And so begins the Dell Streak 7 reviews which will either provide you with a reason to spend a mere $200 dollars for a lightweight, 4G capable Tablet. On the other hand, reading some of the early reviews might make you look at the LG G-Slate with longing eyes and begin a calendar countdown.

Let’s start with Engadget:

We’re actually not even sure why the guys in Austin decided to bring the Streak 7 to market in its current form. There’s no doubt that at $199.99 on contract / $450 off contract the tablet is one of the more decently priced Android slates out there, and its HSPA+ speeds make it incredibly fast, but when you combine its low-resolution screen, poor battery life, and soon-to-be outdated OS, we simply can’t recommend it, even if it doesn’t break the bank.

Most of the Engadget review carries the same tone, it’s generally not very pleasant toward the device and it’ll make you think twice about purchasing.

Full Engadget Review

Moving on to Crunchgear:

The Dell Streak 7, like the original Dell Streak, is a smartphone masquerading as a tablet. That is not, on the whole, a bad thing: you get some of the best features of Android in a form-factor that is more conducive to media consumption. However, the Streak 7 is worrying because it launches on the cusp of another Android version, 3.0, that promises a more unified tablet UI. Provided this device will keep up with the times over the next few iterations of Android, I’m all for recommending it as a sturdy and slight Galaxy Tab or iPad alternative for the media enthusiast.

All in all the Crunchgear review is much more positive than the Engadget review. While you won’t see widespread praise among any of these reviews, Crunchgear turns out to be one of the more levelheaded of the bunch.

Full Crunchgear Review

Now for Slashgear:

Having used the Tab for over a month and now after using the Streak for five days, the performance advantages of the Streak 7 give it the edge in my opinion.   The Streak 7 will perform and in some cases outperform other tablets in the 7′ inch range with its capabilities as a rich multimedia device largely thanks to NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 super chip.

The battery life is my biggest complaint with the Streak 7 and in terms of battery life the Tab is a better option.

Slashgear absolutely took a more positive tone with this offering up quite a few reasons as to why one might want to look at this over the Samsung Galaxy Tab. However, they point out the most obvious concern for Dell Streak 7 buyers, Honeycomb is right around the corner along with a whole new generation of Tablets. Does the Streak 7 stand out enough to warrant your purchase, even at the $199.99 price tag.

Full Slashgear Review

And now for Gizmodo:

If you absolutely must pick up a 7-inch Android tablet immediately, the Samsung Galaxy Tab is better at this very moment. The pickle is that the Streak has better guts and will one day be updated to Android 3.0, which will likely obliterate the software problems, while we’ve heard that the Galaxy Tab may not ever be updated to 3.0. (That said, Honeycomb won’t do anything to fix the Streak 7′s mediocre screen, which is totally inferior to the Tab, and we hate the idea of purchasing anything predicated on the hopes or promises of a software update, which is only slightly less risky than purchasing a lottery ticket.)

If there is one thing I can count on from any Gizmodo review is the absolute honest truth…from the opinion of the writer. That’s not to say anything bad, Gizmodo happens to be, for better or worse one of the more honest sites with reviews these days, but this time they just flat out panned the Streak 7. Going so far as to list 10 reasons to why one should avoid the Streak 7, reading this will make you reconsider your consideration of the purchase altogether.

GigaOM Review:

Folks looking for a low-cost, fairly basic Android tablet that can overlook the screen resolution could be happy with the Streak 7. It all depends on if the 4G radio is worth the purchase, because the Galaxy Tab for $50 more offers many better features. Regardless of the fast data connection, the screen is a deal-breaker for me personally, simply because it’s the function most used.

Full GigaOM review

The overall conclusion I’ve taken away from this is that while the device itself isn’t that bad, the screen is the real deal breaker. The device itself runs well, the T-Mobile data speeds are snappy and make browsing a please but the overall appeal of the device is severely limited by the screen.

I had only a few minutes with the Dell Streak 7 at CES in Las Vegas and I was hanging out with the guys from Androidandme and the first thing we all said to each other, was that the screen looked like a hologram from certain angles. That opinion is clearly echoed in a number of these reviews, however the appeal of the Dell Streak 7 lies heavily on the price. This isn’t a tablet that is going to win the hearts and minds of the hardcore Android tablet fan, the LG G-Slate will be step to try and fill that role. However, if the one thing holding you back from the Samsung Galaxy Tab was the lack of 4G, then perhaps the Streak 7 is your answer. We would just recommend you try one out first.

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