[miffed]

OK , so it's not officially released - but I got the leaked 2.1 last friday , and it feels pretty well polished , so I'd guess it was not far off the released version.

A bit dissappointed that we are not talking about a 2.2 release , of course there is talk of the streak STILL launching in the USA with Froyo , and the fact that the leaked version of 2.1 is for UK streaks only upholds this theory - No doubt the devs will have 2.2 on UK streaks in no time if this turns out to be the case . Anyway , my advice WRT Android is very much LIVE FOR THE DAY !! Worry about the OS you have now, and assume all future promises are BS.

But TBH it is not all doom and gloom ! The streak really is a formidable device , it really is - had it not come out at the same time (roughly) as the iPad , I'd have been blown away by it , as it really does fill the gap between smartphone and PC. Be honest , How many times have you started doing a task on your iPhone (or whatever) , and then thought "Screw this , I'll wait till I get to my PC ?"

Well , this doesn't happen on the streak , REALLY it doesn't ! I feel pretty much as empowered on the Streak as I do on my laptop.

The downside is (or was) the general reliability of the Streak , it was no slouch 95% of the time , but the other 5% it would freeze up , become unresponsive etc. and this would ALWAYS be at critical times , like when you are trying to read or reply to an urgent mail , or take a photo. For me , this made me shelf the Streak for a while , I simlply couldn't live like that - so the Streak was relegated to second fiddle. I pinned my hopes to the ideal that it was the dated 1.6 ,After all , we have a 1Ghz Snapdragon and 512mb of RAM here ! it really shouldn't be doing this freezing lark. And as it turns out, It looks like I was right !!


The Streak is absolutely amaziing with 2.1 , performs just like the HTC Desire in terms of speed , absolutely no sign of slowdown , freezeups or crashing ! This is really how Dell should have launched the Streak IMO , the 1.6 version should never have been released.

Pretty much everyone I show the Streak to responds the same way ,"Awesone , amazing screen , really thin , really quick , ....... Bit big though isn't it ? "

....And there's the thing ! , no amount of performance is going to make this a viable device for some, but if , like me some of your favourite prevoius devices are Nokia Communicators , XDA's , HTC Athena's etc , I think it could be the most ideal device you could ever own , that is certainly how I am viewing it with 2.1.

I am a bit gutted that I can't play with "chrome to phone" though :( , lets hope we get 2.2 by hook or by crook !

[Ben]

I often think with my iPad that Apple were fools to release it without iOS 4. Doesn't seem to have stopped people buying it, though! I use it quite a lot these days as a consumption device, in no small part due to the awesomeness of Flipboard, but iOS 4 should give it the extra power to encourage me to be more productive.

I don't doubt that Dell releasing the Streak with 1.6 was a foolish idea. I mean, we're really going back a bit now... running a tablet on that must be, erm, interesting.

You're loving the Streak then? I really hope oversized mobiles and tablets running Android take off, if only because it'll keep Apple honest :D

[Hands0n]

Early impressions?

The Dell Streak is an over-sized Android handset. There. I've said it. And really, that is exactly and all that it is. So does that in any way make it an iPad competitor? I remain to be convinced.

I do think that the iPad is very different to the iPhone, not only in size of screen. But in the Dell Streak I get the distinct impression that all I am really getting is a larger phone with a [much] bigger screen. And in some cases the translation of Android to this larger screen isn't particularly good.

Lets start with the home screen that you see when you first access the device. By default, Android handsets have space for four rows by four columns of icons that are reasonably spaced out. On the 5" Dell Streak you get space for ... four rows by four columns of icons that are spaced out with even greater distance than on the regular handset. What gives? Why wasn't the larger screen real estate optimised as it is on the iPhone/iPad where you get four rows and five rows respectively? It makes the Dell Streak's screen look rather under utilised.

