DELL Venue 8 Pro - A Review

_Kaiser_

Morning all,

So, my new DELL Venue 8 Pro arrived this week so I thought I'd stick up a quick first-impressions/review here as well.



Quick overview:
- 8" screen
- Quad-core Atom up to 1.8Ghz
- 2GB RAM
- 32GB storage with MicroSD slot for expansion
- FULL Windows 8.1 (not RT)
- Office 2013 Home and Student included


So, first impressions...

- Screen is gorgeous (what the reviews say about auto-brightness ruining the effect is true.. turn it off! Viewing angles are excellent when on the stand (a folio case that I bought from Amazon)
- Very snappy and responsive (no lag)
- The Windows button on the side (rather than as a capacitive button at the bottom actually works very well)
- Full Windows 8.1 (far more useful than RT or Android IMO as you can put regular programs on there)
- Great battery life. I'm getting about 6/7 hours of heavy usage out of it so far (more on this later though)
- It has a nice weight to it. Not too light, not too heavy


Negatives (with explanations)...

- No full USB port. There's a Micro-USB which doubles as the charging port but you'll need a USB OTG cable if you want to connect USB keys, keyboards etc. Also it won't charge and support external devices at the same time. It also won't supply enough power for a USB HDD
Truth be told I don't think this will be a big issue though as once you have it setup, things like Skydrive and WLAN will mean you can transfer everything over the air anyway. For a keyboard/mouse there's always the Bluetooth option

- No HDMI port. Supposedly you can use Miracast adapters (haven't tried yet) but I like to hookup to the TV for streaming at the weekends. Still, I still have my laptop for that for now.

- No recovery media. I traditionally loved how DELL always threw in a backup CD/DVD with the OS and Applications drivers with their systems. Not so with this Venue 8 Pro. You get a Recovery partition instead (which caused me some problems - again, more later) but this seems to be the way things are moving these days particularly with Windows 8/8.1 systems.

- App store. Personally it doesn't really bother me as I'm not a big "App" person anyway - plus with the full Desktop there I can install anything I want - but I'm putting it here as there may be stuff people can't live without that hasn't made it to Windows Apps yet (though from looking through it, most of the big stuff seems to be there now)


(Nerd stuff ahead.. goes into some of the problems/negatives above but may not be important for most people)

Anyway, this arrived on Thursday but is only setup the way I want it now. See, I soon discovered that it shipped with Windows 8.1 Core, not Pro which I'm sure is fine for most home users but me being the IT nerd I am , my home setup is a bit more extensive than that - Workstation machine running Server 2012 and some Hyper-V virtual servers under it to serve as a Domain Controller, Media Server, Applications box etc

So, as Windows 8 Core can't join Domains, I started looking for ways to upgrade it to Pro (using genuine keys I have). Unfortunately though, the keys I have are for Windows 8, and while you CAN upgrade legitimately to 8.1, it's a bit trickier when you're already ON 8.1 (Core)

Short version is I eventually managed to upgrade to Pro through the "Add Features to Windows" option in Control Panel, but then I think I got a bit carried away tweaking it and deleting recovery partitions (having backed it up to USB first) as I ended up with a black endless loop boot screen

Things got worse when I couldn't for the life of me get it to boot from the USB key I'd created - reading online suggests this may be related to secure boot in Windows 8/8.1 and not just limited to DELL. Anyway, in the end I just bit the bullet, created a bootable 8.0 Pro USB key and loaded it up, figuring I'd do it the hard way and just upgrade to 8.1 from the Store.

All went well.. except that the drivers DELL provide only work for 8.1 - no touch screen support, no network, etc. Back to the drawing board!
In the end - after trying to use workarounds to download the ISO, I just loaded up the 90-day Win 8.1 Enterprise evaluation, downloaded the My DELL application (which supposedly recreated the Recovery partition etc) but after still having no joy getting the factory image back on I gave up and called DELL (he couldn't fix it either but in the end is sending me a USB key with the image on it)

Anyway..... last night I decided to have one more crack at it using a HP USB dock. Loaded 8.0 Pro back on but this time I was able to use the built-in LAN port on the dock to activate, update Windows and then upgrade to 8.1 Pro via the store - after which I could load up all the drivers annnd.. SUCCESS! Finally have it loaded with 8.1 Pro, joined to my Domain and working perfectly!

