in the market.

SOURCE: TechnaBob via Blogeee, nDevil