Then there is the screen brightness/contrast - positively dull and washed out compared to the Nexus One's AMOLED display. The Streak's TFT Capacitive with its 480 x 800 positively struggles alongside the Nexus One.

Now this may all sound like a bit of a rant against the Dell Streak, it isn't. The Streak is a refreshing take on the format and, having played with a Samsung Tab last week, it is a worthy competitor to what is about to come out in the closing half of 2010. I do not expect the Streak to get left behind.

Hardware-wise the Streak is of surprisingly good quality, better that I expected, with lots of solidness and a weighty feel to it, the thing just feels good in the hand. The Gorilla glass is coated with a similar substance to that on the iPhone where it resists fingerprints nicely. But eventually the sleeve or belly of the shirt is called for. Touchscreen is never going to be a clinically clean experience.

Powered by a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, the Dell Streak is no slouch. Although it can be expected to run a whole lot better when Android 2.2 arrives with its JIT compiler delivering up to a 10-fold increase in speed. But for now, under Android 2.1 the Streak positively whizzes along.

The web browser is gorgeous and exceedingly fast. It is the same as in other Android but for some reason on the Dell Streak it all appears to function that much better

Voice Calls - fine, no problems to report. And the handset did not feel particularly big against the head. Audio, both ways, was clear.

Video was good - I watched a few YouTube videos of TV productions in the highest definition I could muster. The playback was absolutely fine, with no artefacts or other problems.

3G network performance - excellent. Using a Vodafone SIM with a Rebel SIM Card the Dell Streak instantly joined the network, locked on to the 3G signal and performed no differently to my other Vodafone devices. There were some issues with the earlier Rebel firmware but it is now a 1.2 and the troubles are solved. I can strongly recommend a Rebel SIM Card to anyone wanting to use a Dell Streak on any other network. There are, at this time, no manufacturer, operator or independent unlock solutions.

So would I recommend one? I'd say that you need to see one for yourself. If you're in the market for a Pad that is not as big as the iPad but not as small as a mobile phone then the Streak is ideal. It has the full array of wireless connectivity and will double as a mobile phone too. How bad is that? The 5" screen is really easy on the eye.

Next week I will take it out and about. Watch this space :)

[miffed]

Great , I am glad you have got the Rebel sim working fine & 2.1 up and running !. I agree totally that the Streak is more a "big phone" than a"small tablet" , and IMO certainly has a nicche - I have to make a point of taking my iPad with me , but the streak is always in my pocket.
I think you are being a bit harsh on the Streaks screen , directly comparing it to the Nexus One's Amoled ! Take he pair of them outside and see which one looks washed out ! LOL
I think the Streak is one of those handsets that you have to "bond" with , add customisations to taste , and then lo and behold , one day you suddenly realise "Wow , this is a bit special" , it's not a sudden "wow" factor like you get with the iPhone or HTC Desire etc - Dell hace done an awful job of finishing the UI , and this is something you need to address using third party apps before you really begin !

Oddly enough , (just in time to coincide with your purchase !!) I had some problems with 2.1 over the last few days , with the screen becoming unresponsive - ....not often , but at some bloody critical times !! causing me to have to drop the battery out a few times . it has behaved itself most of yesterday though , but if it reoccurs I'll be considering rolling back to 1.6 !!! ,lets hope it won't come to that !

[Hands0n]

LOL - I didn't mean to be too cruel to the Streak with regard to its screen. Indoors the AMOLED certainly is the better in terms of contrast and legibility. But you're right, outside the AMOLED becomes useless. It seems we can't have it all ways.

I replaced the standard UI with the same one I'm running on the Nexus One - it helps keep the comparison consistent. That is one of the nice things about Android, that you can change the UI about as you wish. Or is it a bloody nuisance that I have to even go to such lengths in the first place :)

I have read about the screen unresponsiveness issues in 2.1. I've not seen it yet and have to wonder if it could be a third party UI app for example. But so far the Streak has been good.

