Windows Phone 7 and the Dell Venue Pro

When I told people I was planning on switching to Windows Phone 7 from Android, they looked at me funny.  I guess most people just didn't think Microsoft could bring a viable competitor to the smartphone OS table.  I did plenty of research and watched video upon video of device reviews and Windows Phone 7 demos just to be sure this was a switch I wanted to make.

After all the smoke cleared, I decided to make the switch to Windows Phone 7 and go with the Dell Venue Pro as my handset.

Windows Phone 7

Wow.  I mean... wow.  Seeing demos of the interface in videos just doesn't do this OS justice.  After setting up the phone and adding all of my accounts, I was impressed at how well everything was integrated.  Windows Phone 7 is a social media and communications beast.  My favorite thing about WP7 is how I can access every method of communication with a person via their contact profile.  I can see their latest status updates, call or text them, or even post messages directly to their Facebook wall.

The home screen of the OS is customizable by pinning tiles for applications, games,  or contacts to it.  It's essentially one long scrolling window.  Currently, you can change the default color of the tiles and switch between a black or white background.  It would be nice if in future iterations of the OS, you could use an image as the background, similar to how the photos app works.  Also, it would be nice if you could create folders to place groups of tiles in so organization was simpler.  These are two things that I can see as potential updates to the OS.

Another thing that could be improved is the way certain functions are handled.  Currently you have to dig deep into menus in order to turn the Wifi on and off as well as the ringer.  It would be nice if you could switch between audio profiles quickly.

A big thing that Mircosoft got right with WP7 was making a minimum hardware requirement for the OS.  This means that all hardware will run the OS smoothly.  This was something about Android that really bugged me.  On my old G1, the motion would lag and so many apps wouldn't run correctly.  I still have yet to see an Android phone that runs as smoothly as Windows Phone 7 or the iPhone OS.

Dell Venue Pro

This handset is amazing.  It's heavy, but that adds to the sturdy feel and quality of the build.  One thing you'll hear a lot of people mention about this phone is the unique textured pattern on the back that actually helps a little with gripping the phone.  Another cool feature is the slightly curved gorilla glass screen that I would assume actually improves the structural integrity of the screen but also makes gliding your fingers across the surface feel a little more natural.  The big selling point for me was the vertical, slide-out keyboard.  Ironically enough, I found myself using the on screen keyboard more often since the screen is a whopping 4.1 inches.  The slideout keyboard is a nice to have, but since it's narrow, the buttons get a little cramped and I found myself making more typos with the keyboard as opposed to the on screen one.  Battery life is short and you'll probably need to charge it every night, especially if you're playing around with it most of the day.

The Verdict

If you're in the market for a new smartphone, you can't go wrong with the Dell Venue Pro and Windows Phone 7.  Microsoft did an excellent job with this one and I've actually been much happier with WP7 than I was with Android.  Dell has also made a smashing debut into the smartphone market with this polished piece of equipment that might actually give the iPhone a little bit of a scare.  If only Microsoft and Dell knew how to market these things a little better.