Dell Streak 7 Can Secretly Make Phone Calls [Modders Discover That Dell's 7-Inch Tablet Has Some Phone Functionality Left In, But How Long Before Dell and T-Mobile Patch It Out?] | TFTS

Dell Streak 7 Can Secretly Make Phone Calls [Modders Discover That Dell's 7-Inch Tablet Has Some Phone Functionality Left In, But How Long Before Dell and T-Mobile Patch It Out?] | TFTS: "Dell Streak 7 Can Secretly Make Phone Calls [Modders Discover That Dell's 7-Inch Tablet Has Some Phone Functionality Left In, But How Long Before Dell and T-Mobile Patch It Out?]"

This is sort of funny. Jenn from StreakSmart.com has discovered some ‘secret’ functionality in the new Dell Streak 7 – the 7-inch Android tablet on T-Mobile that’s HSPA+ “4G” compatible. While Dell and T-Mobile say the tablet doesn’t have voice call functionality, Jenn has found a way to access the Dialer utility on the phone. As you can imagine, the functionality is… unpredictable.

In a YouTube video, Jenn shows off the Dell Streak 7′s secret phone functionality. Attempting to call the voicemail of the T-Mobile SIM card just results in the call failing. Attempting to call another phone number also appears to fail from the Dell Streak 7. But, oddly enough, the phone you call will ring and ring. There currently isn’t anyway to talk or listen to calls from the Dell Streak 7, though, so calling is a bit pointless at this point.

Obviously, this is one of the ‘problems’ (a term I use lightly) with Android. The open-source OS is a phone OS, after all, so manufacturers have to be careful when adapting it for tablets or cars or washing machines or whatever, to take out the dialer utility. I have the Archos 70 tablet – a fun bargain-basement Android tablet – and Archos made no attempt to hide the Dialer utility. You can try to call out but since the Archos is just WiFi only, nothing happens. I think it’s one of the small charms of an open-source OS that all these manufacturers and modders are messing with – but I’m sure the Apple iFanboys would just die if this happened on their beloved iPad.

Seems like Jenn and other modders are working on getting voice calls fully functional on the Dell Streak 7. I know that with the Samsung Galaxy Tab (which could make voice calls in Europe but not in the United States), a lot of folks wanted to be able to make calls with it in order to only have to carry around one device. So, if you can hack in calling in the Streak 7, more power to you. I imagine that Dell and T-Mobile will rush to get any trace of the Dialer utility out of the Streak 7 soon, though.

Here’s the YouTube video: