IT Pro Verdict
Although a little chunky, the Dell Venue Pro is solidly made and exceedingly stylish. As such, it makes for an extremely tempting Windows Phone 7 smartphone. The physical keyboard should appeal to anyone tuned off by the virtual offerings used elsewhere, but Windows Phone 7 isn’t yet the same business proposition as its predecessor.
Last year's first wave of Windows Phone 7 smartphones were all touch screen-only affairs with virtual keyboards. The Dell Venue Pro bucked the trend and added business appeal by including a slide-out physical QWERTY keyboard.
The Venue Pro is very stylish.
Alas, the HTC 7 Pro Windows Phone 7 handset pipped the delayed Venue Pro to the post with that particular feature. That said, there are still enough distinguishing features to make Dell's first WP7 device well worth considering.
For a start, the Venue Pro is very stylish. The textured black plastic back (a tasteful diagonal grid pattern that's also echoed in silver behind the sliding screen), stainless steel edges and sheer Gorilla Glass screen (complete with a gentle curve) all combine to create an extremely classy look. Indeed, the Venue Pro certainly won't look out of place when slipped from the pocket of a sharp business suit.
The increased size needed to accommodate the 4.1in screen and sliding keyboard means it does feel a touch bulky compared to other smartphones though. At 192g, it's a little heavier than both the iPhone 4 (127g) and HTC 7 Pro (185g). Our only real quibble with the design is that as lovely as it is, the curved back does cause the Venue Pro to wobble from side to side when sat on a flat surface. This means it's better to hold in one hand when typing with the virtual keyboard.
