Dell Venue Pro

Tablet that redefined the capabilities of 8" tablets

The Dell Venue 11 Pro wipes out competition with the price of just $399. It essentially redefines the capabilities of tablet with 32GB SSD and $300-$400 price range. 

Functionality-wise, strong competition is only 2 in 1 devices such as brilliantly designed Dell Inspiron 11 3000 Series 2-in-1 and more expensive and more capable Dell Inspiron 13 7000 Series 2-in-1 with built-in stylus.

Only a technically challenged person will fail to understand this dramatic change.   Which might stimulate Android manufactures to add 3G and phone capabilities to their  offerings instead of flooding the market with another bunch of Wi-Fi tablets with just different version of OS (for some reason in Android world a tablet with Android 4.3 is considered to be a big improvement over a tablet with Android 4.0, despite the fact that Android 4.3 is pretty messed up version of the OS :-).

The same is true about Apple (although part of Apple users are zealots ;-). Just curious, what does a 32gb iPad Mini cost again?  Oh, right, $429 for the 32gb model which in most ways is inferiors to $300 Dell Venue 11 Pro.

The Dell Venue 11 Pro is running Windows 8.1 32 bit -- a real desktop-class OS. You can back it up and restore to USB drive using standard Windows tools, without all this cloud security and privacy problems Google try to enforce on unsuspecting users( see Is Google evil ?).

That lower your exposure to too snoopy players in Internet space who enjoy splurging your address book, your Inbox and other things that people view as private. For example you can run Thunderbird mail client and say Gmail goodbye. See Cloud providers as intelligence collection hubs. 

All spectrum of classic Windows applications runs without changes on the tablet. And they are less likely to "report home" all you input them Android application (and especially browsers). Note that if you view, say, Sony smart watch on your android tablet and then open Amazon on laptop (without logging to any accounts) it will display Sony smart watch advertisement. That's why many people start to hate Google, especially after recent events.

Key parameters of 8" and 11" models are similar (here is the link to the Venue 8 Pro user manual:  http://downloads.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_tab_mob/esuprt_tablets/dell-venue-8-pro_User's%20Guide_en-us.pdf)

• CPU: Intel® Atom™ processor Z3740D  (2MB Cache, up to 1.8GHz Quad-Core)
• Memory: 2GB Single Channel DDR3L-RS 1600MHz
• 1,280x800-pixel-resolution IPS screen
• 32GB storage
• Stylus can be bought separately for $35. You can also use tablet with Bluetooth mouse such as Microsoft Wedge Touch Mouse  which is watch-sized mouse (2.4" x 2.1" x 0.9") that you can use "on screen" and "off screen" ;-)
• Dock is available.
• Full-size SD card slot (Transcend 16GB Class 10 SDHC 16GB Flash Memory Card  is just $12 on Amazon)
• Micro-USB charging (unlike Samsung tablets). You can plug a USB to Micro-USB cable between your other PC's and the Venue 8 Pro and transfer files back and forth !
• There's a front-facing 1.2-megapixel camera and a 5-megapixel back camera. Which are adequate. IMHO reviews that are salivating about 12 megapixel  camera on tablet are just idiotic.
• The 8 Pro is 0.35 inch thick and weighs just 0.9 pound

There is also smaller, less capable variant of this tablet Dell Venue 8 Pro

NEWS CONTENTS

• 20131022 : Dell Venue 11 Pro - Tablets ( CNET )

Old News ;-)

[Oct 22, 2013] Dell Venue 11 Pro - Tablets

CNET

Dell returns to the small-tablet game and is coming in strong with its first Windows 8.1 8-inch tablet, the Venue 8 Pro. The tablet will be priced at $299 with 32GB of storage, with a 64GB version also available for a higher yet unannounced price.

Despite running Windows 8.1, the Venue 8 Pro looks and feels very much like an Android tablet. That impression, however, may be because of the rarity of small Windows tablets on the market thus far. The Windows button sits on the top edge of the tablet when held vertically. It's kind of an awkward place for it, and it took me a little time to get used to it being there.

The back texture is a grooved wave pattern that feels nice and seems to provide a just enough extra grip as to not be a wasted effort.

Selected Comments

quasitraveler
Oct 21, 2013

For those who are interested in finding out the correct specs, here is the link to the Venue 8 Pro user manual: http://downloads.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_tab_mob/esuprt_tablets/dell-venue-8-pro_User's%20Guide_en-us.pdf?c=us&l=en&cs=19&s=dhs

daniluz
Oct 19, 2013

Wait!!!!! What?? NO USB PORT???? It has an Atom processor with VT, 2GB ram, 32GB HDD, 2 Cameras, 10 hours of battery life, and there is not a USB PORT???? Something as simple as USB PORT??

I was waiting for one 8" real windows computer, but was waiting with USB port (at least a micro usb to USB port converter).

Well... it seems that i will have to wait for the Dell Venue 11 Pro "2" in 2014 or 2015. For now i'll keep my ipad mini game device.

d_train
Oct 19, 2013

@daniluz

I don't see how that will be a problem since I'll be using it on my home wi-fi network and can transfer data back and forth with my PC's over wi-fi. Would be nice to be able to plug a flash drive into it though, but it's definitely not a deal breaker.

d_train
Oct 19, 2013

@daniluz Just got done chatting with Dell's sales staff. They assured me that not only does the Venue 8 Pro have a Micro-SD slot (not a full sized SD slot as CNET mistakenly posted above) but

IT ALSO HAS A MICRO-USB PORT!! (I told them they need to make this clear on their website as it is costing them sales!)

So you can plug a USB to Micro-USB cable between your other PC's and the Venue 8 Pro and transfer files back and forth at will. I suppose there may also be a Micro-USB to USB adapter that will allow you to plug a thumb drive into this port? Does anyone know if such an adapter exists? That would be even cooler.

Also, the Micro-SD slot supports up to a 64GB card. I just saw one on Amazon for $28.

Jono667
Oct 4, 2013

This is amazing! If this was out when I bought the new nexus 7, I might have contemplated this instead... Very cheap!

photokid08
Oct 2, 2013

The price is "getting up there?" That last line was a joke, right? Just curious, what does a 32gb iPad Mini cost again? Oh, right, $429 for the 32gb model. But you're right, $299 for a tablet that runs full Windows including legacy programs is just WAY too much.

vukasi
Oct 2, 2013

And suddenly I can give this iPad mini back to my kids because the 8' full windows tablet with a stylus that I really wanted has arrived . Thank you Dell.

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Last modified: March, 12, 2019