Inside the hideous packaging that cradles Dell’s Android-powered Streak tablet is a welcome sight: a user-replaceable battery!

It wasn’t hard to guess that the panel on the back of the Streak was a battery cover, but iFixit’s teardown shows just how accessible the Streak’s battery truly is (kudos!). This is great news for road warriors that are looking for a mobile computing device but aren’t fond of always being on the lookout for a power outlet or USB port. And like several other mobiles, it also provides access to an SD card, which you can upgrade (double kudos!).

Sure, Apple’s iUniverse of gadgets has made it unfashionable to show seams, but user replaceable batteries are a godsend to heavy users and frequent travelers. Not to mention, it makes it a lot easier to extend the life of your gadget when your battery’s capacity heads south but the device remains perfectly usable in every other respect. Sure, it makes for svelte and sexy gadgets, but a non-user serviceable battery is one of the reasons I gave the $500-plus iPad a less-than-stellar, but still solid, “B” grade during its debut.

Oh, and its performance and feature set impress too.

Update: Forgot to mention that iFixit’s Dell Streak teardown also marks the debut of the site’s “repairability index.” The Streak earned an 8 out of 10 (triple kudos!). [via Engadget]

Image credit: iFixit