Dell will no longer be manufacturing the Dell Venue Pro and the Dell Venue, but customers can still purchase the remaining phones from the company’s channel partners in the US. The phones are still being distributed in India and South Korea. The discontinuation was simply attributed to the shorter lifecycles of these type of mobile devices.

The Dell Streak handsets previously discontinued in the US are still being distributed in China and Japan. Dell had also launched a smartphone with Baidu in China last year and has plans to continue to launch new mobile devices in China, Japan, and the US. Dell has expressed interest in launching a wide range of Windows 8 products, which will likely include an enterprise-level tablet.

That could be a sign that the company is pulling back its investment in Windows Phone and instead looking to focus on Android instead. There’s still only one WP handset in the Dell line-up, whereas in the same period it has released several pieces of Android phone/tablet hardware.

Windows Phone also doesn’t fit into Dell’s software strategy, with the company’s plans for the Dell Stage interface – including automatic PC/phone sync – not working with Microsoft’s locked-down attitude toward its platform. We’ll have to wait and see what Dell and Microsoft confirm – if anything – but we’re guessing this could be a case of three in, one out.

Clove UK has announced that the Dell Venue Pro will be delayed until about the middle of February, as the carrier is having trouble with the software that handles MMS. Clove is pointing the finger entirely at Microsoft, saying that it is their software having the issues. Clove was expecting to stock the device at the beginning of January. There’s not an exact date yet, but if you’re looking forward to the device, then stay tuned. Perhaps a certain upgrade can help with the situation.

[via WMPowerUser]

The Venue Pro grabbed attention as the only Windows Phone 7 device with a portrait-sliding QWERTY keyboard, as well as a 4.1-inch WVGA touchscreen and Microsoft’s newest smartphone OS. Unfortunately Dell has been hampered by supply issues, with the company admitting that manufacturing problems have pushed back shipping times.

While it’s unconfirmed whether Dell will actually release this AT&T-compatible version of the Venue Pro – which will also work on Canadian carriers Rogers, Bell and Telus – it seems unlikely that Dell would shy from putting its handset on as many North American networks as possible. More information on the smartphone in our hands-on.

Dell Venue Pro hands-on:

[via Engadget]

On Dell’s official blog, the company came forward and confirmed that, despite the fact they have been trying to ramp up production to keep up with demand, they’ve run into a few troubles. They do admit that there has been a delay, but they wouldn’t elaborate one what this delay could be. As for that estimated December 17th ship date? The company says they are trying to send out as many Venue Pros by that time, but that not every pre-orderer will receive their device by the previously promised arrival date.

Dell does say that they are staying on top of the situation, though, and they will continue to monitor it. Any Dell Venue Pro pre-orderers out there okay with the delay? Or were you really counting on your device getting to you Christmas?

[via PhoneScoop]

Unfortunately, it seems Dell customer services are tricky to pin down with a consistent explanation for the delay. Excuses so far include “excessive demand” and “a missing part”; meanwhile Dell has seemingly failed to notify many pre-order buyers that there’s a problem, despite the company’s Twitter representatives claiming that “Dell should be calling you regarding this to give you some options.”

We’re trying to get Dell’s feedback on the situation to hopefully clear up what’s happening, but it looks like those who expected a Venue Pro under the tree this holiday season will have to make do with a cardboard cut-out until early in the new year. More on the Venue Pro here.

[via WMPowerUser]

The Dell Venue Pro was one of the most anticipated Windows Phone 7 devices since Microsoft officially announced the new mobile Operating System. The device features a 4.1-inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display, and is a portrait slider that has a full physical QWERTY keyboard. The handset also features a 5MP camera on the back, with LED flash.

Prices vary for the device, depending on how much memory you want, giving some options for customers. If you’re looking for the cheapest price, and you don’t need 16GB of space, you’re looking at forking over $99.99, after you sign a new, two-year contract with T-Mobile. But, if you do need that 16GB of space, the price tag jumps up to $149.99, as long as you sign that two-year contract with the magenta network. Check out the full press release below for more information, including prices for upgrades.

Press Release

DELL’S EXPANDING MOBILE PORTFOLIO DELIVERS UNRIVALED ENTERTAINMENT, PRODUCTIVITY AND SOCIAL EXPERIENCES FOR PROFESSIONALS, FAMILIES, STUDENTS, GAMERS & MORE

ROUND ROCK, Texas, Dec. 1, 2010 – Dell today announced an expansion to its mobile portfolio with the new Venue Pro, the only vertical QWERTY Windows Phone 7 smartphone that gives professionals, families, students and gamers more options to stay connected, access the content they love and applications for success. The Venue Pro is the latest in Dell’s commitment to provide innovative mobile solutions, which include the acclaimed Streak 5 pocket tablet.