Not thrilled with MS/DELL on this though as it means that anytime I want to do this I'll have to downgrade to 8 first before I can re-upgrade to 8.1 (again though this seems to be the way MS want it now)


Sooo.. in summary, this tablet is well worth the 300 quid IMO but bear in mind that if like me you like to tweak and play with things, you will need a USB hub lying around and LOTS of patience!

imitation

Thanks for the review ! Have you gotten a chance to try this out performance wise, hows web browsing and flash heavy sites ?

I was all set to bit the bullet and buy a LG Pad 8.3 as an impulse purchase, but I just couldn't, as I already have an android tablet gathering plenty of dust. Then I realized these 8" tablets with windows even exist at these prices, and now I gotta have one !

_Kaiser_

imitation wrote: »

Thanks for the review ! Have you gotten a chance to try this out performance wise, hows web browsing and flash heavy sites ?

I was all set to bit the bullet and buy a LG Pad 8.3 as an impulse purchase, but I just couldn't, as I already have an android tablet gathering plenty of dust. Then I realized these 8" tablets with windows even exist at these prices, and now I gotta have one !

No lag at all. Browsing here on Chrome and no issues with anything I've opened. I also use a flash based streaming site and it runs perfectly. Ditto with streaming 720p/1080p movies over my network.

I installed Asphalt 8 last night which is one of the latest/demanding racing games in the Store and it's buttery smooth.

At the price point these new tablets are at now, I really can't see the point in paying similar money for a equivalent Android.. but that's me

imitation

Did it come with a free copy of office, or is that just a US freebie?

_Kaiser_

imitation wrote: »

Did it come with a free copy of office, or is that just a US freebie?

No it comes with Office 2013 Home and Student too. I already have an Office 365 sub anyway, but it's nice to get.

imitation

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

No it comes with Office 2013 Home and Student too. I already have an Office 365 sub anyway, but it's nice to get.

Sweet ! I have ordered one on impulse, the reviews online are excellent, but my bank decided to block the order as it looked suspicious, guess ill be spending tomorrow on the phone to dell

_Kaiser_

imitation wrote: »

Sweet ! I have ordered one on impulse, the reviews online are excellent, but my bank decided to block the order as it looked suspicious, guess ill be spending tomorrow on the phone to dell

I'm sure they'll be more than happy to help you spend your money

If you're interested, this is the cover I bought for it. Fits perfectly.

imitation

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

I'm sure they'll be more than happy to help you spend your money

If you're interested, this is the cover I bought for it. Fits perfectly.

Cheers, the dell one is fairly steep at 44 quid! I'll go for that one.

Did you try out the stylus ? I've heard its poor enough so I'll wait a while and maybe get a cheap one off ebay if they can improve it through software.

I'm really interested in this one, I have had plenty of forays into mobile windows, but its always been a bit disappointing (Windows mobile 6, First gen atom netbook) either in performance or with other limitations. This tablet though seems to address all the problems with rubbish performance, poor battery life, weight or incompatible OS's.

I took my netbook with me on my last trip and used it to backup all my photos from CF and upload them to dropbox. It was also really useful in hotels without wifi but that did have wired connections (i know the dell doesn't have an Ethernet port, but the likelihood of getting a cheap usb Ethernet adapter to work with windows 8 x86 is pretty high).

At the time I definitely couldn't have done it with android tablets, even now I would be a bit suspicious about how easy it would be. At the end of the day having a portable windows machine that you can add a bluetooth keyboard onto and just use as a full machine is massively useful, and I had no idea Intel had gotten off there arse and made a processor that seems to be this good.

I do wish they had put more usb ports and a hdmi out on it, but I think I'll manage without.

_Kaiser_

imitation wrote: »

Cheers, the dell one is fairly steep at 44 quid! I'll go for that one.

Did you try out the stylus ? I've heard its poor enough so I'll wait a while and maybe get a cheap one off ebay if they can improve it through software.

I'm really interested in this one, I have had plenty of forays into mobile windows, but its always been a bit disappointing (Windows mobile 6, First gen atom netbook) either in performance or with other limitations. This tablet though seems to address all the problems with rubbish performance, poor battery life, weight or incompatible OS's.

I took my netbook with me on my last trip and used it to backup all my photos from CF and upload them to dropbox. It was also really useful in hotels without wifi but that did have wired connections (i know the dell doesn't have an Ethernet port, but the likelihood of getting a cheap usb Ethernet adapter to work with windows 8 x86 is pretty high).

