Dell Venue!! Now available through microsoft with T-Mobile AWS.

Announced today, this phone is beautiful...

yes it is

UPDATE: "Notably, you won't be able to purchase the Venue Pro directly from T-Mo stores, as Dell and its choice of handpicked retailers are set to handle the purchasing experience. Don't look for any AT&T hookups, either -- Dell has acknowledged T-Mobile as its "launch partner" for the device, giving team Magenta a second major exclusive, even if this one doesn't last much beyond the launch period."

wow.. that sux that we wont see it in a actual Tmo store.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/11/dell-venue-pro-gives-wp7-a-4-1-inch-qwerty-slider-with-lightning/
http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/11/dell-venue-pro-aka-lightning-first-hands-on/

Im getting this one for sure I was not feeling the hd7 since its almost like a hd2 but now that they announce the dell lighting this put windows phone 7 in another ball game. I will still keep my hd2 as a back up for tether but this phone gotta be mine!

I went to a htc event in L.A I talk to one of the guys there who used to be the editor for phonescoop.com now he works closely with HTC  we had a small conversation he said he doesnt think windows mobile will be out this year. I was a bit surprise not because I cared just because people will loose interest by next year.

Eric Lin?

UPDATE: "Notably, you won't be able to purchase the Venue Pro directly from T-Mo stores, as Dell and its choice of handpicked retailers are set to handle the purchasing experience. Don't look for any AT&T hookups, either -- Dell has acknowledged T-Mobile as its "launch partner" for the device, giving team Magenta a second major exclusive, even if this one doesn't last much beyond the launch period."

Let's ask Google how well the Nexus One sold and how well the Streak is selling for Dell with that business model. It doesn't work for phones, guys.

UPDATE: "Notably, you won't be able to purchase the Venue Pro directly from T-Mo stores, as Dell and its choice of handpicked retailers are set to handle the purchasing experience. Don't look for any AT&T hookups, either -- Dell has acknowledged T-Mobile as its "launch partner" for the device, giving team Magenta a second major exclusive, even if this one doesn't last much beyond the launch period."

Let's ask Google how well the Nexus One sold and how well the Streak is selling for Dell with that business model. It doesn't work for phones, guys.

Well hopefully that would bring the price down, yeah.

UPDATE: "Notably, you won't be able to purchase the Venue Pro directly from T-Mo stores, as Dell and its choice of handpicked retailers are set to handle the purchasing experience. Don't look for any AT&T hookups, either -- Dell has acknowledged T-Mobile as its "launch partner" for the device, giving team Magenta a second major exclusive, even if this one doesn't last much beyond the launch period."

Let's ask Google how well the Nexus One sold and how well the Streak is selling for Dell with that business model. It doesn't work for phones, guys.

Difference is this is Dell, they seem to do very well with the range of electronics they do sell so they obviously have a plan. Plus we dont know who these retailers are going to be, if they go with someone like Best Buy they will do well.

Let's ask Google how well the Nexus One sold and how well the Streak is selling for Dell with that business model. It doesn't work for phones, guys.

Dell may have had no choice.  You can't always get T-Mobile to carry every phone you produce.  Ask Nokia for example...

At least it's good for the consumer.  They have a chance to get a phone, they might not have gotten otherwise. 

yea i see no reason why Tmo couldn't carry the Lightning also.. they already subsidize it.. i guess they didn't want to buy another WP7 until it gains some traction/consumer interest.

The biggest advantage to Dell's setup here is that the Venue Pro will be much more "exclusive" to those who buy it - for those that care about that sort of thing, that is.

Equally amazing is that Dell seems to offer their phones cheaper than T-Mobile's subsidized price and contract-free as well! Hopefully, that pricing strategy does not change with WP7 - but being that they haven't established themselves well in the phone market yet, I think things may stay relatively the same all around

It may also be free of T-Mobile branding which is always nice - once people figure out how to do a sim unlock for WP7 then we're good all around (I'd imagine that, being a Tmo exclusive launch phone, it would be carrier locked, otherwise it wouldn't be exclusive )

Disadvantage is not being able to play around with the phone in the store, more of a hassle for return & replacement, calling India for support* (unless Tmo offers some sort of basic support for Venue Pro, I'm not sure how it works with Nexus One), and explaining to friends how to buy one if they want it and then the obligatory "I'm not sure why T-Mobile doesn't sell it" statement and then questions about how to buy stuff online and if it's safe to use a credit card *sigh* and listening to them complain if they have a problem and don't know how to send it back in even though return information is posted all over the documentation they didn't read when it arrived in their mailbox. (Can you tell I've worked customer service before?)

Well welcome back mystictrust!

I think they are iffy on carrying any brand new smartphone product. Cuz you never know it will sell well.

I think they are iffy on carrying any brand new smartphone product. Cuz you never know it will sell well.

Funny thing about that is, by keeping it out of the stores they may actually be lowering any potential large sales volume of the phone anyway. A lot of people go into a store "just to see what's new" when time to upgrade and they won't be able to handle a Venue Pro at all. No reason for a rep to upsell it either, they're not getting a commission for a phone sold outside their own store.

small detail but i wish it slid sideways instead of up and down

It could be that they are concentrating on making the HD7 a flagship product. Just like they tried to do with the HD2. They dont want the Dell Venue Pro to get in the way. So when someone walks into a store they wont see it most likely not know anything about it. Those who do have the opportunity already know where to go.

It could just be that since Dell is such a new smartphone brand that T-Mobile doesn't want to risk it.  HTC is established, both as an Android and WM brand.

Personally I think it will allow it to be unbranded and probably the closest to stock WP7.  I can add the apps I want, thank you very much.  Besides it seems they will be the first phone to go the iPhone route in allowing people to choose memory size (8 & 16GB).  It doesn't hurt that I think its the best looking device.

small detail but i wish it slid sideways instead of up and down

WP7 isn't optimized at all for landscape right now. That's a complaint I'm hearing about the LG Quantum. You're tilting your head to use the phone the most of the time.

Also, a good portrait beats a good landscape. Less travel for your thumbs and it's a more convenient form factor. I'm still pretty fast on the Slide when I do use the QWERTY but I was faster on my old BlackBerrys.

small detail but i wish it slid sideways instead of up and down

WP7 isn't optimized at all for landscape right now. That's a complaint I'm hearing about the LG Quantum. You're tilting your head to use the phone the most of the time.

Also, a good portrait beats a good landscape. Less travel for your thumbs and it's a more convenient form factor. I'm still pretty fast on the Slide when I do use the QWERTY but I was faster on my old BlackBerrys.

so i wonder how long its gonna be til they make a landscape phone? Im used to my TP2 and im pretty fast wit that.

Actually it can do landscape. The emulator I used to test the final 7003 that is coming on these phones it can do landscape mode. Its just like any phone going into landscape mode. It was a fast transition from portrait to landscape.

This might be my next phone, i hope its cheap. Dell does sell cheap phones at times..

so i wonder how long its gonna be til they make a landscape phone? Im used to my TP2 and im pretty fast wit that.

They already have made one, it's called the LG Quantum and it's exclusive to AT&T:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/windowsphone/images/LG_Optimus7Q_lg.jpg

Don't worry, there will be more.

Possibly sliding the keyboard in on the Dell Venue Pro & turning it could possibly launch landscape. HD7 was shown w/ landscape mode in netflix.