I'm not carrying it around yet - I've ordered a £10/30-day SIM from Three that gives 100 mins, 3000 texts, 1GB Internet and some Three stuff. It is supposed to arrive on Friday and if it does I'll kit out the Streak and then start lugging it around with me :D I got it a nice leather case with belt clip from the Rebel website for ~£4 too, so that should keep it pristine in case I end up wanting to sell it.

But I suspect that it may spend more time in the car - particularly for the Sat Nav which tends to cook my Nexus One! (same with the HTC Desire, they get red hot when used like that).

More on my adventures over the next few days, no doubt.

[Hands0n]

On-Net Use

The Three SIM arrived today. This was the £10, 30-day contract that included 100 any network minutes, 3,000 text messages, 1GB Internet, free voicemail, free Skype-to-Skype and free Windows Live Messenger - the whole deal is here http://threestore.three.co.uk/dealsummary.aspx?offercode=1SO10D003

Now this is a tremendous value SIM with a very low financial risk - if Three's off-shore customer services manage to ruin the experience for me it is only £10 out of my pocket for me to walk away. So I'm more than happy to go back on to Three in such circumstances.

Unlocking the Dell Streak
At this time it is impossible to get the Streak unlocked. Neither O2 or Dell will do it. So how on earth am I running a Three SIM in the handset?

In this instance I am using a Rebel SIM Card. Never to miss an opportunity the team at Rebel have designed up the version 2 of the card and written v1.2 of the firmware. For £15 delivered you get a sliver of flexible printed circuit with a microscopic chip bonded to it. You have to make a small cutout in the SIM to allow the Rebel's chip to fit in thus keeping the thickness of the SIM and Rebel card to a bare minimum.

Fitting the pair into the Streak is a bit fiddly, but with some gentle persistence it is soon installed to the device and once powered up the handset immediately locked in to the Three network. And very satisfyingly the handset automatically configured itself for Three's data and MMS APN settings. It all worked "out of the box" without any fiddling around.

Network Performance
The Streak's network performance is absolutely spot on. There are no glitches or oddities. Everything works, and works very well indeed. Browser performance is really fast, even on Android 2.1. And there were no problems with any of the network apps such as Twitter, Facebook.

Network speed, using Speedtest by Ookla, was a bit odd - but that is mostly to do with what is currently going on in my area. The best speed I got tonight was 654Kbps downlink and 1696Kbps uplink - clearly HSPA works well on this device.

Conclusions
Overall the Dell Streak is a very capable Android handset, albeit a great big one. Currently they are all locked to the O2 network so if you want to use it on anything else then you'll need a Rebel SIM Card (don't bother with other makes, they don't work so well).

It is growing on me (as if it needs to grow any more lol) but I'm not sure it will displace the Nexus One as my second handset. But I will be making good use of it in the car for a nice large-screen SatNav. It will also carry many of my favourite movies when I go on my travels. It is a very convenient size to have in the cabin baggage.

One of the first "Tabs" in the Android format, the Dell Streak has to be lauded for how well it has been designed and delivered. Overshadowed by the up and coming samsung Galaxy Tab, the little Streak has got a bit of a job on its hands. It was out first, but is at risk of being overshadowed by the new upstart. Expect to see prices drop and Dell to bring out a successor.

[miffed]

Just a point of interest , do you use the Streak in predominantly Portrait or landscape ? I started off using it in landscape ,but only really took to the device properly when I switched to portrait (courtesy of third party launcher !) - Of course , lansdscape is favourable for some things , just like any other phone, but for the day to day messaging , emails etc , Portrait is the way to go .

I don't think the Streak and the Tab are aimed at the same crowd , I think the size of the streak is significant in that it still fits in the hand/pocket - I have never shied away from large phones , but the Tab crosses that line even for me ! , the beauty of the streak is that you carry it everywhere as your phone and it still "does the biz" as your tablet ,of course my iPad is "better" as a Tablet , but I wouldn't want to carry that around all day ! same goes for the Tab.

