Dell Venue Pro - Review

Dell made a shaky archway into the Windows Phone 7 market. You had supply bug, quality command bug and software headaches. Slowly but surely these problems are getting ironed out with the Venue Pro but does it leave consumers with a quality Windows Phone?

While some may run into this as being late to the table (Dell isn't that generous with review units), we decided to take advantage of the $299.99 sale and ordered a few on our own. Out of the box, the Venue Pro makes a nice first impression. The 4.1" AMOLED Screen has a good scrap of popular to it with vibrant colors and sharp contrast. But does the positive kickoff impression last?

Just make the jump past the interruption to see if the Dell Venue Pro connected to shine or dulled a little later on several days of utilize.

Design

The Dell Venue Pro is a hefty little phone when compared to the thinner, lighter Windows Phones such every bit the Samsung Focus. Measuring ii.five x 4.viii x .6 inches and weighing 6.8 ounces the Venue Pro feels solid in the paw. The Venue Pro is just equally thick every bit the LG Breakthrough and HTC 7 Pro/Get in just it is heavier (Quantum is 6.2 oz and the seven Pro is half-dozen.5 oz.). Even though the Venue Pro matches the side keyboard models in thickness, the added weight makes it experience beefier.

That'south non to say the Venue Pro feels like a gunkhole anchor. The added weight and size gives the phone a solid feel to it. The Venue Pro hovers effectually the breaking point between condolement and weighing you downwards.

The layout of the phone has the ability button and iii.5mm jack sitting at the top of the phone. I'm not a fan of the power button in that the push button rests further dorsum on the top of the telephone and slightly recessed. Information technology takes some time to get used to the contortions needed to admission the power push with ease. I can't help but recollect the Dell Engineers could have placed the power button in a improve location.

The left side of the Venue Pro is bare with the right side existence the home for the volume buttons and photographic camera push. To the bottom of the phone you volition find the micro-USB port and dual speakers. To the back of the telephone rests the five.0 megapixel camera and LED light.

The Venue Pro'southward battery embrace has a diamond plate design to information technology that is slightly raised. This gives the phone a squeamish looking, grippable surface. Personally, I could do without the chrome sides but overall, the Venue Pro is a nice looking Windows Telephone.

I'll comment on this here (simply because I'1000 non certain where else to put information technology) simply the Venue Pro lacks haptic feedback on many push button features. You lot know, the vibration that occurs when you lot press ane of the 3 buttons on a Windows Phone or when you outset turn on the phone. The only button characteristic I've establish feedback on is the camera button when you use information technology to launch the camera app.

This is an abrasive omission. Granted, Windows Mobile phones didn't e'er take haptic feedback simply they had concrete buttons that you could feel being pressed. There was some form of feedback to allow you know that the push button was pressed. With the sub-surface buttons on Windows Telephone 7 y'all really need the vibration to confirm you've pressed the buttons.

Under the Hood

The Venue Pro comes fitted with either an 8, 16 or 32 gigabyte storage drive and 512mb/1024mb(?) RAM/ROM. The model tested has the 16gb option. The rest of the Venue Pro'southward engine is fairly standard (1ghz processor, BT, Wifi, etc.). Everything is powered by a 1400mah battery that does rather nicely, on par with other Windows Phones I've used. At the end of the day, under moderate apply (calls, electronic mail, spider web access, games) I easily had 30% of my battery life remaining.

Screen and Keyboard

The Venue Pro'southward 2 primary attractions are its screen and keyboard. The four.1" AMOLED Screen performed well and looks really practiced. Information technology has noticeably more than dissimilarity and color saturation than the SVGA screen of the HTC HD7S and is actually close in appearance to the Super AMOLED screen of the Samsung Focus. In comparing the two with game play, video play back and full general advent, I'll give the Super AMOLED screen the nod in overall quality. Even so, if the AMOLED screen was forced upon me I wouldn't complain.

The is also very responsive to the touch with touches, taps, and swipes registering nicely. If you judge the Venue Pro on screen quality alone, it's one of the top Windows Phones on the market.

The keyboard is another story. Granted y'all have a size restriction based on the phone's dimensions but the keyboard is modest. The size and feel reminded me a lot of the Samsung Jack from the Windows Mobile days. The keys are covered in a rubber sheet and are responsive but they are besides tiny. The onscreen keyboard offers you more than elbow room and I found information technology easier and more effective to use.

