It took me a while to finally write this post – I was too busy kicking myself when the $99 Dell Venue 8 Pro deal ended and I hadn’t even tried to place an order. And when I logged onto my computer to see if any of the $199 tablets were still available, I went to the Microsoft Online Store and saw the above picture.

Oops.

The deal was widely publicized, though, and many people were after the deep $200 discount, so Microsoft’s site was down for a majority of the night. If you were able to place an order, it was sheer luck.  Hopefully, some of you had better luck than I did.

As Dell’s second major attempt at the tablet market, the Dell Venue 8 Pro – at any price – is a solid device that could restore Dell’s Streak fanbase. That’s why I’m curious to find out if any of you were able to purchase the tablet or plan to at any point in the future: the Streak line is long gone, but I know there are still many of you out there who fell in love with Dell’s original tablets and are probably willing to give the company a second chance.

Answer the poll below and then comment on this post telling us why you ordered or want to order Dell’s latest tablet, or why you aren’t interested at all.

Poll: Did you get a Dell Venue 8 Pro from Microsoft? by Calob Horton first appeared on Pocketables.

It’s been about a year and four months since Dell pulled the plug on the Streak 5, and since then, there has been very little news from the company in terms of its plans for future smartphones. That changed today, though – but it isn’t very good news for fans of Dell’s Streak series of devices.

The head of Dell’s consumer business Jeff Clarke confirmed that Dell is truly getting out of the smartphone business, and is even dropping Android for the time being. According to Clarke, the smartphone business requires “a lot of investments to really be successful,” and Dell seems not to be willing to spend money on them.

When asked about Google’s popular Android operating system, Clarke had this to say: “It’s a content play with Android. Amazon is selling books and Google is making it up with search. So far we couldn’t find a way to build a business on Android.” In other words, Dell wants to have more revenue coming from Android than the money it gets from device sales – and that until that happens, Dell might not be interested in shipping Android devices since it doesn’t view them as particularly profitable.

However, Clarke went on to say that Dell isn’t uninterested in producing devices with Android. Apparently, Dell is working on some Android devices in its labs – but they’re likely not ready at the moment and might not be for some time, until Dell can find a way to get a bit of extra money from the OS.

Are you saddened that, as of right now, Dell will not be producing any more smartphones?

Dell officially gets out of smartphone business, Android by Calob Horton first appeared on Pocketables.

The Dell Streak 5 has been dead for a little over a year now, but there are more than a few people who still love the original phablet. Among the people who still use the Streak 5 on a regular basis is xda Senior Member _n0p_, and he has just released a tool to make your already-awesome Streak even better.

_n0p_ just recently released MTD-Utils, a set of developer tools – nanddump, nandwrite, and nand_erase – that allow you to have further control over flashing pieces of software and doing other bits of miscellaneous hackery. Perhaps most notable about the suite of tools, though, is the fact that the nandwrite tool allows you to flash a recovery while Android is already booted.

As _n0p_ puts it:

nandwrite should enable you to write boot, recovery, system and firstboot right from android system (i don’t think that it’s good idea, but anyway) [sic]

The developer does say that it may not be a good idea, but the fact that it works is commendable – and very useful. Flashing recoveries onto a running Android device will certainly make doing so much easier, and the results of the flash will be apparent right away.

For a download and complete instructions on how to use the tools, hit up the source links below.

Dell Streak 5 gets MTD-Utils for flashing to booted Android system by Calob Horton first appeared on Pocketables.

A little more than a month ago, we reported that the Dell Streak 7 was getting its very own port of CyanogenMod 10, the latest and greatest version of the popular CyanogenMod ROM. It was being built by our good friend Giveen, and yesterday, it hit Alpha v1.0.

The last time I posted about this CM10 port, there were more than a few things not working, but Giveen seems to have fixed most of them. Currently, the following is working:

• Boots
• Touchscreen
• Haptic feedback
• External SD
• Internal Storage
• Power button
• Volume buttons, although sound isn’t working so they cause a lockup
• Brightness
• Root
• Capacitive buttons
• Bluetooth
• WiFi
• Google apps

That leaves sound and the camera as the only things that aren’t working at the moment, although Giveen promises to squash other minor bugs as time goes on.

You can download the ROM as a .zip file below; if you do, let us know how it works for you!

