The Dell Lightning is About to Strike

The Rain
As Technology marches along, we come to expect, and in some cases demand, that our consumer electronics perform at a higher level than its predecessors. Our smart phones are no exception. Today's phones have become our overall communications and entertainment hub so much that placing a call on our phone is sometimes secondary to the MP3 player, camera, and texting and browsing capabilities. And they just keep getting better, faster, and more functional. Let's take a closer look at the recently leaked Dell Lightning phone.

The Leak
According to engadget.com, the information leak at Dell has given us the inside scoop to it's plans for the next generation of smart phones. The leaked Dell Lightning, along with two other models (Smoke and Thunder), have been kept under wraps for a long time, and with it's recent unveiling, is being touted as the "ultimate Windows 7 phone", and with good reason. If you want to talk bells and whistles, this thing has sirens and gongs! Unfortunately, there is no official launch date (possibly by the last quarter of 2010), and the details sketchy, but when it does, watch out. If Dell is putting their name and reputation on the line, the features of the leaked Dell Lightning are sure to be impressive.

The Lightning
Lightning is a portrait slider, where the full QWERTY keyboard panel slides out, with a whopping 4.1 in display, which is 25% larger than most phones on the market today. For you techies, we're talking a 1Ghz Snapdragon processor, AT&T and T-Mobile 3G, WVGA 4.1-inch OLED display, 1GB of flash, 512MB RAM, and an additional 8GB of storage on a MicroSD Card. For the rest of us, it's got GPS, accelerometer, compass, FM radio, 5 megapixel camera, plus full Flash support for video playback. It's anybody's guess what the initial price will be, but if you want speed combined with style and functionality, it will be worth it.

The Test
Some conjecture regarding the leaked Dell Lightning phone examines its claims of functions that are not supported by the operating system of the Windows 7 phone. Flash support for video playback is one of these topics. This is going to be one of those wait and see prospects. If they manage to incorporate Flash support, it will be another reason that the Lightning will shine over the competition. Another aspect is the 8 GB storage component. The Windows 7 phone does not support user manipulation of the card, so it may end up being user inaccessible.

Ultimately, the leaked Dell Lightning phone is the next link in the evolutionary chain of smart phones. We will have to patiently await its arrival before many questions are answered, but you can be sure that it will not go unnoticed.