Dell Venue Pro

[Blueychan]

For those who is waiting for this phone. Launched this morning December 1, 2010

http://www.dell.com/us/p/mobile-venue-pro/pd

 

[tdawg]

Had to return my HD7 due to the bad camera module HTC went with. Loved everything else about the phone--the size, the design, the build quality, the OS, so the Venue Pro is the holder of my current hopes. If that fails to size up for me, I'll have to wait to see what Verizon gets next year.

 

[Deeko]

The 16GB is up too. $149 with contract, $499 without. I placed my order, despite being annoyed with Dell throughout this process. I've been wanting this phone since it was first leaked in April.

 

[Blueychan]

Ah they changed the shipping date too...nice!

 

[Deeko]

Ah they changed the shipping date too...nice!

I'm confused about that. The site now says a 12/9 ship date, and I paid for overnight shipping. My shipping estimate on my receipt says 12/14. No fun.

I really hope it goes out on the 9th. My Focus goes back to AT&T this weekend, and considering I have a paid app in the marketplace, I really don't want to be without a phone for long...

 

[Blueychan]

I'm confused about that. The site now says a 12/9 ship date, and I paid for overnight shipping. My shipping estimate on my receipt says 12/14. No fun.

I really hope it goes out on the 9th. My Focus goes back to AT&T this weekend, and considering I have a paid app in the marketplace, I really don't want to be without a phone for long...

Did you get the 16GB?

 

[Deeko]

Yep.

 

[tdawg]

Can't wait to hear user opinions of this device. Please share when your phones arrive.

 

[Blueychan]

man I couldn't get this thing activated. I called Dell and they said T-Mobile is getting swarmed with new activiation so their system is down. WTF.

 

[Blueychan]

Here is more information on the DVP

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/.../en/mobile-venue-pro?c=us&l=en&s=corp

 

[VashHT]

Woot I ordered a 16gb model as well. I already have an active T mobile account with the HD7 so all I'll need to do is swap my sim card when I get it. I like almost everything about the HD7 but the screen has been annoying me a lot, it has such poor viewing angles I don't know why HTC doesn't use IPS panels for their phones. If I have my HD7 sitting on my desk at work the colors start to flush out, especially greens and greys. I got to play around with a focus and OLED works so well with the metroUI and dark background, it almost looks like the whole front of the phone is a screen and it is just amazing for movies or TV. The venue pro looks really nice too, I really like the hardware design it looks really solid. I'm kind of up in the air about the keyboard, I've never had a portrait KB phone but I think I will like it because I've always felt that landscape keyboards were way too wide.

I ordered mine with overnight as well and it says estimated delivery date is Dec. 15th, my 2 weeks are up on Saturday for my HD7 so looks like I will be using a dumb phone until the venue pro comes lol.

 

[kaerflog]

FYI..
• New Activation: 8GB = $99.99*
• New Activation: 16GB = $149.99*
• Upgrade Activation: 8GB = $199.99*
• Upgrade Activation: 16GB = $249.99*
• Without Contract**: 8GB = $449.99
• Without Contract**: 16GB = $499.99

 

[Deeko]

Dell has duped us again....Venue Pro orders delayed until 1/5.

This saga is getting ridiculous.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Dell has duped us again....Venue Pro orders delayed until 1/5.

This saga is getting ridiculous.

I was excited about the Streak, then I saw how miserably they launched it here in the US, and flashed back on the Dell Axim, and decided I might buy a Dell phone if it shows up in the outlet.

Also, why anyone would buy a Venue Pro when it doesn't have "4G" capability is sort of beyond me to be honest...

 

[Deeko]

I was excited about the Streak, then I saw how miserably they launched it here in the US, and flashed back on the Dell Axim, and decided I might buy a Dell phone if it shows up in the outlet.

Also, why anyone would buy a Venue Pro when it doesn't have "4G" capability is sort of beyond me to be honest...

My HD2 doesn't have HSPA+ capability, either, and it still pulls 4-6 Mb. Pretty good. As good or better than WiMax or LTE will get you in most places these days.

 

[Pliablemoose]

My HD2 doesn't have HSPA+ capability, either, and it still pulls 4-6 Mb. Pretty good. As good or better than WiMax or LTE will get you in most places these days.

I can't pull those speeds on WiFi on my HD2, much less 3G...

 

[Deeko]

I can't pull those speeds on WiFi on my HD2, much less 3G...

I'm sorry to hear that. I posted this back when T-Mobile rolled out HSPA+ in June, note that this is 2 bars of 3G:

 

[Deeko]

The irony! Hotmail, why do you taunt me so??

 

[VashHT]

I ended up canceling my order and jumping on the deal amazon has for the 1 cent Focus, so far I'm really glad I did because everything loads so much faster with the built in NAND as opposed to the sd card like the HD7 has. I only wish it had 16Gb of NAND like the optimus 7 has, seems like something MS should have mandated, on the HD7 it would take over a minute to load a game in the harvest, on my focus it only takes like 20 seconds.

 

[Deeko]

It came, finally.

 

[tdawg]

It came, finally.

When you're ready, please post some impressions!

 

[Deeko]

Initial impressions:

The screen is awesome. Way better than the HD7, pretty much on par with the Focus' Super AMOLED. The phone is big, but I've had a HD2/HD7 for so long now that I'm accustomed to the size. The keyboard is good - not quite Blackberry quality, but solid - better than the Pre. The speakers are surprisingly clear too - better than the HD7 or Focus.

I've only had it for an hour now, I'll post more details when I've got them.

 

[Deeko]

Updated impressions after having it a few days:

Pro
-I really like the screen. Colors don't look quite as oversaturated as the SAMOLED on the Focus, but are a lot richer than on the HD7. A nice balance. The curved glass look is cool too.
-The touch response is very good. A bit smoother than the HD7, although the HD7 is certainly no slouch.
-The portrait slider keyboard is fantastic. Perfect size, clicky buttons, well spaced.
-If you can get it stable, the camera takes nice pictures.
-The speaker is very, very good. Its loud, and incredibly sharp for a cell phone. No, you aren't getting any booming bass or anything, but still, it sounds surprisingly good, both for speakerphone or music.
-GPS works well. Locks on fast and has no trouble keeping a signal.
-I'm on vacation, so I'm not on my normal routine, but battery life seems to be pretty good.
-Overall build quality is very good. Feels solidly built, I like the textured back, no creaking or oreo effect on the slider.
-None of the issues found in the early models sold at Microsoft stores seem to be present - namely, issues with secured wifi, odd camera issues, or terrible battery life. Looks like they fixed those up.

Con
-The camera is a pain. The flash is not very good, and even in decently lit areas, it uses a slow shutter speed, causing blur unless you're VERY still. You need to mess with the settings (sport mode w/ 400 ISO seems to work well) to get something decent. Video quality is good, but definitely not 30fps @ 720p.
-The keyboard is good as a whole, but its almost a bit too clicky. Its a delicate balance - you don't want too smushy like the Droid. I like it, but it could be a tad easier to press the keys.
-Its crashed on me a few times. There doesn't seem to be a consistent cause, and its not really frequent, but it never happened to me on the HD7 or Focus, so its notable.
-This doesn't bother me, but it might some people - in a dark room, when the backlight is on, you can see some light "leaking" through the seams at the top.

All in all, I'm happy with the phone. I like it the best of the three WP7 devices I've had.

 

[Blueychan]

Deeko, do you have use any screen shield for your DVP? If you do, which one do you use?

 

[finbarqs]

why would he? it's gorilla glass, don't ruin that wonderful screen with a shield! just don't drop it a million times, and you'll be fine!