Packaging:
Dell isn't going to win any rewards with the packaging. While it isn't unpleasant, nothing about the white slipcover screams interesting, exciting or note worthy. It blends into the sea of tablets and computers that have followed in Apple's shoes regarding the mostly white packaging. The front and back shows the tablet's appearance while listing some features and specs. Once you slide off the cover, you reveal a lightly-colored cardboard box with a very basic white tablet design and Dell logo. If the cover didn't exist, the packaging would be slightly more unique. Upon opening, the Venue 8 Pro is wrapped in typical plastic shielding that most tablets come in.
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Included Accessories:
3-foot USB cord and power adapter. Must I say much more?
Optional Accessories:
Dell offers a keyboard, case and active stylus on their website. I do not currently own any of them, though the stylus certainly is intriguing to me. If I buy any of them, I certainly will update this section.
Design:
While looking at the tablet, you feel...nothing. It is a rather plain black rectangle with rounded corners. The side bezels are about 1/3 as big as the top and bottom bezel. On the front upper right, you can see the front-facing camera and some type of notification light. I am not sure what exactly the light is for considering it doesn't light up when I get emails. It also doesn't operate like a typical HDD light on a desktop or an always lit up "On" light. It does light up when using the camera, but I can't fathom that being the only use.
The back includes the 5mp camera in an ever-so-slight hump, silver plastic (I assume) Dell logo and a grey "intel inside" logo (thankfully it isn't a sticker). It is textured with with a circular ridge pattern that provides some needed grippage. No grippage isn't in the dictionary.
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The top edge contains the "Start" button and the headphone jack. I quickly discovered that the "Start" button is next to useless. In portrait mode, I find moving my hand to the top to be more motion than a basic operation should require. In landscape, I had to bend my index finger more than I wanted on a repeated basis. Swiping from the right and tapping "start" is more comfortable and quicker. The left edge is blank. The bottom edge contains a service number sticker and a speaker grill. The right edge has the micro USB charging port, power button, volume rocker and micro SDcard slot. The USB port is in an awkward location right next to the power and volume rocker. When charging and using the tablet, it blocks the natural motion of your finger to those buttons. Also, the cover on the card slot is harder to remove with your hands then it should be, though it won't be something your messing with too often.
Screen:
Venue 8 Pro's screen does a fantastic job, even if the 1280 by 800 resolution doesn't exactly sound amazing. Everything appears to be crisp, even text in desktop mode. Images and videos are displayed wonderfully. Is it quite as crisp as the newest Nexus 7? No, but you will not begin to notice the difference unless you are using both at the same time. Viewing angles are up to par with any tablet I have owned, not losing much color or brightness even at the highest angle. Contrast is very solid, though I wouldn't mind the blacks to be darker. Brightness is plenty once you turn off "Adaptive brightness." Responsiveness and accuracy provides a great user experience. In desktop mode, hitting small objects with my finger was fairly easy, just as good or better than tablets like the Nexus 7 2013, Nexus 7 2012 and Fire HD. I also never felt like I was waiting for objects to move when dragging my finger.
Sound:
Initially I noticed the single speaker grill, and I had flashbacks of tablets of days past in which volume sound and quality was mocked even by smartphones from a few years ago. I then turned on a few Youtube videos to find the sound volume and clarity to be quite acceptable. It doesn't have much bass, but does any tablet? There also isn't going to be any illusion of stereo/surround sound. If you want this, grab your headphones.
Cameras:
I'm not a camera snob, but, well...they are pretty bad. I have yet to use a tablet that took pictures worthy of even Facebook. All I will say is use your phone, considering most newer smartphones have pretty good cameras.
Performance/Heat/Battery:
This isn't the netbook Atom processor from 2007. It also isn't the sluggish Tegra 3 processor that haunted the Surface RT. This is a quad-core Atom looking to improve it's reputation. The Dell Venue 8 Pro is able to easily handle any metro app I have used up to this point. I can switch between browser tabs with ease, both desktop and metro versions. Controlling snap view doesn't slow down performance either.
I just opened and switched between Youtube playing a video, The Verge website, WPCentral website, MS Word, the Store installing Halo, Skype and desktop version of Chrome without any slowdown or loading delays. Color me impressed. It also hasn't felt like the 2gb of RAM is holding it back. I wanted to test play Halo: Spartan Assault but something with the game didn't agree with the resolution. It looked and acted like a jumbled mess.
The device had some warmth to it when doing some more processor and SSD hungry things, but never got hot. At no point did I think I would need to put it down do to the device being uncomfortable. With this my first fanless, intel-based device, I was glad this never became an issue.
I have never been able to tell battery life on devices well considering my consumption habits change all the time. I will say this though: it feels like I am getting just as good or better life than other tablets of similar size. Dell states 8 to 10 hours, though I am sure I keep my screen brighter than when they tested this. No matter what the actual number is, it is long enough to compete with the less functional ARM based OSes.
Windows 8.1:
I could write an entire review on the OS itself, but you can already find a million of those across the internet. I will cover some quick points though. It is easily navigated in an all touch environment like the Venue 8 Pro. 95% of things the average consumer does with a tablet can be done extremely easily in Metro view. This being the case, I still am very glad to have a desktop and FULL Windows. The ability to install other browsers is a big enough reason to go Windows 8 vs RT. This should also allow companies to adopt devices like the Venue 8 Pro considering they can use old software until more touch friendly versions are created.
Snap view on devices less than 1080p can only have 2 apps open at once. This doesn't bother me considering any more would make the screen way too busy. Microsoft added a new feature when opening a new app while already having two apps open in snap view. The new app's logo appears in the center of the screen and waits for you to touch which app you want to replace. Not automatically replacing an app is one of those small design changes that makes me love 8.1 every time I use it.
Venue 8 Pro also comes with the Home & Student version of Office. Microsoft is currently working on a more touch friendly version which will be very welcomed. That said, I hope that it is just a optional view and not a replacement. To start using it, you do have to activate the software by entering the product key. I wish this was done automatically, though far from a deal breaker.
When upgrading my desktop to Windows 8.1 to 8, I was presented with a few tips on how to use the OS. When first starting with this Dell, I didn't get those same helps. I'm not sure why, but these need to be there to help your average consumer.
My single biggest complaint revolves around settings. While many of the basic settings can be altered using PC Settings, too often I find myself going into the old-school Control Panel to get the heavy lifting down. All settings should be available in both touch and click environments, with the typical control panel being hidden on devices like this.
One issue I had out of the gate was a watermark appearing on my desktop that said "SecureBoot isn't configured correctly". These are one of those things that shouldn't happen on a brand new device. I am not sure if it is a wide spread problem, but I'll bet I'm not alone. After about an hour of frustration, I was able to find a solution. I created a thread this thread to help others: Fixing "SecureBoot isn't configured correctly" watermark issue.
Should you buy?
To me, the only advantage iPads and Android tablets have compared to Windows 8 tablets is touch-based apps, which mostly center around consumption activities. The Dell Venue 8 Pro can stand on its own just fine in every category besides touch based games. Are you most interested in playing the latest fad game? Get an iPad or Android tablet. Want a tablet to do anything else? Jump on the Venue 8 Pro when you can, esp. with the $299 price tag. It won't blow you away with sexy good looks, but it will allow you to do what you want quickly, easily and enjoyably.
