Active: Dell Venue 8 genius audit

Dell has taken the Venue name out of the deep freeze. With the help of Bay Trail and Windows 8.1, its entering the world small, long lasting tablets running Microsoft's hybrid OS.

Shoved into the spotlight at IDF 2013, the Dell Venue 8 Pro is an 8-inch tablet sporting 1080p resolution, a sub $300 price tag and with Intel's new Atom chip inside, there's hope of great battery life.

Dell is still being shy about the tablet's internal specifics and performance in anticipation of an official launch event in early October, but we were able to take the tablet for a little test drive behind closed doors.

Execution astute, the Venue 8 Pro was smart enough. We flicked through applications with nary a falter, and site pages stacked no sweat. 

The 8-incher is undoubtedly a fantastic structure figure for Windows 8. Unlike the Surface Pro, which can feel too wide or too tall, the Venue 8 Pro is exceptionally sensible in your grasp.

While we've no craving to jab about the desktop with a finger, its exceptionally simple to swipe and select Live Tiles with your thumbs. It's misty what embellishments Dell may offer or cluster with this new Venue to support with the desktop; this is full Windows 8.1 we're discussing here. 


Dell has selected a Windows key as an afterthought instead of the substance of the tablet. Asus did the same thing with the T100 Transformer Book and its a sensible decision. The regularly utilized key is presently right where your fingers are resting, as opposed to compelling you to change your hold.

The rear of the tablet is plastic, with spiraled texture pattern that adds some grip and a unique feel. We weren't in love with the way it felt; it may prove divisive, like the backing on the original Nexus 7.

During our demo, the glass face and the plastic backing felt more like tow separate pieces than most tablets we've held. It felt as though we could pull the too apart – even though this is sealed device without removable battery.

Hopefully that's just an issue with pre-production modeled we sampled. This Windows 8.1 tablet will have microSD support though, so you'll have plenty of space to tuck away music and movies. There's no LTE or cellular service option though, which is a pity.

Finally, Dell plans to sell the Venue 8 Pro in two colors: black and a ruby red.

Early verdict

Whenever it launches, Dell's Venue 8 Pro is going to part of a glut of small, affordable Windows 8 tablets hitting the market. The Asus T100 and the Acer Iconia W3 are on their way, and more will surely emerge.

The Venue 8 Pro will need to find a way to distinguish itself to succeed, and Windows 8 will need to keep growing its app support. Then we'll see what the Start Screen and those Live Tiles can truly do.