[Hands0n]

Yes, an interesting question indeed.

Perhaps like you I use my Android and iPhone handsets in portrait mode mostly. A legacy to how we've always held a mobile device? And so it does feel a little unnatural to use landscape. But that said, I do use landscape occasionally, perhaps 20% of the time.

The larger size of the Streak makes it feel quite uncomfortable in my hands. So I installed Launcher Pro which has solved the issue.

Now I have a working sim in it the Streak is going to accompany me on my travels. Today I'll be using it for Sat Navigation in the car.

I have to say that the Streak's built-in speaker is the best of breed. Big, loud and clear. Unlike what I've been used to in Android handsets to date.

[miffed]

Not sure if you have been following things on Modaco etc. Hands0n , ... but looks like not only will we have Froyo soon , But it'll be a Cyanogen ROM !

....My streak has started to reboot randomly over the past few days , so hopefully installing this (when it comes) will be all I have to do to sort it !

[Hands0n]

Hi Miffed - thats a damn cool bit of information sir. I'd be quite happy with a Cyanogen ROM - that guy churns out some real quality stuff. I was mega impressed at what he was able to squeeze out of the HTC H1/Dream.

I don't frequent Modaco that much but will have to pay more attention there. If you see it come up for availability do give me a shout please. I'd love to get Froyo on the device. It would so make it the dogs nuts :-) More nutty than it is already :D

I have not yet encountered the boot problem - but it does occasionally lock up the screen when transitioning in and out of apps. I waiting a while and it sorted itself out. This is a classic example of the memory management in this specific case being somewhat screwed. Java is notoriously prone to resource management issues - I work in a Java development environment and even the highly skilled Java developers end up creating resource leaks that have to be repaired. Android has a fairly sophisticated memory management technology, but it can be voided by sloppy programming. Likely in this case as the OS is customised for the specific hardware so, unlike Apple's contained platform, there is plenty of scope for Android not to be Android across the entire range.

[Hands0n]

@miffed - I found out something rather interesting today about the screen performance on the Dell Streak that may interest you if you've a mind to hack around a bit with it :D

Apparently when Dell prepared their release of Android 2.1 they did not enable the hardware graphics accelerator chipset . And so the entire screen handling is left up to the Android code and what puff there is available in the CPU from time to time. When it gets busy the screen handling suffers. There are other performance parameters that are also left set disabled, but I have not had much time to play with these yet. Oh, and beware, getting these wrong can be catastrophic. I have had to reload the default 2.1 OS once so far :D

Key to this is rooting the handset - there are several ways, one of which (SuperBoot) really screwed up the touch-sensitive buttons which kept flashing randomly (the full OS reload solved that). I opted then for Universal Androot that did the job nicely and without causing any issues. It is also possible to un-root using the same application, which is a nice touch.

Having rooted I then bought myself a copy of Root Explorer (£2.50) but that is not at all necessary - you could equally well do the job of modifying the OS parameters off-piste in your Mac or PC using a text editor.

build.prop
Located in the handset's /system directory lurks a text file called build.prop and it is here where there are a number of key changes required. Although, for the purposes of this posting I am only going to focus on enabling the graphics chipset.

You need to get build.prop into a text editor - but you will need root privileges to write it back into the /system directory once done. The app Root Explorer has a built-in text editor and backs up the original file automatically so all the work is done on the handset and is very convenient. Equally, however, you could lift a copy of the /system/build.prop file onto a Mac or PC and edit it there, copying it back into the /system director when done.

So,with build.prop open in the editor just locate and change debug.sf.hw=0 to 1 and reboot. And thats it, job done. Everything just gets just that bit more whizzy.

