While Android receives great reviews, one of its problems has been the rate at which new versions appear - and which render a device out of date. The original Dell Streak was a victim of this. When it was released last year, it sported the already old Android 1.6, so missed out on a lot of the new features that were available in updates not long after it launched. Now Dell has re-released the Streak as the 2.2, with Android's latest incarnation - Froyo - as well as Dell's own custom interface, Stage.

Looks

This latest version boasts the same hardware as the original Streak - that means a five-megapixel snapper, WVGA display, 16GB memory and a five-inch capacitive touch-screen. As it happens, if you own the first Streak, you can update the new features over the air.

Audiophiles will be glad to see a 3.5mm audio jack, so you can use your own headphones, although Dell has supplied a good pair of ear buds with the Streak 2.2.

The chassis is sleek and curved and boasts a shiny black or red coat. The metal battery covers slides off. Actually it comes off somewhat easily - rather annoying because each time this happens the phones turns off.

You'll find the charging port on a long side, which means it is possible to put it on a media dock and play video and charge simultaneously. Once charged, the battery is far better than the original Streak, and will take you right through the whole day, even with Wi-Fi and 3G running all the time.

Back to basics

Android 2.2 has some great new features - it can pose as a Wi-Fi hotspot, offers support for Flash online video and native sync to Microsoft Exchange email. It's just a shame that the 1GHz processor seems to find the new OS a bit heavy going - we found the touch-screen a tough sluggish, with a bit of a lag and the occasional unrecognised input. It's not uncommon on Android 2.2 devices, though, and overall we found the user experience smooth enough.

It's the five-inch display that proves an issue - it's hard to tell if the Streak 2.2 is a huge phone, or a small tablet. This means that it's hard to hold up to the ear for a phone call - we decided to use the handsfree as an alternative). Not only that, but there is no smart dialling, which allows the user to key in the first few letters of a contact's name and get auto-suggestions.

However, the device does well when it comes to messaging. A decent QWERTY keyboard appears in both portrait and landscape mode. To help the typing experience, you'll find Swype, a typing app that we've only seen on a couple of Android handsets before. Swype allows you to drag your finger from letter to letter, rather than tapping away. It makes it easy to type at speed after a bit of practise - and the accuracy was excellent.

Stage star

Android 2.2 is not the only new kid on the block - Dell has also introduced Stage, its own interface. This proved to be a number of custom widgets, a group of six home screens rather than the usual five, and a revamped set-up that lets you add in email, Twitter and Facebook accounts for a full contact sync. One of its useful features is that it asks the user if they want to sync all friends, or only those already in Contacts (and for which you have a phone number). It can also recall any favourites you've marked on other Android handsets, and you can add to a favourites widget - which lets you touch a photo to text, email, call or Facebook message a friend.

A social widget enables the user to add a Twitter or Facebook account - although you can't add both in one feed - if you want to see updates for both, you need to add a pair of widgets. Another bonus is a live updating box, which displays recently used apps, along with a column offering the weather in your area. There are also widgets for video and music. The Dell Video Stage widget allows the user to both preview and buy videos and the video player supports H.264, MPG4 and WMX. One big omission is the DivX video format, which is rapidly becoming the most common format of video available for download.

When the device fires up, you're offered a default collection of widgets on the home screens, but you can add app shortcuts and widgets as you see fit. We like the fact that you can tap at the bottom of each home screen and be rewarded with a shortcut toolbar for the dialler, browser and all programs. This toolbar can't be customised.

Navigation and snapper

One of the things we liked about the original Streak was its sat nav, with Google Maps, speedy A-GPS and a great display. It was just missing real driving navigation. Thanks to the Froyo update, you now can enjoy voice directions and Google Navigational beta. With voice control you can say your destinations into the device, as well as search terms.

The snapper is also a step up from that on the original. It produced pictures that were clear and offered true colour, when taking images of both landscapes and people. There's not much control on offer, as the camera lacks resolution, sharpness and scene modes. All you're left with is brightness and white balance, though for most people this won't be a big issue. There is also 720p video capture on offer (which wasn't available on the Streak 1.6). Video quality was okay, but the camera was not able to capture fast motion (not uncommon on mobile phone cameras).

The verdict

This follow-on from the Dell Streak takes a big step forward from its predecessors. Dell's Stage user interface works well and introduces a number of handy widgets and features. It's the handset's size that may prove a sticking point - it's too big to be pocket-friendly and too small to act as a tablet. However, Dell has succeeded in producing a good update that can take its place among the superphones that are now available.