Dell is a pretty big deal in the IT space, they sell massive amounts of hardware to Enterprise and consumer level customers. But, by and large, it’s been Windows based hardware, from laptops and desktops to servers and even tablets, but a new kid has arrived on the Dell website, with the Dell Venue 8, running Android 4.4.
It’s not the simply gorgeous Dell Venue 8 7000 which cropped up back at the Intel Developer Forum, but it’s a pretty nice looking tablet. There’s a nice fingerprint resistant backing on the rear and they’ve boosted the sound quality by using MaxxAudio® Mobile by Waves which we’ve seen previously on the Oppo Find 7 and found to be quite a good audio experience.
The tablet is chock full of all sorts of great hardware, including an 8″ FullHD IPS display, it’s running an Intel processor and comes with a smallish 16GB of storage, but backs it up with a microSD card slot. It features front and rear cameras and clocks in at a relatively well priced $249.
Dell Venue 8 specs:
Display | 8.0 inch Direct bond IPS with FHD (WUXGA 1920 x 1200) with capacitive multi-touch |
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Processor | Intel® Atom™ Processor Z3480 (up to 2.1GHz Dual-Core) with Intel® HD Graphics (Imagination PowerVR G6400) |
RAM | 1GB LP DDR3 memory |
Storage | 16GB eMMC Hard Drive with Micro-SD Card Reader (SD, SDHC, SDXC, supporting up to 64GB) |
Camera | 2MP (front) / 5MP (back) |
Ports | 1 x Micro-B USB2.0 (for trickle charging), 1 x Headphone and microphone combo jack |
Connectivity | 802.11 AC WiFi with Bluetooth 4.0 |
OS | Android 4.4 (KitKat) |
Dimensions | 216 mm x 130 mm x 8.95 mm @ 338grams |
Battery | 17.29Whr (4550mAh), 1-Cell Battery |
While most Dell products you can customise, there’s not much wriggle room on a tablet, but you can customise warranty. The Dell Venue 8 comes with a 1 Year return to base warranty (Freight paid), but you can up that to two years for $91.30, or three years for $172.70.
There’s further customising you can do in the form of adding accessories for your new tablet, mostly consisting of a Dell Bluetooth Portable Speaker for $79. But coming soon, you’ll be able to add a Bluetooth Folio case or Dell Cast HDMI dongle to turn your monitor or TV into a remote screen.
Not a bad way to introduce Dell Android tablets, if you’re into Dell then you can jump onto the website to check out the tablet and related accessories.
The disappointing thing for me is the 1GB only of RAM and lack of NFC. But I am interested to know how the Atom/Intel HD performed compared to Snapdragons or the new (old?) Tegra K1. Battery life compared to the Snapdragon and K1?
I’ll be interested to know about battery life as well but from the various information that I’ve read on the web, the Intel chips performs better with battery life but does sacrifice some performance plus some apps don’t work well with Intel but this might be old news now…
1GB RAM, 16GB on board, and a max of 64GB microSDXC.
Pathetic.
I gb ram….. U R Failed