FREE 50 GB of Online Storage

The wave of future computing is portable and in the cloud. Since you are a proud owner of a Dell Streak tablet, you are already doing portable computing. Now it's time to get in the cloud, and you can do so for FREE. 

Box is giving all Android user an opportunity to receive 50 GB of free online storage. All you have to do is sign up for an account. If you are already a user, then all you need to do is upgrade your account. This offer is only good until Friday, March 23rd, 2012, so act fast. Here is the Android Market link and an excerpt from the Android Market's description.

Box for Android and Android Tablet lets you view and share files from anywhere!Box provides simple, secure sharing from anywhere – letting you easily store files online, send big files quickly, access content from your Android phone or tablet, and collaborate with others. Now through Friday, March 23, 2012, log in to receive a free 50GB account upgrade! Box for Android lets you:

* Access, create and view content on your Android phone or tablet
* Upload multiple images, videos and files from the SD card
* Save files to your SD card for offline access
* Easily share files and folders with links
* Invite colleagues to shared folders and leave comments on files for them (note that you’ll need to grant permission for the app to access your contacts – we only use this permission to quickly retrieve email addresses when you want to invite collaborators, and we do NOT store any contact information on Box’s servers)
* Find content fast with built-in search
* Save files you edit or create in other Android apps to your Box account
* Add a widget to your home screen to see updates on files by colleagues

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Streak 7 Battery Bug Workaround

It is very well known that one of the draw backs of the Dell Streak 7 is its battery life. Apparently there is a bug that is preventing the Streak 7 from going into sleep mode. This bug lies in the Android's Radio Interface Layer (RIL). The RIL is the interface between Android's telephony service (android.telephony) and the Streak 7 radio hardware. The Streak 7 WIFI and 4g model contain a full RIL, and it is enabled. Because of this, the Streak 7 has problem going into sleep mode, even when the screen is off. The workaround to shut this down is to turn on the tablet's Airplane Mode. 

This can be seen in the screen shots below. The first screen shot is from a tablet that has been running with Airplane Mode off for 1 full day. Notice that it shows this tablet has been idle for 36% and the Android System was active for 27%.

The second screen shot is from the same tablet running with Airplane Mode on. The tablet has been running for 2 1/2 days. Notice that this time around the tablet was also idled for 36%, but the Android System was active for only 3%.

Turning on the Airplane Mode will allow the Streak 7 to go to sleep and therefore extends its standby time. With Airplane Mode on, you can still turn on WIFI or Bluetooth and use these services. 

This workaround has been verified with the Streak 7 WIFI model. Of course, turning Airplane Mode on will shut down the 4g modem for the Streak 7 4g model. Since we do not have access to a Streak 7 4g model, we cannot verify if turning on Airplane Mode will extend its standby time or not. So if any of our readers who have a Streak 7 4g and would like to verify this for us, we would greatly appreciate it.  

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Streak 7 refurbished at Dell Outlet for $169

Dell is selling customer returned Streak 7 on its Outlet site as refurbished merchandise. If you act fast, you can grab a Dell Streak 7 refurbished for as low as $169 USD.

Though the Streak 7 has its flaws and limitations, this price is unbeatable for an entry level tablet with a NVDIA Tegra 2 processor. A couple of months ago, this tablet was selling for $350 USD. Click this link to take you to the Dell Outlet.

http://www.dell.com/us/dfh/p/tablet-pcs-mobile-devices.aspx?~ck=anav&~ck=mn

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Dell To Launch A Windows 8 Tablet?

When Dell discontinued the Streak and the Streak 7 in 2011 and then only launched the Streak 10 in China, many were beginning to count down the knockout count. But hold the count, the fight is not over. Reuters published an exclusive and revealed that Dell is planning to re-enter the consumer market with a new tablet in the third quarter of this year. "You will see us enter this market in a bigger way toward the end of the year," said Dell's chief commercial officer, Steve Felice.  Though Felice did not divulge what OS this new tablet will have, he did have this to say about Windows 8. "There hasn't been a lot of advancement and it's given Microsoft a good window to come into the market with Windows 8. I like the touch Windows 8 feature."

You can read more of the Reuters' article here.

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New Patch To Fix Docking Bug

Many who uses the Streak 7 with the dock and updated to Honeycomb was hit with a bug. This bug muted the output sound, making the dock un-usable. There are some work-around to remedy the problem, but no fix was available until now. Dell has just release a fix for it, but did not advertise it nor did they push it out as an Over The Air Update. Only those who complained to Dell support with this problem was directed to this patch. 

