Dell Venue Pro
Dell Officially Gives Up on Smartphones
Dell confirmed that it no longer plans to make smartphones. Speaking at the Dell World conference, head of Dell's consumer business Jeff Clarke said that the company does not intend to return to the smartphone market in the near future. "It needs a lot of investments to really be successful," said Clarke. Dell had offered the Venue and Streak Android devices and the Venue Pro Windows Phone through its web site until March of this year. Dell continued to sell those devices in other markets, but Clarke's comments confirm that Dell is exiting the smartphone business entirely. For now, Dell will focus on its PC and and tablet computer businesses.
Dell Halts U.S. Smartphone Sales, Roadmap Left Uncharted
Dell has confirmed that it recently ceased offering smartphones to U.S. buyers. Dell had offered the Venue and Streak Android devices and the Venue Pro Windows Phone through its web site, but each of these products has reached end of life status in recent months and they are no longer available. Speaking to PC World, Dell confirmed said that it is still selling these devices in other markets, and that more mobile devices are planned. PCMag and AllThingsD reported that Dell will release new smartphones and tablets in the U.S. later this year, but the company isn't ready to provide information about those devices at this time.
Microsoft Pushing Mango to Dell Venue Pro
Microsoft and AT&T are now delivering the Windows Phone 7.5 Mango update to the Dell Venue Pro. Microsoft encourages owners of the Venue Pro to update their devices. Instructions are available on Microsoft's support site.
Microsoft Opens Up Mango Update to All Windows Phones
Microsoft today announced that all Windows Phone 7 devices now have access to 7.5 Mango. Microsoft had previously only made Mango available to about 50% of the Windows Phones in the market, but says the update process has been rolling forward very smoothly. In the U.S., all WP7 devices except the Dell Venue Pro should be receiving the Mango update from their carrier at this time. Microsoft also indicated that starting next week it will deliver some device-specific updates that augment the Mango update. Device users will be alerted when these secondary updates become available.
AT&T Version of Venue Pro Available from Dell
Dell recently began offering a variant of its Venue Pro Windows Phone 7 smartphone with support for AT&T's 3G bands. The FCC approved the AT&T variant back in December, though until now, the Venue Pro has only been available with support for T-Mobile's 3G network. Dell is offering it for $99 with an AT&T contract.
Dell Venue Pro Also Receiving 'NoDo' Starting Today
Dell has indicated via one of its Twitter accounts that it will start pushing out the NoDo update to the Venue Pro WP7 smartphone starting today. Dell will also be pushing a Dell-specific update to fix bugs at a later date.
Microsoft Provides 'NoDo' Roll-Out Schedule
Microsoft has published a web site to provide Windows Phone 7 users with a general idea of when they might expect their devices to receive the NoDo update. According to the site, Microsoft is scheduling the update for the Dell Venue Pro and HD7 (both on T-Mobile), which means it should be available in the next 10 days or so. The update is still being tested for other phones, such as the Surround, Quantum, and Focus, and the update has yet to be scheduled for them. NoDo provides copy and paste and better Marketplace search.
Windows Phone 7: Hands-On
Hands-on with the full range of Microsoft Windows Phone 7 devices announced this week, including the HTC HD7 and Surround, LG Quantum, Samsung Focus, and Dell Venue Pro.
