What to make of Dell's Streak tablet?

Ever get the feeling that device makers sometimes struggle to define themselves against the competition?

O2′s press release for the Dell Streak – launching exclusively on the network next month – claims the device is “a bold new class of product” which “hits the sweet spot between traditional smartphones and larger-screen tablets”.

Now, I’m not sure about you but I’m not convinced that the “larger-screen tablet” market is so mature as to need a device to compete with/compliment it. In fact let’s be honest and accept that for most consumers the “larger-screen tablet” is a complicated way of saying iPad and, as we know, that’s not even available over here until the end of the week.

Surely if you’re going to go out of the way to compete with a device as heavily marketed and anticipated as the iPad it’s a good idea to have something comparable with the opposition?

I can’t see a 5″ screen really meets that criteria and I suspect the pretty small screen – only 1.3″ larger than that offered by some mobiles – will be a major obstacle for many consumers, no matter how much the two companies try and spin it.

One thing’s certain, the Streak is going to need a major marketing budget and campaign to have any chance of competing with the iPad.