The Venue Pro is designed to take productivity, social networking and on-the-go entertainment to new heights. Available immediately at Microsoft retail stores, Store.Microsoft.com, and today direct from Dell, the Venue Pro is a Windows Phone 7 Smartphone featuring a cutting-edge portrait layout QWERTY keypad for faster text entry, editing and connecting with friends and family.

Any Way You Slide It
In addition to the QWERTY keypad, the new Venue Pro comes with Xbox LIVE and pre-loaded work/life applications that make everything easier and more beautiful on its sharp, bright and responsive 4.1-inch AMOLED touch display, which features rugged Gorilla Glass® for exceptional durability. Windows Phone 7 Live Tiles keep priorities in focus, and the Venue Pro’s single-button access delivers everything you care about including Bing for search, Xbox LIVE for games, and Zune for music and video.

“No matter how you slide it, the Dell Venue Pro with Windows Phone 7 brings a fresh new approach of doing more with less,” said Michael Tatelman, Dell vice president and general manager, Dell consumer sales and marketing. “We’re continuing a path of creating smart, innovative and new mobile experiences to help people discover new ways to enjoy the web, connect with friends, and navigate their lives.”

Elegantly designed, the Venue Pro’s elliptical, slender form factor slips easily into your pocket. A 5-megapixel camera, high-speed wireless, and cloud-based services make it easy to keep in touch, share experiences and enjoy music, movies and more.

Carrier, Pricing & Availability Information
The Dell Venue Pro is available immediately at Microsoft retail stores, Store.Microsoft.com and direct from Dell by visiting www.Dell.com/VenuePro or calling directly at 1-800-308-DELL. Carrier and additional pricing information provided below.

Carrier: T-Mobile USA*, with two-year contract† and qualifying data plan are required
• 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

Specifications
• Portrait slider with QWERTY keypad
• 4.1” WVGA AMOLED multi-touch display
• Windows Phone 7 operating system
• Powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon solution with integrated 1GHz processor
• 3G + Wi-Fi + Bluetooth
• Bands/Mode: UMTS 900/1700/2100/AWS, GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900; HSDPA 7.2Mbps/HSUPA 5.76Mbps
• 5MP auto-focus camera

Follow conversations on Twitter and in the blogosphere: #DellVenuePro

Garriques will receive a $1.44m severance plan along with various other payments, but will also stick around to provide “consulting services” to Dell until the end of 2011; he’ll get a further $6.3m for that. The Dell communications solutions group will be absorbed into the company’s core operating structure, though we imagine Garriques guiding hand will still be on the various smartphone and tablet projects Dell is believed to have in the works.

The news follows analyst speculation earlier in the week that tablet sales have been significantly underwhelming across the industry, but that Dell’s Streak was a particular sales disappointment. Meanwhile a high-resolution version of the Streak, internally codenamed “Opus One“, is tipped to be launched in March 2011 with a new, dual-core processor.

[via WSJ]

Dell has come forward and said that some Venue Pro units, part of the company’s first shipment, are indeed experiencing issues with the integrated WiFi. As we reported earlier in the week, some Venue Pros are unable to connect to secured WiFi networks. It all boils down, according to Dell, to a software glitch that popped up during the manufacturing process. The problem is only affecting some devices that are part of the initial shipment, and that it is not an issue with Windows Phone 7, or a hardware defect.

They point out that if you purchased your device on Monday or Tuesday (November 8th or 9th), you can go ahead and return it to your local Microsoft Store for an exchange, but you’ll have to wait until the beginning of next week to do it. They also point out that the new units, which you will replace your broken one with, will not have the same WiFi issues. You can check out the full statement from Dell below.

On a little side note, though, one owner of the Venue Pro has found something very interesting. Using the universal dialer code (##634##), which allows Samsung manufactured Windows Phone 7 owners to access USB tethering, on the Dell Venue Pro, actually prompts something unique: a Matrix screen. It works, and you can watch as the green numbers and letters fall from the top of the screen to the bottom. A nice Easter egg, to say the least, but perhaps not as great as USB tethering.

[via PhoneScoop; via WMPowerUser]

Official Statement

“We have confirmed that the Wi-Fi connectivity issue…resulted from a software glitch during Dell’s manufacturing process. The issue affected some of our initial phone shipments and was not a hardware issue or a Windows Phone 7 one. Customers who purchased Venue Pro smartphones on Monday or Tuesday (November 8 or 9) at a Microsoft Store and who are experiencing the protected Wi-Fi network connectivity issue also have the option of bringing your phone back to the Microsoft Store for an exchange, beginning at the end of next week.”

According to Boy Genius Report, reports are coming in that the Venue Pro is suffering from a pretty serious WiFir-related bug. According to the reports, it looks like the device is unable to connect to some, if not all, secured WiFi networks, utilizing the standard WiFi options on the device. The device is able to connect to unprotected networks, though, so it’s not a total loss. But, considering this day and age and the fact that most WiFi networks are protected, it is a serious issue.

