The iPads fight with the competition starts here, Dell has finally decided to launch the Dell streak in the US from the 13th of august. Many believe that this first foray into the world of smartphones by Dell marks the first real challenge to the success of the iPad so far in the US. The Dell streak debuts on the Android Platform and is one of the first tablet implementations of the device.

Officially priced today at $299 (with two-year AT&T contract) or $549 contract-free, the Dell Streak will be available directly from Dell as early as this Thursday.

All the pre-sale registered crowd will be given ordering priority, while the general order books will be opened up on Friday the 13th of august(let’s hope the date proves lucky for Dell, despite the spooky connotations).

While the Dell Streak is not all we had hoped from the first real Google Android based tablet, what with the device shipping with Android 1.6 out-of-the-box, but if the rumored over-the-air  Android 2.2 update materializes, with the promised Flash support, then this could really turn into one of the flagship Android devices.

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