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BBB worthy complaints?
I have a bit of a laundry list but I'm not sure if these are frivolous so here it goes.
1. Unlock Codes - You can call or email Dell about these and their official stance is that they no longer offer the codes for "retail pieces." It's not until you get your carrier (T-Mobile in my case) to use an obscure program to submit an unlock request on your behalf, and then subsequently fail, that Dell will finally capitulate and give you a code. It seems deceptive that they'd tell you no when they could just tell you exactly what you need to do or just give you the code.
2. Compass - According to a few posts on XDA, Dell deleted the compass driver in the Mango update. Compass is an advertised feature of the Dell Venue Pro. At least this feature should be restored.
Compass no longer required by Microsoft. http://www.wpcentral.com/microsoft-loosens-hardware-requirements-and-camera-now-optional
Also, http://mobile.twitter.com/LionelatDell/status/137204783642718210
3. Battery Life - I think the standby time is falsely advertised. I get nowhere near 336 hours. I've set it to battery save mode with Bluetooth, Wifi, 3G and location services disabled and I get 2 days max. That's with the phone sitting on a table doing nothing. In contrast, my Curve 3G can go 5 days with 3G enabled and light usage.
4. LED Light - The Dell Venue Pro is the only handset that's incompatible with all flash light apps on the marketplace that use the LED as a light.
5. Tethering - Mango update now supports this but Mango on the DVP does not. Will we be getting USB and Wifi tethering?
6. LED Indicators - You can faintly make out the outlines for them near the speaker. Are there actually lights there and will they ever be enabled?
Apparently these are proximity and ambient light sensors so...
6. LED Indicator - DVP should have had one.
7. Antenna - I came from a Curve 3G and in comparison, the DVP loses signal a lot more often than I'd like. Could my handset be faulty? I can have them both in the same room and the Curve will pull 3-5 bars of 3G while the DVP is pulling 3-5 bars of Edge.
8. Camera - I've read that the camera is on par with the iPhone 4's but the pictures taken says otherwise. Can Dell release the specs for the camera? I'm not expecting DSLR quality but I'd like to know what the hardware is truly capable of.
It might not look like it but I actually love this phone. The 4.1" AMOLED display is so nice. The keyboard is better than Blackberry's. I love the weight, the sliding mechanism and the overall design. Also, Windows Phone 7 OS really brings this phone to life.
With that said, these issues really need to be addressed.
nerdrobin
1 Message
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November 4th, 2011 08:00
To answer #6, those aren't LED indicators, but the ambient light sensor and proximity sensor.
dvp7prime
5 Posts
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November 4th, 2011 08:00
Wow they really shipped this device without an LED indicator? This device has been plagued with problems since day one. I remember when Dell was shipping bad caps in their power supplies. I thought those days were long gone.
I just wish they'd be more open about everything. Even Apple is publicly acknowledging battery issues in the 4S and they're not known for doing that.
dvp7prime
5 Posts
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November 6th, 2011 10:00
www.wpcentral.com/microsoft-loosens-hardware-requirements-and-camera-now-optional
Looks like Dell won't be fixing the compass. It's no not a hardware requirement anymore.
E-Ster
18 Posts
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November 10th, 2011 10:00
In fact here we go, technical specifications from the Dell UK Website, note the e-compass:
Operating System
Windows® Phone
Processor
1GHz
Bands
UMTS 900/2100/1700
GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
HSDPA 7.2Mbps/HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
Display
4.1" (10cm.) WVGA AMOLED capacitive, multi-touch display
Camera
5MP, Auto-focus, LED flash
Video
Playable Formats H.263/H.264, 3GP, MPEG4, WMV, VC-1
Video capture HD 720p quality
Audio and Speakers
MP3, WMA, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR
Messaging
Email, MMS, SMS, Voice Mail
Browser
Internet Explorer Mobile, Bing Search and Maps
Storage
8GB, 16GB (not removable)
Connectivity
WLAN802.11b/g, Bluetooth® 2.1 EDR, USB 2.0 HS
Dimensions
2.5" (63.5mm) x 4.8" (122mm) x 0.6" (15.25mm)
Advertised System Weight
6.8 oz (192.78 grams)
Primary Battery
1400 mAh
Miscellaneous
G-sensor, e-compass, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, FM radio, GPS, micro USB I/O
E-Ster
18 Posts
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November 10th, 2011 10:00
I would suggest that they should be compelled to fix the compass given that it was on the list of spec's for the DVP at time of purchase, the fact that Microsoft have reduced the requirements was mainly to accomodate new lower cost devices.
If Dell do choose to hide behind this technicality one would suggest it's a cop out and questionable behaviour leaning towards false advertising.
dvp7prime
5 Posts
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November 17th, 2011 16:00
Well it's official now. Nail in the coffin.
mobile.twitter.com/.../137204783642718210
E-Ster
18 Posts
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November 18th, 2011 02:00
Well for what its worth, I recommend everyone complain and be vocal about it through not only official support channels but also whatever medium they have available. If you bought a car that claimed to have heated seats but they didn't work you'd take it back to the garage to have them fix it under warranty.
The Dell Venue Pro was clearly advertised and still reports itself on Dells own sites as possessing a compass and its wholly unacceptable to suggest that it wont be supported as this would be false advertising and certainly in the UK the law is very clear on products being sold not as advertised or not meeting reasonable expectations.
Also personally this indicates to me that Dell have made a decision and decided its simpler to handle the negative results of not pursuing support of their compass hardware rather than tackle another Microsoft update (presumably a complex process) at the expense of the customer because its a small userbase with a correspondingly small voice.
I hope I'm wrong as prior to the DVP my Dell products have always been well supported throughout a reasonable lifespan if not beyond expectations.
dvp7prime
5 Posts
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November 18th, 2011 07:00
This is just another lesson learned for me. This will be my first and last Dell product and I'll actively dissuade anyone from purchasing one. Even if they were to build the best Windows Phone device ever, the fact you can't trust them to support it makes it worthless.
The worse thing about it is Dell just replaced most of their employee's Blackberries with DVPs so now they all have a phone with a broken compass. Unless Dell sent them special models that work. I think those employees should come forward if that's the case.
wmpoweruser.com/.../comment-page-1
BKusserow
6 Posts
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November 25th, 2011 04:00
Hi DVP7Prime,
I agree with your list, except that I think that the compass issue should be solved by Dell, even if MS no longer requires it, and there is a flashlight app that works at least with my DVP, i.e. Flashlight-X by Asleroid. I just tried out most of the flashlight apps on the market. This one works!
yeungl2
21 Posts
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November 25th, 2011 07:00
the hardware is there, just during the stupid mango update, it takes it out. Come on. just add a patch, and it will work. I still don't understand what so hard about it.
abarrs
2 Posts
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April 23rd, 2012 14:00
The Magnuson-Moss act is the federal warranty statute. You have rights if they cannot fix it.