At the moment, Dell hasn’t commented on the situation, but we imagine that this is one thing that the company would want to get addressed, and soon. As soon as we know more, we’ll update the article accordingly. And, if you’ve got yourself a Venue Pro, and you’ve managed to connect to a secure WiFi network, be sure to let us know if you had to do anything special to make it happen in the comments below.

[via Boy Genius Report]

In about a week, everyone will be able to access this box full of Dell Venue Pro goodness through Dell’s homepage on the internet (that being on the 15th of this month, November 2010.) This phone is supposedly coming in two configurations, that being the 8GB and the 16GB, but stores seem to be unable to tell which ones they are stocking. Weird!

[Via Engadget]

All four of the devices are GSM-only at present – we’ll have to wait until sometime in early 2011 for the first CDMA Windows Phone 7 handsets on Verizon and Sprint – and all have roughly similar specifications. Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon processor is the CPU of choice, along with UMTS/WCDMA, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and a sizeable capacitive touchscreen running at WVGA. How sizeable you want that touchscreen to be may be your biggest differentiator: the HD7, for instance, has a 4.3-inch panel, while the Samsung Focus gets a 4-inch Super AMOLED.

For more on Windows Phone 7 and whether it’s worth your money, check out our reviews of the Samsung Focus, HTC Surround and HTC HD7. We’re hearing rumors that the Dell Venue Pro will be making its debut today as well.

The information about the release is of course just a leak, a rumor, but then again, this post right here tips the same date. We’ve had a super fabulous Dell Venue Pro Hands On if you’d like to peek a little bit closer, or you know, just wait until tomorrow. Either way!

[Via Engadget]

Dell’s Chief Financial Officer, Brian Gladden, spoke in a recent interview, saying that it’s an obvious competitive move against Research In Motion (RIM), the company based in Canada that builds the BlackBerry line-up. “Clearly in this decision we are competing with RIM, because we’re kicking them out.” Straight forward words. Dell employees are going to be offered the Dell Venue Pro, the portrait slider device featuring Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 mobile Operating System. However, in the near future, Dell will also provide handsets that are running Google’s Android Operating System.

The switch will begin next week, and it’s expected to save Dell 25 percent in mobile costs, thanks to the fact that the company will no longer need to pay for BlackBerry servers. But, that’s not all. According to Gladden, Dell is going to actively promote the service, or switch, to business clients, in hopes that they, too, will drop their BlackBerry devices and pick up the new Venue Pro. As far as the minutes go, Dell is apparently talking to T-Mobile USA about purchasing voice minutes and monthly data in bulk, so that employees don’t even need to get their own plans, if they don’t want to. According to Gladden, minutes not used during a month would roll-over to the next.

[via The Wall Street Journal]

The model name of the device is V02S, and there’s no denying that the device is certainly the Venue Pro. This particular handset features Microsoft’s upcoming Windows Phone 7 mobile Operating System, and features a portrait slider, with a full physical QWERTY keyboard underneath. The Venue Pro also has a 4.1-inch capacitive touchscreen, and the 1GHz processor under the hood.

Unfortunately, the FCC filing doesn’t give us any other juicy details here, so it looks like you’ll just have to be happy with our hands-on time with the device, which we went over last month. For T-Mobile customers, there’s rumors floating around that the Venue Pro could launch on the network November 8th, when AT&T will be busy launching their own Windows Phone 7 handsets. It’s just a rumor for now, but with the FCC clearance, at least it’s a possibility. Hopefully it makes it by the holiday shopping season, at least. You can check out the hands-on video below.

[via unwiredview]

Amazon aren’t the only ones, either.  Expansys also has the Venue Pro listed for £499.99, while Clove undercuts them both at a mere £440.63.  All three retailers list initial availability as November 8 2010.

The Dell Venue Pro, like other Windows Phone 7 devices, has a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 512MB of RAM and 1GB ROM, along with 8GB of internal storage, a 5-megapixel camera and WiFi b/g/n.  The display is a 4.1-inch WVGA OLED panel with a Gorilla Glass screen.  More details in our hands-on report on the Venue Pro from the Windows Phone 7 UK launch, complete with video.

[via Android Community]

First and foremost, the 4.1-inch capacitive touchscreen display is very responsive, as we’ve come to expect and receive from the Windows Phone 7 devices so far. And, while there’s a hardware keyboard hidden away inside the package, there’s also the on screen keyboard that Microsoft developed for Windows Phone 7. It works well, but the hardware keyboard surprised us the most, as it is very tactile, and offers great feedback. The device itself isn’t too thick, and and the sliding mechanism is strong — or so it seems with just the initial hands on.

The Venue Pro features the same 1GHz Snapdragon processor under the hood, and, just as we’ve seen in our other hands on, the handset is very responsive. While it may be the most unique of the Windows Phone 7 smartphones, it’s also strong enough to keep up with the pack. Check out the full hands on gallery below.

For more information and discussion about Windows Phone 7, check out Windows Phone Forums.