Dell Streak 7’s CyanogenMod 10 port hits Alpha v1.0 by Calob Horton first appeared on Pocketables.

It has been a while since I have written anything about the Dell Streak 7, but here I am today, finally writing another article about the 7-inch tablet. Today’s newsworthy post is about the Streak 7’s very own CyanogenMod 10 port.

As you know, CyanogenMod 10 (abbreviated as CM10 throughout the rest of this post) is one of the most popular ROMs for a number of Android devices, the latest of which is the Dell Streak 7.

And that’s all thanks to Giveen, who is the developer at work on the Streak 7’s version of CM10. The port was started two weeks ago today; since then, it has been steadily heading towards completion. Currently, Giveen‘s post about the port lists the following as functional:

• Boots
• Touchscreen
• Haptic feedback
• External SD (displayed but not mounted)
• Power button
• Volume buttons (causes lockup since sound doesn’t work)
• Brightness
• Root
• Capacitive buttons

And the following as nonfunctional:

• Internal Storage
• Sound
• WiFi
• Camera

It’s not quite done yet, but it’s certainly getting there. Giveen says that once WiFi, sound, and Google Apps are up and running, the Streak 7’s CM10 port will be released. Until then, we’re just going to have to try to sit tight and wait.

Dell Streak 7 gets unofficial CM10 port by Calob Horton first appeared on Pocketables.

Since then, a lot has changed for Dell and its mobile business: the company has killed off the Streak 5 and discontinued its smartphone sales in the US. Fortunately, some of the people who did purchase the device have been actively developing software for it, so it can live just a little longer.

One of the most important pieces of software for any device is the operating system – and now, the Streak 5 is capable of running Ice Cream Sandwich, thanks to some enterprising developers. The ROM is an early pre-alpha build, and developer kibuuka warns that:

This ROM is not intended for everyday use and posted mainly for experienced users and streak-oriented developers to evaluate it and collaborate on bug resolution and further development. If you expect it to fit any particular purpose – answer is: “No, not yet.”

If you’re still interested, you can read the forum post and find out how to install the ROM. Kibuuka has made lists of things that work and that don’t, as well as a few miscellaneous bugs.

Let us know if you decide to try this ROM out!

Dell Streak 5 gets pre-alpha Ice Cream Sandwich build by Calob Horton first appeared on Pocketables.

Since Pocketables was acquired by CrowdGather last year, we continued to bring you the latest news about pocket-sized tech and also introduced a weekly newsletter and podcast with the rest of the CrowdGadgets team. Now it’s time to take the site to the next level with a new focus, a larger staff of gadget experts, a multi-site merge, and a complete design overhaul.

New Focus

We’re tearing the seams of our previously sizist “pocket” definition and expanding our coverage to include more of the devices that interest you. Pockets aren’t exclusive to pants and coats, after all. You can carry an iPad or 11″ Macbook Air in a range of ScottEVest clothing pockets, a 10″ Android tablet slips easily into a backpack or messenger bag pocket, and an ultrabook or notebook fits into airplane and car back pockets.

In addition to welcoming more gadgets, the new Pocketables.com (we’re not a .net anymore!) will return to its roots by including more long-term coverage and feature-specific reviews of single devices that we’re using in our real lives.

We’ll also be increasing our daily post count and bringing you fun new series, collaborative articles, and original content you won’t be able to find anywhere else.

Larger Staff and Merged Sites

Since this is quite the undertaking, we’ve asked a few of our sister sites to join us on our new adventure. That’s why as of today, Good and EVO (G&E), Nothing But Tablets (NBT), and StreakSmart (SS) are all taking up permanent residence right here at Pocketables. This merge brings together some of our most obsessed gadget experts, while also consolidating and strengthening CrowdGather’s tech vertical.

Your favorite editors packed up and moved along with their sites (some are already familiar names around here): John Freml and Paul King from G&E, Andreas Odegard and Bryan Faulkner from NBT, and Calob Horton from SS. Joining them are Aaron Orquia, who you may already know from Pocketables, and William Devereux from the non-merged Anythingbutipad/phone/pod trio of sites. I’ll stop by every so often too. If you don’t know or remember me, hello there. My name is Jenn, and I founded Pocketables in 2006 and G&E and SS in 2010.