At the time I definitely couldn't have done it with android tablets, even now I would be a bit suspicious about how easy it would be. At the end of the day having a portable windows machine that you can add a bluetooth keyboard onto and just use as a full machine is massively useful, and I had no idea Intel had gotten off there arse and made a processor that seems to be this good.

I do wish they had put more usb ports and a hdmi out on it, but I think I'll manage without.

I didn't bother with the stylus myself, partly cause of the reviews on it but also cause I figured I'd manage without it and so far so good. Sure some of the Desktop stuff can be tricky to hit with a thumb but I increased the text size to 125% which has helped.

I've had a few Windows tabs already - Acer W500, DELL XPS 12 Duo and a Surface RT - but this is the first that has the balance of weight, battery life and OS right. You will need a USB OTG cable but once you have that you should be fine for peripherals. I've solved the mobile internet issue by buying a PAYG Wireless 3G hub which works fine with it.. I just leave it up on the window sill beside me in my office. Works grand

HDMI would be nice but I'll keep an eye on Amazon for a cheap Miracast adapter in the sales and that'll be me sorted!

wheresmybeaver

Looks like Dell have pushed out an update to fix the auto brightness issue. Or at least its a setting you can use to get better brightness at the expense of battery life. Another one of the disadvantages crossed off!

imitation

So I got my 64gb, was going to wait a few days after I had done a few interesting things with it, it was really shaping up well, but earlier today while uninstalling a program the Venue froze solid in windows, no response to power off, even after holding the button down for a long period of time. It displayed the same frozen desktop screen, turning off after about an hour, although it appears just the backlight has gone off, i can still see the desktop under a bright light, taunting me.

I'm going to give it the night for the battery to run down as a final hard reset , but to be honest it looks like its bricked. Im spitting nails, its like the 4th piece of electronics I have had flake out on me in the past year, it didn't even last 2 days, after waiting 2 weeks over the Christmas period to be delivered (not dells fault I know, but all the anticipation is instantly deflated now..)

imitation

Fortunately it seems after completely discharging it was possible to give my venue a brief charge and it booted up without issue. The event log says it was putting on windows updates around the time of the lockup, so I guess thats the possible cause. Still though its disconcerting to have wait 8 hours for a device to run out of juice to hard reboot it.

I was mashing every possible button last night to no effect, my only other choice would have been to open it and disconnect the battery. I actually left it in a baking tray last night just incase it was so out of whack that it overheated or completely discharged the lion battery.

Edit: Dead again on the 6th, Just getting back into marveling at how well it worked, when the screen flickered and the battery flat indicator starts flashing. Tried charging it, but its dead once again. I think I have a pup, not looking forward to running the Dell support gauntlet)

imitation

Back it goes to dell, 2 weeks for a replacement. At least the support guy recognized it was not something that could be fixed without a direct replacement. I was getting 7 amber flashes from the battery light, not sure if its an error code or a generic "battery flat" response. I think I'm just unlucky though, there aren't many widespread reports of the issues I was having.

_Kaiser_

Sorry to hear that.. have to say mine hasn't given any trouble at all so far. I've updated the panel firmware and it's on latest drivers etc though I left the BIOS at A03 as I gather A04 disabled a SSD /disk tweak

Am tempted by the new Lenovo already though. If I go for it this may get cascaded down

TBi

Quick question. I've been perusing the Dell site looking for the 64GB version but it seems it only comes in the LTE version. Is there anyway to get the 64GB without LTE? I'll be using my phone to provide internet on the go so LTE is an unnecessary expenditure.

EDIT: Is the stylus available in Ireland? I don't see it on the page, unless it comes with the case...

imitation

`You can get the business model if you like (like I did by accident, its about 30 quid cheaper, no office though.

If a 64gb miix 2 appears I think I would be tempted to go for that over the venue, I have a feeling ill be waiting a while for my replacement looking at stock levels..

TBi

I have a Office License so could be good, not sure how the warranty differs from a consumer purchase though.

Still can't see the stylus but seems like this is the non-LTE version.

EDIT: Found it: "(Temporarily unavailable)." I think i'll wait until that's available before i purchase anything, might be good to see how good the new lenovo is.

54kroc

TBi wrote: »

I have a Office License so could be good, not sure how the warranty differs from a consumer purchase though.

Still can't see the stylus but seems like this is the non-LTE version.

