Dell shows off Windows Phone 7 Venue Pro

At Monday's Windows Phone 7 event in London, ZDNet UK had a chance to get hands-on with Dell's upcoming Microsoft handset, the Venue Pro.

The device is one of two enterprise-friendly Windows Phone 7 handsets that are due to arrive by the end of the year and that include a slide-out Qwerty keyboard. However, unlike the other phone, the HTC 7 Pro, this device has a keyboard that slides out lengthways rather than from the side.

As the Venue Pro has a very large screen, measuring 4.1 inches, the device is unusually substantial for a mobile phone when extended to its full length.

The Dell smartphone has a Gorilla Glass screen, which is scratch resistant and fairly impervious to hard knocks. The Amoled screen's resolution is 800x480 pixels, as are all the other Windows Phone 7 handsets announced to date.

Dell has not said which UK operators will carry the Venue Pro, although T-Mobile in the US will stock the device. Pricing has also yet to be announced.

The Dell Venue Pro has a 5-megapixel camera, in line with the minimum specifications set by Microsoft for Windows Phone 7 handsets. It also adheres to those specs by having 8GB of on-board storage, an accelerometer, compass and GPS.

Due to the girth of the Venue Pro, there is enough room on the Qwerty keyboard for a reasonably comfortable typing experience.

As with most smartphones available today, the Venue Pro has a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top.

The handet's microUSB connection for charging and synchronisation is on the bottom.

Microsoft also requires that Windows Phone 7 devices have volume keys and a dedicated camera button. Both are displayed on the Venue Pro in this shot.