Dell Venue Pro U.K. Launch Pushed Back To Mid-February

According to a blog post from U.K. retailer Clove the first stock of the Dell Venue Pro won't arrive in the U.K. until mid-February, due to problems with Microsoft's MMS settings. If that's the case, Dell is not at fault for the most recent delay. However, given the Venue Pro's already-troubled recent history, its mobile customers may be losing some patience.

Dell declined to comment on the delay of the Venue Pro.

At CES on Thursday, Dell introduced its Venue smartphone running the Android 2.2 operating system, code-named Froyo.

The Android version follows the unveiling of Dell's Venue Pro Windows Phone 7 device in October at the Windows Phone 7 launch event.

The Dell Venue Pro features a 4.1-inch AMOLED display, a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and, most notably, a portrait sliding QWERTY keyboard design. It also comes with a built-in, 5-megapixel camera with auto-focus, FM radio, flash support, GPS, and all-important Adobe Flash support -- which Apple's iPad notoriously lacks. However, the Venue Pro does not include microSD expansion. Dell said at the time that the device will be available through T-Mobile in December.

However, Dell delayed new Venue Pro shipmentsas well as that of pre-ordered units citing the need to fix problems with those that customers have already purchased.

Dell received extensive negative feedback from customers over the mishandled release of the phone and subsequent lack of communication from Dell's customer service department. Another unexplained delay should cause a similar reaction, at least by those affected in the U.K.

The Dell Venue Pro with AT&T service is available now for pre-order from Dell at a starting price of $99 for the 8GB version, and $149.99 for the 16GB version.