Dell Venue 8 Pro: The Best of Its Kind?

If you are thinking of buying a Windows 8 tablet, you are probably aware that Dell has announced the launch of Venue Pro 8. Now while it is not the first or hopefully the last of its kind, it is the latest addition to the growing list of tablets which include some highly rated devices like Acer Iconia W3. But before you rush into things, why not take some expert opinion on the Venue 8 Pro? A critical review of the product including a comparison with the other Windows 8 tablets might be suggestive. There have not been many reviews or comparisons on the product till date, but one by Dana Wollman has certainly hit the right notes. So let us take a quick account of what is offered by Dell here.

• Like most 8 inch tablets it is thin and light: weighs in at 0.87 pounds and is 0.35 inch thick; has a soft finish on the back side.
• It has a physical Windows Start key instead of a touch-sensitive button as in other tablets and is missing a micro-HDMI port.
• Moreover, it has only one single speaker and the webcam is 1.2 MP (only?).
• The screen resolution is 1200×800 but the brightness of the device is quite low.
• The signature move from Dell is surely the inclusion of an active digitizer for pen input although you would have to buy it exclusively with the device.
• You will get Windows 8.1 with all its facilities in the Venue 8 Pro. The Windows app store is at its best in the Venue 8 Pro, no doubt about it.
• Powered by the 1.33 GHz Intel Atom Z3740 with the Bay Trail chip, Venue 8 Pro can run these apps smoothly. The speed you get while surfing the net is quite amazing.
• The device has a 9.9 hour battery life, not that bad. You get all this for $299.99. There are two auxiliary devices you can buy exclusively: a folio case and a wireless keyboard. The total package would cost you $390. Reasonable, but no cheaper than the other 8 inch tablets in the market.

So how is the Venue Pro 8 placed against its competitors in the market? Not with a distinct advantage, that is for sure.

•  Apart from the active digitizer, the Venue 8 Pro has nothing to offer that has not already been by other 8 inch Windows 8 tablets. Compared to the Toshiba Encore, Asus T100 or the Lenovo Miix 2, the device actually falls short on many aspects when it comes to performance.
•  Physically, the Venue 8 Pro is probably the lightest and thinnest in the market right now, so that is a thumbs-up for the device.
• The price at almost $300 exclusive of the accessories is not more-or-less on a par with the other devices as well, so nothing much to say about it.

So should you prefer the Venue 8 Pro over the other 8 inch tablets like iPad mini? The obvious answer is, as Dana Wollman suggests in her review, would be “to wait”. Although the device is the most attractive in the market just by its sheer look, it is expected that Dell will come up with a better 8 inch tablet than this one at some point and then you can decide. But as of now, the Venue 8 Pro is surely not the best of its kind.