There is a lot more information around this with lots of discussion on the Modaco website http://android.modaco.com/content/dell-streak-streak-modaco-com/317977/possible-fix-for-jerky-display-and-some-speed-increases/

Beware of the offered build.prop file on there - it, or possibly SuperBoot, caused no end of trouble with my Dell Streak where I had no alternative but to reload the OS from a .pkg file. You live and lear :)

[Ben]

You guys and your Streaks! Tell you what, Android is definitely good for tinkering by the sound of it - right up your street! I'd imagine the hacktential is creating a viciously loyal inner core of superusers. Exactly what Android needs.

Maybe I should get creative with the Nexus One... Thing is it's used for testing so at the moment it's kept stock.

Carry on!

[Hands0n]

LOL - I keep my Nexus One pristine too. Mostly because I think it is such a good handset for my personal use that I don't want to corrupt it.

Not that I'm corrupting the Streak. But it is quite a bit of fun hacking around at the innards correcting the simple/stupid mistakes that Dell have made.

I am really baffled at why they have not pushed out an OTA to fix the issues with the Streak locking up and freezing. Ever since making this one-line edit the Streak is transformed into a very fast thing. It hasn't frozen or locked up once. The scrolling speed is liquid smooth, and the inertial scrolling is perfect, even giving the iPhone 4 a run for its money in those terms.

I have not been able to fault the device since this tiny, but profound, change.

Anyway, I got fed up with all of this Android nonsense and installed OS X on it instead. A real improvement, I think you'll agree?
:cool:

1128

[Ben]

LoL! So close, and yet so far!

Ack, I hope big screen Android tablets are the 'new' PC. That'd just be amazing. My own feelings about Microsoft aside, it'd be amazing to finally break up the monopoly. Well, I say finally, for many of us here it broke up years ago.

[miffed]

Blimey ! Who'd have thought changing a 0 to a 1 could make so much difference ?

I had seen the thread when it had started , at which point they were talking about replacing a the whole file , and some people were having problems , so I decided I was out and would wait until froyo turns up (or a custom ROM evolved ) , but I am cool with changing a 0 for a 1 !

Wonder what happened ? I've heard the 2.1 ROM has been pulled now due to the Bugs , there were rumours that o2 were rushing this ROM out without Dell's blessing - this was rubbished at the time , but I did witness comments exchanged on Twitter where people were asking where the update was , and o2 were "finalising" the ROM - Which eventually was released buggy !

Did someone simply forget to switch the Hardware acceleration on ? , or was there a reason it was left off ? I refuse to believe that anyone with an ounce of familiarity of Android could "test" that ROM and not see that lag as a problem ?

I must say I find Dell's attitude toward the Streak a little strange ! , Why did they "waste time" with 2.1 rather than concentrate on 2.2 ? Why were they so slow to release source code ? .....and then when they finally released it , why had they "censored" it ? Surely they realise that getting developers interested in their device will be a positive thing WRT Sales ! (hell the Nexus one comes with a bootloader you can unlock without hacking ! )

[Hands0n]

Yea it really is quite odd.

You are going to have to root the Dell Streak - and I can highly recommend the Universal Androot. I had to run it twice, the first time it failed for some garbled reason. Running it again it was fine and since then I have been able to use the tool to root and un-root it at will :D

If you don't want to fork out the £2.50 for Root Explorer you can always use ADB to copy the files in and out of the /system directory if you have installed the Android SDK. Or perhaps the free Linda file manager to copy to the SD card and then across to the PC/Mac and back again after editing.

The full build.prop file that they have on that website has a whole load of changes - many of which seem to cause all manner of difficulty to other people for one reason or another. It is trying to do a lot of things at once. Always a bad thing in my book when hacking around like this.

Dell and O2's actions around the Streak are a complete mystery to me, other than I fully expect O2 to cock up pretty much everything that they touch.

Dell, on the other hand, do not seem to have much of a commitment to the Streak. At least, not in the UK at any rate. They should terminate the O2 exclusive now that the mobile operator seems to have withdrawn the device from the main sales channels and marginalised it. With other "Pad" competition just about to hit the high streets the last thing Dell needs now is for their device to sink into obscurity.

