With its crystal clear, damage-resistant Gorilla glass screen, and tons of apps through the Android Marketplace, the question has been — is it a smartphone or a tablet designed to compete with Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) brands in both categories? While the Streak does provide full smartphone functionality, it also provides an enriched mobile Web experience with its larger screen and now familiar Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) Snapdragon processor.
Its biggest drawback in entering the smartphone market is that it ships with the Android 1.6 “Donut” OS, and a promise from Dell for an upgrade to Android’s latest OS version 2.2 “Froyo” by the end of this year.
To further the intrigue, last week during his presentation at Oracle OpenWorld 2010, CEO Michael Dell released a glimpse of the 7-inch version of the Streak, scheduled to be available by the end of 2010, and gave little else in detail. There have also been “leaks” reported that there is a 10-inch version soon to follow in the first half of 2011. This is a fairly quick roll-out of three devices by Dell, and if they can equip them with the latest version of the Android operating system, will surely get the attention of consumers and analysts alike.
Still, it has to be asked, with all of the competition in the consumer smartphone and tablet market, why is Dell risking so much with this roll-out, as it restructures its business towards more innovative products at this time? Granted the device, with its Snapdragon processor, 512 MB of Ram, 16GB of storage, a five megapixel camera on the back and another on the front for video conferencing, providing both GSM and UMTS, with WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS, make it a compelling choice. Is it really the general consumer market that is Dell’s primary target in this product line release?
Enter the “Affordable Health Care for America Act,” and the $20 billion set aside by President Obama to support the expansion of Health Information Technology (HIT), and you might get a glimpse into the market where these devices are actually being targeted. Dell, as opposed to many of its competitors in the smartphone, tablet, and mini-laptop arena, has been positioning itself to provide for the comprehensive needs of the Healthcare Industry for several years now.
Dell, along with its partners, have been providing products to improve work-flow and optimize power system performance in hospitals by introducing work stations and laptops for clinicians on the go, in building the foundation for Dell’s Healthcare division. As reported in a recent article by Nathan Eddy:
“With the Streak integrated into our solution portfolio, we are making electronic patient information accessible to physicians and clinicians in a form factor that is easy for them to use. In the future, we will extend the accessibility of medical information throughout the health care ecosystem with the introduction of additional mobility offerings”
–Jamie Coffin, Vice President of Dell Healthcare and Life Sciences
With the introduction of Dell’s Streak, this growing Healthcare market driven by a cost saving need by the providers themselves, and now supported by new government regulations and funding to assist organizations in making the transition, may be exactly what Dell is looking to address with its latest line of Streak products. Although the first in the line up is being delivered with last years Android OS, it is already being fully integrated into Dell’s Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and Mobile Clinical Computing (MCC) solutions.
In a report released last Spring by Accenture (NYSE: ACN), 58% of U.S. physicians who do not use EMRs intend to purchase an EMR system withing the next two years. The results were from a survey of 1,000 U.S. physicians from practices of fewer than 10 practitioners to measure their views of EMRs, and it found that 85% of those surveyed were currently non EMR users. When asked what the key driver was in their decision to adopt EMR systems, 61 % cited federal penalties for non-adoption and 51% cited federal incentives.
When asked, over 90% of users felt the EMR system have been beneficial to their practice, with two main reasons for their view being routinely given. Their EMR system provided an effective overview of patients’ relevant history, records and information, while also allowing for quick and accurate data entry.
It is almost certain that Dell’s Streak will be in the mix when these federal regulations are more fully implemented. Whether or not their products will be the gold standard by Healthcare providers will be determined over the coming months and years.
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