While we hope that faithful readers of these sites will become devoted readers of this site, we understand that some of you may not be ready for the change. That’s okay. We’ve made a special top menu bar for you with links to take you directly to where you want to go to see only the content you want to see.

Click “GOOD AND EVO,” for example, and you’ll find everything from the old G&E plus all the new EVO-related content you would’ve seen if the site had been untouched. In other words, it’s the same G&E you’ve always known; it’s just at a different URL. And since you’re reading this, you already know that GoodAndEVO.net now redirects to pocketables.com/htc-evo (NothingButTablets.com takes you to pocketables.com/tablets and StreakSmart.com leads to pocketables.com/dell-streak). Our social media links have not been changed and will continue to display the content you’re used to; that is, you’ll still find only G&E content autopublished to the G&E Twitter feed.

When you’re ready to venture beyond the G&E/NBT/SS “micro site” to see what the entire Pocketables has to offer, just click back to the main home page and you’ll find all the G&E/NBT/SS posts seamlessly merged with the content from the rest of the site.

Design Overhaul

Now let’s talk about the new design, which is undoubtedly the first thing you noticed. Regardless of which site you’re coming from, we know this is completely different from it.

Change always takes some getting used to, so while we don’t expect everyone to immediately embrace the makeover, we hope you’ll focus on and enjoy the content more than any layout element.

That said, however, we do think our new look is a change for the better. It’s fresher, sleeker, and more representative of what the new Pocketables is all about. At the top of our main home page we have quick links to the G&E, NBT, and SS sections, as well as the CrowdGadgets website. Below that is our updated logo and navigation bar to the main areas of the site, including our forum. Then you’re looking at our Featured Posts Slider, which is regularly updated to display 5 of the best posts across the site, followed by 10 of our most recent posts, each in its own little box. Click on any photo or title to view the entire post. The sidebar on the right contains a search bar, social media links, and other useful information, and you’ll find our latest tweets at the bottom of the page.

– – – – – – – – –

And that’s the new Pocketables! We all think it’s going to be awesome and hope you’ll give us the opportunity to prove that to you. Whether you’ve been here since the site was pink and about UMPCs, this is your first visit, or you fall anywhere in between, thanks for reading and allowing us to do what we love to do. No one knows where this new path will lead us, but I hope we can find out together.

Welcome to the new Pocketables! by Jenn K. Lee first appeared on Pocketables.

Dell isn't selling the Streak 7 anymore, but that doesn't mean it's not being sold anymore through other retailers. The latest online store to offer the 7-inch Dell tablet is Ice Monkey. The store is letting the tablets go for just $149.99 each – while supplies last.

The tablets are refurbished WiFi-only models, but they've been upgraded to Honeycomb 3.2 and come with a 90 day warranty. This is the second-best deal we've seen for the Streak 7 thus far; if you want one, I think it's safe to assume that now is one of the best times to make a purchase.

And if you are planning on purchasing, I'd act fast: the stock meter on the right side of the product page is creeping towards the bottom, meaning that people are indeed purchasing the tablets. 

Also, since you've read this far, I'd like to let you know that big things are coming to StreakSmart – and by extension, Pocketables – next week. Be sure to stay tuned for some really awesome news!

Ice Monkey selling Dell Streak 7 for $150 while supplies last by Calob Horton first appeared on Pocketables.

We all love our Dell Streak 7s, but one thing that was missing was TWRP: the Team Win Recovery Project. This is a highly-customizable, touch-enabled recovery software for Android. 

Like I said, this awesome piece of software was missing from our 7-inch Streaks for the longest time, but thanks to Giveen, that's no longer the case. Last Friday, Giveen successfully ported TWRP to the Streak 7, allowing users of the tablet to finally access those advanced settings that TWRP offers.

Giveen  says that the following list of features works:

• Boots
• Landscape mode
• Touch
• Backup to internal and external
• USB mount (provided Streak 7 ADB drivers are installed and you use 'adb shell')
• Restore from internal storage 

Please note that this is only for ICS-B4, but that there have been a few people who've tried it on custom Honeycomb images with success, as well. Let us know in the comments how it works for you!

TWRP ported to Dell Streak 7 by Calob Horton first appeared on Pocketables.