Dell Streak to take on Apple's iPad

May 25, 2010, 19:25 GMT

San Francisco -Dell is taking on Apple's newest hit the iPad with a tablet computer of its own, the world's second-largest computer maker announced Tuesday.

The Texas-based company said it would debut the Streak next month in Britain and follow with a launch in the US later in the summer. Pricing details were not announced.

The device will feature a 5-inch (12.7-centimetre) screen and run Google's Android operating system on Qualcomm's latest processor called Snapdragon.

The Streak will also boast integrated Google Maps with turn-by- turn navigation, and street and satellite views. It will also include a front-facing camera, a high-resolution five-megapixel camera, a removable battery, built in Wi-Fi, 3G and Bluetooth connectivity options.

With a form factor roughly half the size of an iPad Dell said the Streak 'hits the sweet spot between traditional smart phones and larger-screen tablets.'

Apple has notched up a huge success with the iPad, which sold more than 1 million units in its first 30 days on the US market.

The announcement of the Streak comes just days before the iPad is set to launch internationally and as other vendors prepare to unveil similar devices.

Google is working with leading US phone carrier Verizon on a tablet. The world's largest computer maker HP is also expected to announce a competing tablet computer, which will run on the WebOS operating system that HP acquired when it bought struggling smartphone company Palm last month for 1.2 billion dollars.