Dell launched a new tablet series called Venue. There are two devices the 8 inches one and the 7 inches. We like the 8 inches and we are going to compare it with other Android tablets. It is not the fastest tablet of the market and it has not the best screen or the best battery but it’s a Dell and it has a really low price with good specs. So the rating is good compared to other older devices. This is a new device and we like it.
SCREEN
Dell Venue 8 has an 8 inches screen with 189 pixels per inch. This is a moderate screen (with 800 x 1280) that will not impress the high end users but it’s good for the masses. Of course it cannot be compared with the great Nexus 7 screen with 323 pixels per inch. Dell Venue 8 has the same screen as Samsung Galaxy Note 8 but even older devices like the old Nexus 7 have better screens (because the screens are smaller). Dell has also the same screen at the smaller version, Dell Venue 6. Not impressive but it can work.
CAMERA
Dell has a 5MP camera as a main camera in Dell Venue 8. The best camera right now can be found in Sony Xperia Tablet Z, it’s an impressice 8.1MP camera. You can find better cameras in Asus Transformer TF700T and Sony Xperia Tablet S too. Sony is a photo company, Dell is not. But Dell Venue 8 has also a front camera of 2MP that is great for video chat. You will rarely take photos with your tablet but it is sure you will video chat with friends and family. So you need the front camera more than the main camera. That’s why this 2MP camera on the Dell Venue 8 is a good idea. Only more expensive devices have better front cameras like Sony Xperia Tablet Z with the 2.2MP front camera.
PROCESSOR
While premium smartphones are mostly quad cores, it is not the same for tablets. New tablets are still dual cores and that’s why the price is so low. Dell Venue 8 has a dual core processor at 2GHz and 2GB of RAM. It is enough to have enough power for browsing, playing games and multitasking but what will happen in the next two years? Will you have enough power? If you need a most powerful device, try the quad core Nexus 7 or the two Sony devices and Asus Transformer. But bigger processors come with bigger prices and Xperia S and Transformer TF700T have 1GB of RAM and RAM is essential in speed as well as the cores.
BATTERY
Dell Venue 8 has a 4100mAh battery that is moderate. We would like a bigger battery but a 4000mAh battery is the average. Even quad core tablets like Nexus 7 have a battery of 3950mAh. And cores need power. All the 7 inches tablets have a 4000mAh battery (Nexus 7, Galaxy Tab 2, Galaxy Tab 3) and Dell is no exception. We would like a bigger battery from a computer PC company like Dell. We know this company can make the change.
SOFTWARE
Dell Venue 8 comes with Android 4.2. It’s not the latest Android version but it can do the job. Older devices like Nexus 7 have the latest Android versions and this is a reason to select them. Dell launched in October their new products and in the next month we are going to get the newer version of Android so Venue will have an older version. I don’t think the company will update the Android version like Google will do for Nexus. The truth is the difference between Android 4.2 and 4.3 are not that big but why choose something new when it has an older Android version?
SIZE & DESIGN
Dell Venue 8 is not the most slim device but it is one of the lighter. An 8 inches screen tablet is a device you can take with you when out. So you need this device to be as portable as possible. Venue 8 weights 350g when other 7 inches tablets weight 340 (Samsung Galaxy Tab 3) or 345g (Samsung Galaxy Tab 3). The latest Nexus 7 weights 290g and is also slimmer (8.7mm) compared to the 9.8mm of Dell Venue 8.
VERDICT – should I buy this device?
Dell launched two versions of Android tablets, two devices with small screens (Dell Venus 8 and Dell Venue 7) and small prices. It’s good to take a Dell product because you know the engineers have done their job. It’s bad that these devices are not game changing but at that price we can understand that. They are not the best in their field but they have a good price and they are Dell. Isn’t that enough for you?
1. If you want a low budget tablet for your wife or kids, buy Dell Venue 8
2. If you are between Dell Venue 8 and Nexus 7, buy Nexus 7, it worth the money.
3. If you want the best extra portable tablet your money can buy, buy Google Nexus 7 tablet or Samsung Galaxy Note 3 phablet (huge screen, one of the best devices)
COMPARISON CHART
| Spec | Dell Venue 8 | Compared to: | with spec: | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | 189 | Google Nexus 7 | 323 | 59% |
| Camera | 5.0 | Sony Xperia Tablet Z | 8.1 | 62% |
| 2nd camera | 2.0 | Sony Xperia Tablet Z | 2.2 | 91% |
| Processor | 2 * 2.0 | Samsung Galaxy Note 8 | 4 * 1.6 | 63% |
| RAM | 2000 | Samsung Galaxy Note 8 | 2000 | 100% |
| Battery | 4100 | Google Nexus 10 | 9000 | 46% |
| Thickness | 9.8 | Sony Xperia Tablet Z | 6.9 | 58% |
| Weight | 350 | Google Nexus 7 | 290 | 79% |
| Android | 4.2 | Google Nexus 7 | 4.3 | 86% |
| Release Date | 2013-10 | - | Today | 100% |
| Our view | 75% | - | 100% | 75% |
| AVC rating method | Best price | Total Rating | 74.3% |