Apple buying up Google ads for Dell Streak, HP Slate queries

The Dell Streak, that 5" sort-but-not-really tablet is already on sale in the U.K., and it appears Apple is taking no chances. Do a search on the Dell Streak in Google's U.K. search engine, and look what comes up as a sponsored ad? The iPad.

Interestingly, while we were able to duplicate that result, we weren't able to see the other sponsored ad that's been reported as well: it was reported that a query for HP Slate was bringing up a similar iPad ad, but it appears to no longer be happening. Since the fate of the Slate appears on certain, why throw money that way, right?

At any rate, there's nothing wrong with this behavior, per se. One would think, since the iPad is really targeting another audience, that the sponsored ad isn't going to change any minds. However, what's more interesting is that it shows Apple is taking challengers to the iPad seriously.

Of course, a search for Samsung Galaxy S doesn't bring up an iPhone 4 ad. We suppose Apple isn't too worried about Android yet, but they probably ought to be.