Dell Streak vs Samsung Galaxy S

2011-01-23T18:07:00.001-08:00

A wonderful day to all of you. Today I'll be comparing this two latest powerful android phones the Galaxy S and Dell Streak. Both have the latest android firmware release 2.2 codename Froyo installed.

Before that, let me say that all of my comparisons here are base on my personal experiences as an owner of this two powerful android phones. This comparison also serves as a summary for those friends of mine who are asking me why I sold my Galaxy S and bought a Dell Streak, so there might be some info that I may sound bias in favor of Dell Streak but don't worry...I'll be comparing the two fairly as much as possible and in the end of this post I'll emphasize more on the reasons why I choose the Streak over the Galaxy S.

OS:

Ok, both have Froyo installed so they are even. So I guess we'll just compare the UI customizations done by both manufacturers. For the Galaxy S, samsung have really customized a lot in terms of UI...the touchwiz UI it has is well integrated on top of the stock froyo..not to mention I really loved the touchwiz UI...hahaha...but some say they don't..I dont know why but anyways that's user preference. And wait they also customize the icons inside the settings page giving it a color unlike the stock one which is just the white icons. For the dell streak, well they also do some UI customizations but not as much as the samsung does in their galaxy s. The dell streak supports landscape mode in the home screen which I think it should be base on the screen size it has. Fast switching of multiple home screens by just slidding your finger from left to right or vice versa at the bottom of the home screen is also nice. Sliding from the bottom to the top of the home screen opens the application launcher instead of the native clicking of the center icon of the home screen. The most noticeable customization of the dell streak is in their application launcher. It has a semi-transparent background where in you can see your home screen. Sliding the application launcher to the bottom will close it.

Display:

Well this arena might sound a home court advantage of the Galaxy S but not so. The Galaxy S has a superb 4" 800x480 super amoled screen giving it a very bright and crisp display...everyone that will see the display will really appreciate it...sooo clear and crisp. No wonder it is the very first reason why I love it at first sight..hahaha. Under the sunlight usage of the Galaxy S is also fairly good. But wait for the dell streak, it has also its own winning steak in this arena...the streak has a 5" 800x480 wvga lcd GORILLA Glass display...waaaaa...Gorilla glass? what is it for? well, in short, Gorilla glass display is scratch and break resistant...even if you tap your screen with a ballpen or a screw driver..it wont break or have some scratch marks...just google it for some samples..hehe..

Size:

For me, the 5" of the dell streak makes it perfect for watching movies and playing games allowing me to have a bigger game space. But due to its 5" size its more advisable to use and hold the dell streak with 2 hands when playing compared to the galaxy s which is just 4" enough for one hand. Another thing is if someone will call you oh no no no...welll this depends on your preference if you are comfortable bringing out your monster dell streak phone and place it near your ears and answer the call...hahahah...compared to the galaxy s which is just perfectly good size. I'm sure your thinking now the dell streak is the same size with a chocolate bar...hahaha. You can easily and comfortably place your Galaxy S in your pocket either shorts, jeans or slacks while for the Dell streak its not comfortable to place it inside your jeans while slacks and shorts is okay. For me the dell streak is still not that sooo big for it not to be considered as a daily usage phone..maybe after a couple of days I'll get used to it...unless if it is the same size with the Galaxy Tab 7" then that's another story...hahaha.. Size summary: Galaxy S and Dell Streak are both very slim phone 9.9mm and 10mm respectively but in terms of length Galaxy S has a standard smartphone size...just enough for anyone to hold while the Dell streak is a monster size phone..just imagine it like fruit n' nuts cadbury chocolate bar you've been keeping for a long time inside your refrigerator...hahaha..feeling hungry?

Hardware:

Both phones packed with 1 Ghz processor, 512 MB RAM and an inbuilt 16GB storage. So in general not much difference can be seen in the higher level inside this arena except if you really want to compare the types of processor this two powerful phones are using.