The layout of the QWERTY keyboard includes a role key for typing symbols and numbers as well as a smiley cardinal for emoticons. The sliding machinery is smoothen but when the keyboard is extended, the Venue Pro feels bad-mannered. Top heavy if you will. I could utilize the Venue Pro one handed with the keyboard extended just information technology bounced a lot every bit I typed. It was more efficient and stable using the phone with both easily.

While some adopt a physical keyboard to the onscreen keyboard, Dell should take given serious thought of either a) scrapping the keyboard all together and relying on the very good, on-screen keyboard of Windows Phone seven or b) moved to a side sliding keyboard which would give you more elbow room and comfort.

Camera

The Venue Pro has the standard Windows Phone camera software. Information technology does include camera settings to reduce banding, which I haven't seen present on other Windows Phones. Camera functioning is decent but equally with any other Windows Phone camera, lighting is the key. You practice have the LED light merely it serves the phone better with a flashlight app than as a camera wink.

I did notice that the Venue Pro's camera created a little brume around images.  Information technology's not as noticeable on landscapes but closer shots such as portraits, it is really noticeable.  At first I thought I had a smudge on the lens or a protective covering was nevertheless in place.  Simply the lens was articulate and clean.  The beginning paradigm of the garden gnome was shot in bright sunlight while the 2nd was shot under overcast skies.  If I didn't know any better I would remember that too much light was just equally bad as not enough lite for this photographic camera.

Video quality is nice when shooting 720p. Decent when shooting VGA.

All in all, the photographic camera was below par when compared to other Windows Phones.  Images, both notwithstanding and video, could accept been sharper and the haze present in still images was bothersome.  I'd take to rank the photographic camera as no meliorate than "It'll do".  In a jam, it'll do merely don't rely on it for important photographs or videos.

Software

Not much to written report here. The Venue Pro does come loaded with the virtually recent version of Windows Telephone seven and the updated firmware. Y'all have your standard WP7 apps plus three apps unique to the Venue Pro.

You lot have a Connectedness Settings App that allows you to manually configure your MMS Settings, a Newsroom app that offers customizable weather, news and stock information and Pageonce Personal Finance (bloatware).

All in all, the software ran fine on the Dell Venue Pro, not unlike other Windows Phones. However, there seemed to exist a lag fourth dimension of a second or two between pushing the ability button and the screen waking up. There was also a random lag that occurred when returning to the First Screen from a running app. I wouldn't consider these anomalies desperate but rather noticeable.

Phone Performance

The Venue Pro's performance as a phone was on par with other Windows Phones. Book levels in the ear piece were a little depression compared to other phones and the speakers maybe a bear upon louder.

If you've followed my reviews of Windows Phones, I experience the vibrating ringer is an important feature. You need a reliable silent ringer when your in meetings, at church, at the movies, or any where else discretion is needed.

The Venue Pro's vibrating alert is marginal at all-time. It's a touch stronger than the Samsung Focus simply not as potent equally the HTC Arrive or HD7S.

Overall Impression

I call back Dell has created a very overnice starting point for a Windows Phone in the Venue Pro.  The Venue Pro makes a nice offset impression but later on using it for several days, yous come to realize that at that place is still work to be done to brand the Venue Pro a quality Windows Phone.

From the odd power push to the cramped keyboard to the lack of haptic feedback to the firmware issues (which are slowly existence resolved), the Venue Pro has plenty room for improvement.  Call quality was good, music/video playback dainty but the camera, rather disappointing.

The Venue Pro is and then close to existence a very good Windows Telephone and while individually, the issues seem minor, collectively they concur the phone back. For all it's shortcomings, there is still something compelling about the Venue Pro.

Maybe information technology'due south the screen, which is fantastic, or the solid feel the phone has.  While the Venue Pro has enough of positives, I merely don't see it being strong enough to be a serious contender confronting the LG Quantum or Go far with their side sliding keyboards.

It does have the price point going for it, specially if you store out of contract. Unlocked, out of contract price for the 16GB model is $299.99 through Dell. Out of contract through Amazon Wireless, the Focus is running in the $499 range and the Quantum is running $469.

The Venue Pro isn't a bad Windows Phone, information technology'due south just a example where at that place are a lot of little things you'll accept to get used to.  Things that may make the alternative Windows Phones more than attractive.

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