Trading up...

So I sold my Dell Streak. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it, in fact it was one of my favorite toys. I'd upgraded the Android OS firmware to the official 2.2 (Froyo), and rooted it. I had even bought "Need for Speed: Shift" when it was on special and really was into playing it on the 5 inch screen.

The problem was I really didn't want to re-purchase the huge collection of games and Apps I had bought (mainly on sales) for the iPhone. I was also eyeing the iPad, not the iPad 2, but the entry level Apple refurbished iPad with a new battery and outer shell and same guarantee as a new one.

Anyway, I cut a deal with my spouse - sell the Dell Streak so that it cost less to buy the iPad. So now I have an iPad. It is pretty amazing.

Rooted

Last night I finally managed to "root" my Dell Streak. I was debating whether or not I should, but to do something as simple as a screenshot an Android device needs to be rooted. Apparently I could connect it to a PC and take a screenshot using the Android SDK, but that seems an awful lot of hassle for something that is so simple on the iPhone. Yes I know that iOS and Android are two totally different animals, but I've got quite used to easily taking screenshots. Anyway, it was relatively easy once I'd found out that I needed to use version 1.55 of "SuperOneClick", and not the latest version. It was definitely a quicker process than upgrading the Dell Streak's firmware from 1.6 to 2.2 (the latest firmware available for the Streak at the end if last year). That was quite a process, but I learned a lot about ADB Drivers and factory restores while doing it - I had a few glitches along the way, and the mini tablet was unusable for a day or so, but it was worth it. The 2.2 firmware has some nice features although the new Dell Stage launcher really didn't impress me, but the great thing about Android is that I was able to download and install an alternative launcher which suited me better.

Take a small Tablet

My Christmas present last year was a Dell Streak. Originally called the "Dell Mini 5", it is almost too small to be called an Android tablet. With its 5 inch screen, it is a large Android phone, the screen around half an inch larger than the Droid X. It is a cell phone because of Android licensing requirements, but I'm using it as a mini tablet.

iPod, iPhone, iPad

The news has been buzzing today with the much anticipated release of the Apple tablet.
The one thing I like is the name - iPad -it really seems so right. The other names bandied about just didn't sound right - iSlate sounds old-fashioned, iTablet just too obvious and sounding like just another tablet.