EDIT: Found it: "(Temporarily unavailable)." I think i'll wait until that's available before i purchase anything, might be good to see how good the new lenovo is.

If you are putting in an order don't get the stylus with anything else, It's a two month wait for it, order it separately if you want it.

imitation

So I got my Dell Venue back mid January, in fairness to Dell they didnt mess around once I had established it was not going to boot up no matter what. They gave me a replacement or repair option, I went with replacement which took a week longer but I think it was worth it.

I actually got in such a huff I brought a Nexus 7 2012 as a bargain while I was waiting, so that kept a lot of my tablety attention for January. Its also a bit less fragile feeling than the Dell so I was more eager to bring it about.

Anyway as a tablet its fantastic, its very fast and slick, feels "nicer" than android, the speed is no doubt down to the Baytrail Processor. Its actually faster than my i5 Windows 8 laptop, but I think thats SSD vs HDD for you.

The modern UI browser is very good and handles desktop pages and flash with ease, although its a bit tricky with the screen size. Stuff that needs click and hover like Boards drop down menus doesn't seem to work too well.

Apps wise its a bit boring, theres not too much in the Windows Store yet, the big ones like twitter and facebook are there I guess, but stuff like games in thin supply. Even Halo has only just been patched to work on the Venue.

Desktop mode is much better than expected as Microsoft have done stuff like drag to scroll and implemented the ribbon which makes using explorer much easier. This is a big plus for me as I want to use the Venue as a mini PC for trips abroad, so I can make sure photos are backed up.

I haven't tried stuff like Photoshop, I imagine it would work but be pretty fiddly. Keyboard and mouse would sort that though.

I tried out a few games, Civ 5 is probably the best one as it has touch screen support, it definitely impacts battery life though as its a modern enough game, but its perfectly playable. I also tried WoW, you need a keyboard and mouse though, there is no way to get it working with touch sadly. It is also quite playable, although there is a throttle on the baytrail which means if it heats up it will slow down, so you do see a performance hit 15 minutes in, but its still grand. The biggest problem is that its painful to use an 8" screen with a keyboard and mouse for any length of time, if it was touch compatible it would be that bit closer.

I got a bluetooth keyboard and mouse off amazon, they work perfectly and make it pretty much into a full windows machine (although one you cannot have usb drive and charge at the same time). I must try out a miracast adapter for the TV although I might wait and see, the quality seems really variable in them. I also got the ivseco case, which is a great job, its slim, looks the part and offers decent protection.

Overall I'm delighted with mine, although its a little held back by the keyboard and mouse nature of Windows Desktop, and by the fact the Windows Store is pretty empty.

PaulieC

just waiting on mine...getting a 2nd hand one.

_Kaiser_

Mine is now for sale up on Adverts only because I have bought an XPS 12 to replace my laptop - review of THAT coming next week

Wollwead

What about useable memory from the 32GB you receive as standard? The OS system I would assume uses a lot of physical memory space to start with yes?

Wollwead

Also, one more question. Do I NEED anti virus software seeing as this tablet has full windows experience?

PaulieC

Wollwead wrote: »

Also, one more question. Do I NEED anti virus software seeing as this tablet has full windows experience?

Windows has built in virus protection these days

imitation

The 32gb works out at about 12gb free out of the box. You can take off the backup image to save 5-6 gigs I think. I think the 64gb version is worth the extra. Antivirus wise, its probably advisable unless your doing very low risk stuff. Its a fast processor though, it comes with McAfee which is a slob of a program, using 200mb often, but it doesn't create a noticeable performance impact.

What I would say is, its been noted as a negative in a good many reviews that Windows 8 is vulnerable to viruses, what they fail to say is that android has plenty of virus issues also. Any popular platform is going to be a target, at least with Microsoft you'll have an awareness and hotfixes every month.

PaulieC

First thing I'd do would be to remove any third party AV apps. The built in AV is plenty good, I've never had a virus issue in 10 years and never had McAfee or any of that crapware installed.

TBi

I didn't know windows had built in AV. I know you can download windows defender for free. Did this change in windows 8?

PaulieC

Defender is built in to Windows 8

Down South

Ive been using it for a couple of years and no issues with performance or viruses

Wollwead

Ok thinking of going for 64gb version is this technically identical to 32gb version except for the obvious?! The reasons this tablet ticks all boxes for me is:

Full windows and access to ITunes.
Expandable memory
No need for laptop
Basic word, excel, e-mail access for home use

Does this sound like a runner for me?

