At the Windows Phone 7 launch event in October 2010, the Dell Venue Pro was one of the standout models with its portrait slider design and extra-large display and size. We've had to wait a long time since then to get one in for review and so have customers who experienced early shipment delays, but the good news is that the Venue Pro delivers. We had our doubts after the disappointing Dell Aero, but the company pumped out a solid device in the Venue Pro. It's a got a premium design with a good physical keyboard, a nice feature set, and smooth performance. If you can handle its large size, the smartphone shouldn't disappoint. The Dell Venue Pro is available with T-Mobile but is only sold through Dell. Pricing is reasonable: the 8GB model is $99.99 with a two-year contract and the 16GB model is $149.99 with a two-year contract.
DesignThe Dell Venue Pro is a hardy piece of hardware, which has its pros and cons. The smartphone measures 4.8 inches tall by 2.5 inches wide by 0.6 inch thick and weighs 6.8 ounces, so it's a handful and certainly not the most pocket-friendly device. It's also quite heavy. The size alone will be a turnoff for many, but for those willing to overlook the bulk, you're getting a very solid and sturdy device. There are soft-touch finishes on the top and bottom of the phone, and the battery door has a textured surface; these plus the chrome accents along the sides make for an attractive handset.
The Dell Venue Pro is not what you would call a compact device.
Of course, the other benefit to the larger size is a bigger screen. The Venue Pro boasts a 4.1-inch AMOLED touch screen with a WVGA (480x800) resolution. Text and images appear sharp on the screen, and colors are bright and rich. The display does wash out a bit in bright sunlight, however. You can still read the contents of the screen at different angles, and there's a subtle curve to the screen when viewed from the side. This in no way hampers the responsiveness of the touch screen, as it immediately recognized our taps and easily zoomed in and out and scrolled through lists.
Aside from its size, the Dell Venue Pro has the distinction of being the only portrait slider in the current Windows Phone portfolio. The screen slides up to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard. The sliding mechanism is smooth and strong, so the display doesn't rock back and forth when you're simply holding the phone, and it securely locks into place once open.
The Venue Pro is a portrait slider with a full QWERTY keyboard.
The keyboard features rectangular buttons with a slight bump to them, making them easy to press since they're not flush with the surface. There isn't much spacing between the buttons, but they're a good size, keeping accidental presses to a minimum. Also, the phone isn't top-heavy, so it doesn't feel like it will tip over when you're using the keyboard. In addition to the physical keyboard, you can use the onscreen keyboard, which is really quite good. Unless we were sending a long e-mail, we found easier just to use the soft keyboard.
Below the display, you'll find the three required Windows Phone controls--Back, Start, and Search--in touch-sensitive form. On the right side, you get a volume rocker and dedicated camera key. The bottom of the device houses the Micro-USB port, while the 3.5-millimeter headphone jack and power button are located on top. The latter sits on a downward slope, so it's a little awkward to press when you have to wake up the device.
Dell packages the Venue Pro with an AC adapter, a USB cable, a wired stereo headset, and reference material.
FeaturesStarting with some of the basics, the Dell Venue Pro is a quad-band world phone and offers a speakerphone, call waiting, call forwarding, conference calling, voice dialing, and text and multimedia messaging. It is 3G-capable but the smartphone doesn't support T-Mobile's HSPA+ "4G" network. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS are also all onboard. There were early reports that the smartphone had problems connecting to a secure Wi-Fi network, which Dell acknowledged and attributed to a software glitch in early units, but that has been resolved and we were able to connect to our secure home network with no problem.
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