Dell drops Streak 7, backs out of Android tablets in US
updated 08:40 am EST, Mon December 5, 2011
Dell quits Android tablet arena in short term
Dell on Monday confirmed that it had stopped selling the Streak 7. The tablet is no longer available online and is withdrawing just months after Dell axed the Streak 5. In a statement, it said it would still be involved in the mobile space but conspicuously referred to the Streak 7 in the past tense, suggesting it was being phased out.
"Dell remains committed to the mobility market and continues to sell products here and in other parts of the world," the company said. "Streak 7 delivered a unique experience for customers who wanted a larger screen-size yet the freedom of staying connected to their personal and professional content while on the-go. It continues to be available in many markets through retail, distributors and carrier partners such as Optus in Australia. A 10-inch version of the tablet, Streak 10 Pro, is currently offered in China, offering the ultimate digital divide between work and life. The Venue and Venue Pro devices, as well, continue to earn accolades for performance, design and functionality around the world. We also recently launched the Latitude ST, a 10-inch Windows 7-based touch-screen tablet designed for vertical markets such as education, finance and healthcare in November of this year. We remain committed to expanding our reach beyond PCs with a targeted set of open, standards-based mobility solutions and services designed for commercial and mobile professional customers."
Dell had a rough start in tablets that has been partly credited to its tendency to announce devices prematurely and firm up details too soon. It showed a prototype of the Streak 5 weeks before the iPad was unveiled in January, but Dell only ended up shipping in August that year with hardware and software completely unchanged from what it had shown earlier. It improved its strategy by the time of the Streak 7, but by then was still facing more technically advanced tablets.
Like HP, Dell is believed to be putting most of its faith in Windows 8 tablets for the US market. It won't have this option until mid-to-late 2012, however, and will essentially concede its share of mobile tablets for a year.
Junior Member
Joined: May 2001
Spinning away...
I'd reverse quote Michael Dell once again but it been done too much already. Suffice it to say that Microsoft and its "partners" are a bit late to the party.