Do you need this patch if you do not use the dock? Well, that is really up to you. But we suggest that you should install this update to patch this bug because any bug fix is good. And who knows, maybe you might pick up a dock in the future and will need this patch. Furthermore, Dell may have patched other issues that have been causing the Streak 7 to reset itself at least once or twice a month. 

We have put together a step by step instructions to walk you through installing this update. While this is a patch to a bug, it is an update package and will wipe all the System partition on your Streak 7. So be sure to backup everything before you begin.

*NOTE: Follow these instructions at your own risk, Dell Streak Blog and anyone associated with Dell Streak Blog cannot be held responsible for damages to your Dell Streak 7.

Preparation:

1. BACKUP all important data on your internal SD card. This update WILL wipe all the System files, but it will NOT wipe the data partition of the internal SD card. Even so, please backup your data to be safe.
2. All downloaded apps WILL be wiped, so backup your apps before doing the update, and be prepared to re-install them after the update.
3. After the update, Honeycomb will require you to setup the tablet to run for the first time. So be prepare to enter your Google account information. 
4. This update is NOT officially released for the T-Mobile Streak 7 model, but it is available for the unlock 4g model.
5. Battery MUST be charged to 60% or above.

Part 1: Download the Update

• Download the update below:

1. US 4g: LG7_514_21700_30.pkg
2. US Wifi: LG7-WiFi_514_21700_30.pkg
3. EU 3g: LG7-820W_514_21700_00.pkg
4. EU Wifi: LG7-Wifi_514_21700_00.pkg

Part 2: Install the Update Package

1. The update package should be saved or copied to an external SD card in the main directory (not in a folder or sub-folder).
2. Rename this package to "update.pkg".
3. Make sure the tablet is turned OFF. Insert the SD card into the SD card slot of the Streak 7.

4. Boot to the Android System Recovery Utility: press and hold the volume + button and the power button, hold both button down until the configuration menu appears on the screen (see picture below).

5.  Press the Volume + button to move up the menu or the Volume - button to move down the menu to select option 2. Software upgrade via update.pkg on SD card, and press the power button to confirm the selection.
6.  On the next screen, press the power button to confirm and start upgrading the software package.
 


7. Wait for the tablet to load the update and restart. 
 


 
8. Do not touch anything until the tablet restart to the Honeycomb lock screen (pictured below).

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Udated Streak 7 Manual & Quick Start Guide With Honeycomb

For those of you who bought the Streak 7 before the Honeycomb 3.2 update, you have in your possession an out of date Manual & Quick Start Guide. If you are wondering if Dell would release an updated manual with a guide to Honeycomb 3.2 or not, well yes they did. 

You can download them for yourself straight from Dell's Support Site, or below.

*NOTE: Only the Wi-Fi model has been updated with Honeycomb 3.2.

Manuals Dell™ Streak 7 PDF Quick Start Guide (T-Mobile) View Download Quick Start Guide (Wi-Fi) View Download User's Manual (T-Mobile) View Download User's Manual (Wi-Fi) (Unlocked) View Download

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Dell Released Official Gingerbread Update For Streak 5

To everyone's amazement, Dell has just released the Gingerbread update for their discontinued Streak 5. This is an official build from Dell: version 407, build #20707. This build comes with Dell Stage 1.5 and Swype 2.27.69.19339. This is like an early Christmas present for all of you Dell Streak owners out there. Happy updating!

Follow these instruction to get yours updated.

*NOTE: Follow these instructions at your own risk, Dell Streak Blog and anyone associated with Dell Streak Blog cannot be held responsible for damages to your Dell Streak 5.  

Update Instructions:

1. Backup all import data on your phone.
2. Flash the recovery image of version 350 (if you are not on version 350).
1. Download the recovery image of version 350 onto your SD Card and rename it "update.pkg".
2. Turn off phone.
3. Hold down the volume down + volume up + power button until black menu appear.
4. When the white screen appear, select the 2nd option: "Software upgrade via Update.pkg on SD Card."
5. Let it flash the recovery image until it is finished
3. Download the Gingerbread update package onto your SD Card and rename it "update.pkg".
4. Turn off phone and follow sub-step 3-5 of step 2 above.

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