Dell Thunder Prototype Android Phone Tested, Impresses
It came as a bit of a surprise when Dell announced it was making a line of smartphones, but it surprised no one that the company decided to use the extremely popular Android platform in one of them. That phone, the Dell Thunder, managed to make it's way out of Dell hands and now we have an in-depth look at the phone.
Engadget managed to get a hold of two Dell Thunder prototype Android phones . They date from April, so they likely aren't the final model, but they do give a good look at what the Thunder will likely become.
Overall impressions were positive. The curved glass on the front of the device looks fantastic, and Android 2.1 runs well on it. The phones performed well too, with snappy processing from the 1GHz Snapdragon processor inside. It's expected that Android Froyo will make it even faster.
The Thunder handles microSD cards for memory expansion, has a SIM card slot (used by GSM networks such as AT&T and T-Mobile), and connects via Micro-USB port. It also comes with an 8-megapixel camera with LED flash built-in, but due to some issues the camera couldn't be tested.
One of the few complaints was with the display. Rumor had it that the Dell Thunder would sport an OLED screen, but the prototypes only had standard, relatively dim LCD displays. One screen did have abnormally high resolution for a smartphone, though, and it's still likely Dell will put OLED screens in the final production model.
