Dell targets enterprises with Venue Pro smartphone

Dell has announced a UK launch date for the Windows Phone 7-based Venue Pro smartphone as the manufacturer continues to compete with Apple, Android and BlackBerry for a share of the enterprise market.

The Venue Pro comes with a 4.1in Amoled touch screen and is powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. Dell has also incorporated 1GB of Flash ROM storage, 512MB DDR SDRAM and a non-removable 16GB micro-SD card.

Dell is touting the inclusion of the Microsoft Office Hub as a key feature to attract enterprise users, allowing workers to view and edit Office documents as well as view, post and synchronise files on Microsoft's SharePoint site.

Other notable features include a Qwerty keyboard, 5-megapixel camera, Microsoft Exchange support and 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. Dell will ship the device preloaded with Bing, Xbox Live and Microsoft's iTunes rival Zune.

"No matter your requirements, the Dell Venue Pro with Windows Phone 7 brings a fresh approach of doing more with less," said Aongus Hegarty, EMEA vice president for consumer, small and medium business at Dell.

"The Venue Pro truly mixes business with pleasure and is the perfect phone for those who appreciate the work/life balance."

The Venue Pro will be available in the UK on 1 March directly from Dell priced at £383 excluding VAT and shipping.