Had originally considered surface rt but no access to iTunes and Surface pro too expensive

AlanS181824

I have to get a tablet for school next year, most people are getting IPads and I already have a Nexus 7, but for the price of €100 less I can get a full Windows 8.1 tablet... Decisions decisions… :P

PaulieC

AlanS181824 wrote: »

I have to get a tablet for school next year, most people are getting IPads and I already have a Nexus 7, but for the price of €100 less I can get a full Windows 8.1 tablet... Decisions decisions… :P

Could be just me, but the fact that most people are getting iPads would make me want to get something completely different

AlanS181824

PaulieC wrote: »

Could be just me, but the fact that most people are getting iPads would make me want to get something completely different

That's pretty much what I was thinking too. Fun being unique eh? On Android and IOS there are Edco and Folens apps whereas I'm not sure for the Windows tablet.

cas2kx

I terrorized Dell's sales chat because I hate paying shipping fee's and got a 32gb model for €280.55 instead of 300 now to go buy a good Micro SD.

PaulieC

AlanS181824 wrote: »

That's pretty much what I was thinking too. Fun being unique eh? On Android and IOS there are Edco and Folens apps whereas I'm not sure for the Windows tablet.

Do Edco and Folens not have websites that do the same thing so you can enjoy the proper experience rather than the sh1tty app version ?

On a related note, I finally go my Venue 8 Pro last night and da da da da daaaah, I'm lovin it! Off to buy some accessories now. Any recommendations for an OTG cable ?

_Kaiser_

PaulieC wrote: »

Any recommendations for an OTG cable ?

Here ya go - bought 2 of these and they work fine

PaulieC

looks like the one I ordered, thanks!

Wollwead

Folks do the Dell crew need to contact you by phone when you're ordering a dell venue pro 8? I've received a good quote from them by email but they're looking to do the order by phone

cas2kx

You can make payment using their web chat. Just to let you know I ordered on 24th of February and the estimated delivery was 10th but is 17th of march now due to "Unfortunately, the demand for the product you have ordered has exceeded our forecast and we need to revise the estimated delivery date given when you placed the order"

AlanS181824

PaulieC wrote: »

Do Edco and Folens not have websites that do the same thing so you can enjoy the proper experience rather than the sh1tty app version ?

On a related note, I finally go my Venue 8 Pro last night and da da da da daaaah, I'm lovin it! Off to buy some accessories now. Any recommendations for an OTG cable ?

I'm actually not really sure. I'm really considering this because after having an iPhone 5 and hating it, I don't really want to be spending more money on the crApple ecosystem!

PaulieC

AlanS181824 wrote: »

I'm actually not really sure. I'm really considering this because after having an iPhone 5 and hating it, I don't really want to be spending more money on the crApple ecosystem!

well it's a full version of windows, so will run all existing win32 apps. Been using mine for 5 days and I find it great, I might buy the pen though

Wollwead

How does one go about purchasing the pen/stylus, straight from Dell or go with generic Amazon? Thought I heard the stylii (?) are pretty scarce for the venue pro.

Looking at ordering a case soon also from Amazon, not too sure where to go mental and include Bluetooth keyboard in the case also.

Wollwead

The tablet is due to reach me on March 17th. Got a nice deal on the 64GB for €370. Also have a 16GB micro SD card gathering dust at home so plenty of physical memory out of the box. Popularity is really growing with this tablet. Probably just what the market needed TBH.

imitation

Wollwead wrote: »

How does one go about purchasing the pen/stylus, straight from Dell or go with generic Amazon? Thought I heard the stylii (?) are pretty scarce for the venue pro.

Looking at ordering a case soon also from Amazon, not too sure where to go mental and include Bluetooth keyboard in the case also.

If you get a generic stylus it'll just be a finger emulator, you need the dell one for the hover feature, right click button and improved accuracy.

Wollwead

Got an e-mail from Dell today, expecting my venue pro on March 20, explaining hugely unexpected demand. Looking forward to testing it out!

Wollwead

I've already bitten the bullet and invested in the dell folio case/bt keyboard combo even tho I haven't officially received the tab yet. Got a deal on amazon for the case and keyboard at £69 delivered. It's not often I spend money on myself these days but I think I'm losing the run of myself here;)