Dell Venue Pro gives WP7 a 4.1-inch QWERTY slider with Lightning heritage and a T-Mobile future

To say we’ve been eagerly anticipating the Dell Lightning would be an understatement along the lines of suggesting Microsoft’s launching a few Windows Phone 7 devices today. Dell’s AMOLED-equipped WP7 debut has just gone official with a cringe-worthy renaming to the Venue Pro for T-Mobile, who has in turn announced its intention to carry the 4.1-inch portrait QWERTY slider “in time for the holidays.” 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. Needless to say, we’ll seek to confirm the full spec sheet as soon as we can, though the officially known 1GHz Snapdragon chip and 5 megapixel imager agree with the Lightning’s original leak.