Today we’re looking at the sim free Dell Venue Pro, a large Windows Phone with a slide-out keyboard. Before we start the review proper, let’s look at the specifications.
Specifications
- Networks: GSM 850/900/1800/1900, HSDPA 850/1900/2100
- Dimensions: 121.6 x 64.4 x 14.9mm
- Display: 4.1″ 480 x 800 pixel AMOLED capacitive touchscreen
- Memory: 8GB internal, 512MB RAM, microSD card slot
- Connectivity: GPRS, EDGE, 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v2.1, microUSB v2.0
- Camera: 5MP autofocus with geo-tagging and video recording
- CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 1GHz processor
- Battery: Li-Ion 1400 mAh
- Additional information: Gorilla Glass display, GPS, digital compass, accelerometer, multi-touch
Review
The dimensions tell half the story: the Dell Venue Pro is a beast of a phone, broad and hefty. The overall build quality is exceptionally good, and even though it’s a slider phone, nothing about it feels anything other than solid and well-engineered.
The Venue Pro runs Windows Phone 7, which tells you everything you need to know about the user experience: the interface is slick and responsive, and the Metro design language joyfully clear and intuitive. While the imminent Mango update ought to resolve most of the remaining issues with the OS, some of its limitations – the inability to use custom notification sounds rather than the very boring default set, the miserable Zune software that you have to use to synch with your computer, the inability to save contacts to the SIM card – have no fixes in sight.
The beefy AMOLED screen (4.1”, 480*800 WVGA) is delightfully bright and clear in all but direct sunlight. The speakers are loud and clear at maximum volume, though the phone comes with a nice robust set of earbuds to go in the 3.5mm jack (sensibly placed at the top of the phone). Although the WP7 onscreen keyboard is the best I’ve ever used, I much prefer something with actual tactile response, which is where the keyboard comes in. Sliding out in Blackberry-esque portrait orientation, rather than the landscape style favoured by the other WP7 keyboard phones (HTC 7 Pro and LG Quantum), the keyboard is superb. Though I was worried about how usable the keyboard might be on the move, the phone is surprisingly well balanced and the textured Dell Venue Pro case adds to the secure grip.
As per WP7 standard, the phone is fitted with a volume rocker, camera button, and on-off button; the latter is on the same axis as the keyboard slides, which makes turning the phone on and off one-handed a little tricky. The back-home-search buttons are all capacitive rather than tactile, and flush with the screen, an inexplicable design choice (which HTC have also been adopting recently, and really ought to stop) which leads to aggravating accidental brushes, especially when attempting to use the camera (5MP and reasonably crisp, though easy to obscure with a finger.)
The DVP is merely excellent rather than perfect. The biggest issues with the hardware are that the (somewhat restrictive) 8GB internal memory can’t be enhanced with microSD cards; while the Dell Venue Pro battery lasts a day of heavy use, it will be hard pressed to do two on the trot. Additionally, the shape of the case around the microUSB socket means that some microUSB cables can’t be used to charge it – though this shouldn’t be a problem with Dell Venue Pro chargers.
The Dell Venue Pro is a powerful, well-designed and well-made phone, and with prices presently being slashed, is an obvious choice for fans of hardware keyboards. To terribly misquote Alexander Kartveli, it is a beast of a phone – but it is a beast with good proportions.
This review was written by Jeremy Levett.
You can buy the unlocked Dell Venue Pro at Mobile Fun. We also stock a host of Dell Venue Pro accessories, including Dell Venue Pro cases and covers.