Camera:

Both phones packed 5 megapixels camera but the dell streak has a dual-led flash which will be helpful during low lighting environments. The Samsung Galaxy S has a nicer camera interface and supports a lot of shooting scenes and settings while the Dell streak just uses the stock camera application. The dell streak camera interface doesn't have some options to allow me to change to higher image quality settings thus at default it produces lower quality images. Both phones offer good quality shots but only if you use the dell streak with a 3rd party application like the Vignette camera app which will allow you to choose higher resolution settings when taking still photos.

Responsiveness:

Both phones are very responsive. And offers a good experience when navigating the phone. Thanks to the 1 Ghz processor. But there is one problem I found out before in the Galaxy S...after a long time using the phone it become very laggy....one possible culprit is the file-system used by Samsung inside the Galaxy S which is RFS...after sometime using it the system degrades...but that problem was fixed by installing some 3rd party applications to change the default file-system used by Samsung to EXT2 ( used OCLF app inside the market). Hopefully the dell streak wont degrade after a long time using it...heheheh :D

Looks:

The Galaxy S has a very unique and slim look...another reason why I decided to sell off my Acer liquid before...hahaha. It feels comfortable when holding the phone...its very light. The only down part of the design of the Galaxy S is the plastic feel when your holding the phone but not much of an issue for me. For the dell streak, the phone's looks is the 1st culprit why I decided to buy it...hahaha...The dell streak design is very unique and elegant. The curved edges in the left and right side of the phone makes it very unique compared to other phones. The front finish is very shiny plus the Gorilla glass display which adds more to its looks. The back of the dell streak does not feel plastic. In general the phone feels solid and durable. It might look like a monster phone due to its size but for me it was more an advantage than a disadvantage (perfect for movies and games).

Summary of comparisons between Galaxy S and Dell Streak:

Galaxy S Pros over Dell Streak:

- Crisp and bright super amoled display

- Nice inbuilt camera interface

- DLNA support

- Fits right away in the pocket regardless if it is a jeans, slacks or shorts

- Uniquely comfortable size

- Standard microUSB port

Dell Streak Pros over Galaxy S:

- 5" size perfect for movies, browsing the web and games that needs bigger game space

- Gorilla glass that prevents the display from scratches and breaks

- Unique and elegant design specially for those who prefers holding phones in landscape mode

- Supports HDMI output but only through the dock (external accessories)

As we can see in the summary of comparisons above, the Galaxy S packed more pros over the Dell Streak. But the dell streak size and its very unique design and support for landscape mode and it's Gorilla glass display really gives it a big lead for me compared to the Galaxy S. Since before when I still use the Acer liquid and Galaxy S, I really liked using the phones in landscape mode but due to those phones doesn't support landscape mode in the home screen at default, I tend to use 3rd party app launchers and themes. But those apps eat up a lot of resources which causes my battery to drain very fast so I decided to stop using those. Though Galaxy S has a brigher and crispier super amoled display, the dell streak still packs a very nice WVGA shiny gorilla glass display...now durability plays an important role. The dell streak's lack of nice inbuilt camera interface can be solved by using 3rd party apps like vignette and the support for DLNA is not a big issue for me. Though it doesn't fit in my pocket right away if I'm using jeans, it's still not a big issue...I'm not always using jeans anyways...hahaha..and I'm used in holding the phone all the time if I'm going to the office or go back home (changing the music track or playing games). The only thing that can be an issue to me is the dell streak's non standard usb port..it used its own proprietary cable to connect it to my laptop or charge it...sharing of microUSB is not possible here. But again in general, everything still depends on user preference and comfort. For a lady like my fiancee, Galaxy S is good option which is also still her choice due to its smaller screen compared to the Dell streak. But hey!!! it's not that big!!! one hand is still possible (it just depends on how big your hand is..hehehe...).

I hope this post will help anyone who are still deciding between the two phones. If you have some questions, feel free to post it in the comments.

- Brian

Up Next: A personal experience: Android vs. iPhone

I am Brian

Dell Streak vs Samsung Galaxy S