I suspect that this will end up an enthusiasts machine for a while, like the T-Mobile G1/HTC Dream before disappearing altogether. Shame really. Its a nice bit of hardware.

[miffed]

Hi Miffed - thats a damn cool bit of information sir. I'd be quite happy with a Cyanogen ROM - that guy churns out some real quality stuff. I was mega impressed at what he was able to squeeze out of the HTC H1/Dream.

I don't frequent Modaco that much but will have to pay more attention there. If you see it come up for availability do give me a shout please. I'd love to get Froyo on the device. It would so make it the dogs nuts :-) More nutty than it is already :D



Just a heads up mate , the working on the Cyanogen development has put up a Froyo beta , he is quite open about the fact that it has some issues , and the flashing procedure is very "manual" , but it is Vanilla , so looking good IMO

http://android.modaco.com/content/dell-streak-streak-modaco-com/319728/dell-streak-froyo-build-beta/


Personally I will be waiting for something a little more polished in an Update.zip , as I am using the Streak as my #1 at the moment

[Ben]

As your #1? That's quite an endorsement! But then I see the appeal; if there were a slightly bigger iPhone I'd probably get it - size is the winner on the iPad but it'd be nice to have a happy medium.

[miffed]

I find it quite interesting , A lot of the old PDAesque Windows Mobile devices had large screens , but these seemed to get dropped in favour of the smaller screened variants , HTC had appeared to make a conscious switch to smaller screens , and no one else seemed to feel the need for anything bigger than the 2.6" screens of the N95 etc. I think back in "those days" browsing on a phone, using it to view photos was something quirky people did , and not something that the masses would engage it .. but with the Advent of iOS and Android , people are now actually USING these things , and it has changed their perception on what size screen they *need*
Now it seems bigger screens are coming back into favour , with the iPhone's 3.5" being "normal" ,and the sweet spot being around 4" !

Personally I have always liked bigger screens , I feel the 5" screen on the streak is about as big as I'd like to go though in a phone though, and I do thing Dell have done a pretty remarkable job of fitting the 5" screen into a relatively small , slim package.

I agree , a 4"+ iPhone would be VERY cool , and would almost certainly win me back to the iPhone stable

[Hands0n]

@miffed - thanks mate, I think I'll be doing same as you, waiting for the Cyanogen MOD to come out of Beta. I don't use the Streak as my main, or even my second, but it is something that I have come to rely upon to just work :)

[miffed]

Appears this is not the Cyanogen version - He is saying this is simply Vanilla and Cyanogen will follow ?

You are wise to wait - apparently this version requires the Baseband to be flashed , and doing so renders the Rebel Sim inneffective ! Looks like there is a way to flash WITHOUT flashing the Baseband ... but you sacrifice GPS functionality to do so.

If he can sort this out , and put it all in a nice Update.zip , then I'd be more than happy to donate and get Vanilla Froyo !

[Hands0n]

Wow! I wonder what they do to the baseband to break the Rebel Sim? That could be a deal breaker for Cyanogen MOD for me if that happens. It all sounds far too early to jump to Froyo just yet. Besides which, we should be anticipating the official Dell Froyo soon.

[miffed]

From what I am reading , He has sorted the problems with the need to flash Baseband now , so pretty much everything works , you just need to install a custom recovery (simple enough) and update as normal. Still going to wait till its a bit more polisjhed though.
At the end of the day , it is clearly a Beta build , and will therefore not be perfect ! , it amazes me the amount of people that ignore this , get people to explain to them how install (despite not knowing what they are doing) ...and then whine about things not working and how they can roll back !

[Hands0n]

Yea, the ROM community is crawling with people who really shouldn't be trying this stuff out. Their expectations are naive in the extreme. And some get quite belligerent when they experience the reality! Completely bonkers!

