Review: Dell Venue

The Android-based Dell Venue, like the Windows-based Venue Pro we reviewed previously, is neither svelte nor lightweight. But does pack a punch. It lacks the physical keyboard found in its Windows cousin, but beneath the glass lurks an Android soul (version 2.2) wrapped in Dell's Stage software for managing apps and media.

The Venue was released earlier this year as an unlocked device, priced at $500. But the price was recently dropped to $350 unlocked, so we decided to give it a spin to see how it fares as a cheaper alternative to other unlocked phones costing a Benjamin or two more. There are two different models for use with either PCS or AWS networks, so make sure you get the right one for your carrier. If you sign a contract with AT&T, you can get the PCS version of the phone for a single dollar.

The Venue features a large and chromatically rich 4.1-inch, 800x480 AMOLED touchscreen. The Venue's all-black-and-chrome looks are rather austere and conservative. It's the Ford Crown Vic of Android phones, more likely to show up in the hand of an MBA than a tween. Everything else on the handset is efficient and understated – from the flush volume rocker to the succinct Back, Home and Search capacitive buttons. The dedicated camera button is also a welcome touch, though it requires a good bit of precisely applied force to work properly.

Although the nice rounded edges, textured back and glossy screen make the Venue a pleasure to hold, it is unquestionably a large phone. The width and height aren't too far off other phones in the same range, but the thickness makes the Venue feel like a bit of clunker in your pocket. On the bright side, the Gorilla Glass screen held up well – no scratches showed up during the three weeks the test unit shared pocket space with my keys, money clip and loose change.

The Dell Venue packs a 1GHz QSD 8250 processor under the hood, and can potentially carry up to 32GB of data via an extendable microUSB card. The Venue handled Android 2.2 Froyo without any freezes, stutters or other hiccups, though it's not quite as fast when it comes to rendering web pages. Despite the mostly solid performance, dual-core devices have already begun dominating the market, which leaves the Venue feeling like a bit of a laggard.

The Venue ships with Android 2.2 Froyo, which isn't the most recent Android release. And unfortunately Dell doesn't have a great track record with Android upgrades, so the upgrade future of the Venue is uncertain.

Dell's "Stage" Android skin offers some custom apps like Dell Video Stage for managing and downloading movies, and Dell Sync for syncing multimedia content between your PC and phone. The movie syncing options in Dell Video Stage work well enough, but you'll need to have the desktop app installed on your PC.

Other than the two applications and few visual tweaks, Dell's Android install is pretty close to stock. Out of the box, the major difference between the Venue and stock Android install is several screens of custom widgets. The widgets work well enough, but they're a bit oversized and not super attractive. Fortunately, they're easy to get rid of. The phone ships with a nice compliment of Android apps, including favorites like the Kindle app, Evernote and the official Android Twitter client, as well as some useless junk like the Zinio magazine reader and the Dell Welcome app.

The Venue's 8-megapixel camera is a mixed bag. Dell has done a good job of packing the camera app full of settings – white balance, flash, exposure, multiple focus modes and color effects all make the Venue's camera one of the most full featured phone cameras around. In bright lighting, the results were excellent (both video and still images), but bring it indoors or use it in the evening and the noise levels go up dramatically. Not enough to ruin your Flickr posts, but a long way from images you'd want to print out.

We did our standard heavy-use battery run-down test – playing a video on a loop with the brightness cranked and all the radios on – and the Venue lasted a little under four hours. Just making calls, browsing the web, playing music, using apps and talking to some Bluetooth speakers, the Venue has no trouble making it through the day.

The Venue isn't going to lure anyone away from higher-end Android phones, but for those who like the brand and want something that's good enough, the Venue delivers – especially if an unlocked phone is your top priority.

WIRED Unlocked. Tough Gorilla Glass screen takes all kinds of abuse. Huge screen is great for those with man hands. Did we mention it's unlocked?

TIRED Android 2.2. Poor camera performance in low-light settings. Dell's skin on top of Android isn't terrible, but most applications are better replaced with third-party offerings.

Photos by Jim Merithew/Wired