[miffed]

So , My Hyde is able to knock up a totally working Beta of Froyo in 2 weeks of working on it in his spare time , alongside a full time job

Whereas Dell's team have been unable to progress from 1.6 since launch (May ? ) , with their shoddy 2.1 effort being pulled , those that haveithaving to perform "tweaks" to get it to run properly ? .. and their best promise is we'll have 2.2 "by the end of the year"

Something doesn't add up ! is it really so , that Stephen Hyde is an absolute genius in this field (maybe he is ? ) and Dell simply cannot find anyone as good to work for them , or are they simply not bothering ?

Perhaps they are simply hanging things out for as long as possible , to make any future device they release more appealing ?

Don't get me wrong, I love my Streak as I have it now , But I if Dell had their way it would be running 1.6 - and I simply cannot get my head around why they would want that to be happening !

[miffed]

OK . ... so my cautious approach lasted till about 11am :) I decided to give it a go , and promised myself if I messed things up beyond repair , I would treat myself to an Orange San Francisco - Fortunately it has all gone to plan !

Only problem I had was getting Windows Vista to recognise the "Fastboot" mode on the Streak , for some reason it installs the wrong driver and you have to correct it , I remember doing this once before , but assumed it only had to be done once (apparantly not) ... Once I got past that it was pretty much plain sailing....
Install custom recovery , then install update.zip via it .....Job done !

It is VERY smooth ! Really glad I took the chance now as it makes the 2.1 ROM look sluggish , in fact it is ironic that this ROM is a Beta , as if feels more fininshed (once the Build.prop is replaced) than either of the official ROM's ! The only thing I didn't like was the , in the edited build Prop , the pixel density had been reduced to 120 , this made everything tiny (or at least to my eyes !) , so I changed it back to 160 and it was all OK (similar to stock)
Really nice to be having a Vanilla Android experience at last !

[Hands0n]

So have you prior experience with Froyo and does this 'beta' version of the software from Mr Hyde compare favourably?

I have used the ADW Launcher to give me as near a vanilla experience of Android (2.1) on the Streak as is possible. And it is good indeed, once the GPU hardware acceleration had been turned on in the build.prop. So much so that I am not really too keen to try out the beta Froyo - despite the crushing impatience that you'll be familiar with :D - I'm taking the wait it out option.

On the Nexus One I found the 2.2 to be so much quicker than 2.1 especially where the JIT compiler was able to flex its muscles over 2.1's Dalvik compiler. Although, that said, I do find that the occasional quirkiness of Android keyboards - which seem to be more an OS issue that anything else - means that actually using the UI can be suboptimal at times ;)

[miffed]

LOL , just got an email from Android welcoming me to my new Nexus One !

No , no Froyo experience at all ! but I am loving this , much slicker , quicker , smoother than the 2.1 build ... and as yet (touches wood ) I havent found a niggle !
For some reason , the dev has used ADW as the default/only launcher here , my guess is that this is probably as ADW is pretty close to vanilla Froyo , and already capable of variety of resolutions ? not sure though
All feels far more robust that 2.1 did on the streak. I am well pleased , and will continue to be until I hit a problem !

[Hands0n]

:) thats funny. Its likely to be the "fingerprint" in the build.prop stating that you've got a Nexus One running that OS. I can't think that its only because of it being 2.2 - there are other such builds out there.

I did observe a profound improvement in 2.2 (Froyo) over 2.1 (Eclair), and it seemed to stretch into everything the OS did. It is also a much smaller OS taking up a lot less of the valuable and preciously rare RAM in the device. In the Nexus One the available memory went up from ~87MB to over ~110MB.

[miffed]

I've just found my "bug" ,

Annoying , but not a deal-breaker for me at least

Camera works fine for stills ,but when you shoot Video it comes out looking like it was shot on a Motorola from last century !, there are settings available for selection , but whatever you select , (even 720p , H264 ) it looks bloody awful !

As said , I can live with it , but it is not perfect