Preorders live for the Dell Venue 8 Pro, starts at $299 and ships next week

A little over a month ago, Dell surprised a few of us in the tech community by reviving the Venue branding for a product. It’s not a Windows Phone or Android smartphone, but instead a new family of tablets. There's the Dell Venue 8 Pro, an 8-inch tablet running Microsoft’s Windows 8.1 operating system. Dell now has full pricing and pre-orders up on their website. Details below.

The Dell Venue 8 Pro certainly looks like one of the more appealing tablets running Windows in the 7 to 8-inch space. Earlier this week, Lenovo announced the Miix2 tablet, which appears to be similar in specs to the Dell Venue 8 Pro. Here’s what you’re getting for $299 with the Dell Venue 8 Pro:

Intel Atom 1.8GHz quad-core processor (Z3740D)
Windows 8.1 (32Bit)
32GB of storage
2GB of RAM
8.0 inch IPS display (1280 x800)
802.11n WiFi + Bluetooth 4.0
5MP rear camera, 1.2MP front facing camera
Office Home and Student 2013 Tablet Edition
10 hours of battery life

That’s what the base $299 gets you on the Dell website. You can upgrade to 64GB of storage for an extra $50. There are also two other configurations, one will get you a case for the Dell Venue 8 Pro, while the other includes the case in addition to an “active stylus”.

This tablet is shaping up to be a killer device on paper. We won’t know how it performs until we get our hands on it. You can pre-order today (link below) and the devices are set to ship out on October 25th.

Anyone thinking of getting this little tablet for just $299? Looks to be a pretty compelling consumption device.

Source: Dell (opens in new tab)

Thanks for the tip Steven H!

236 Comments

Dude, I'm getting a Dell.
Me too dude.
Me too, but I do not see an option to choose red color. Wasn't there a black or red choice reported before?
Black is the new black!
Btw does this have an ssd?
It's either 32 or 64 gb of flash storage. So in a nut shell, yes.
It's not SSD, but eMMC (or however you call it).
It's not SSD, but rather eMMC...similar to flash-based SD cards or flash drives. True SSD is usually found on more robust/expensive laptops and desktops.
eMMC is still solid state. Solid state simply refers to the storage medium being not a spinning hard drive, eMMC is the interface.
Yes, because it is easy as Dell.
I would prefer the 8" display vs. a 10" but how is this going to compare to the Asus T100? Seems like the T100 is a better deal.
It comes down to the stylus for me. But I also like the clamshell keyboard of the Asus. It is a toss up for either one. But in my opinion I am liking the dell more.
I'd rather have the greater portability and active stylus over an attached keyboard. An 8" form factor is VERY nice. I can even fit it in the back pocket of most of my jeans (just don't try and sit with it back there). Also, if you are like me and have a job where you're on the go alot and need to move from one place to the next, an 8" form factor is much easier to handle especially when you're holding it in one hand.
Was kind of hoping to see full pricing and specs on the Venue 11 Pro to compare to Surface 2 and Surface 2 Pro. I guess this is still in the future. I think that the 10.8" is the tablet form-factor for me.
I would be curious to see how much more Dell Venue 11 Pro would be when upgraded to corei5 compared to Surface 2.
I still just want a Surface 2.
I would buy this for sure!
This looks really great. I will wait for some performance reviews :)
Sure wish the surface 2 had full Windows and not RT
Surface pro?
I am sure the price is the issue; i have a surface rt and love it but these other tablets are very compelling for the price since they have full windows on them
I just wish the Surface 2 had an active digitizer and perhaps 10-point touch screen, and I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
Yeah, me too. I'd consider getting a tablet without x86, but not without a pen.
Don't know if I want full Windows on Atom. Concerned about longer term as more and more things are installed and dragging down the CPU. For me it is Windows on Corei5 (or better) or Windows RT on ARM.
The new Atoms are a major upgrade from the previous generations; Intel thinks the Silvermont core (used in the Atom CPU Dell's new tablet is using) is fast enough that they'll be putting it in some Celeron and Pentium branded chips.
I wish this Venue 8" had RT and I would buy it.
I don't get this. Yes it might slow down, but only if you install bunches of x86, and no more than if you'd installed only metro. If you use it as a tablet and only use metro, it will be much nicer than many RT tablets, with the flexibility of running any x86 app when you want. And as long as you aren't installing anything crazy, it won't slow down. IO performance on eMMC will be nicer
Full Windows on a 8" tablet ? Nah... RT or no deal.
For me its about the added codec support of the x86 platform.
I have the Surface RT and love it for all of it's work/business applications, but its so limited in video format playback capability - truly sad that MS put so much into the thought and design, but left out just that little bit of flexibility for codecs and some 3rd party hardware.
I see the Surface 2 as the Surface 1.5 - it can't do anything that the Surface RT can't already do - nothing (and faster isn't an example of more).
As for the 8" tablets, I need to see side by side comparisons of the Dell, Lenovo, Acer etc before I decide on an 8" - but I'm certainly buying one asap!
I'm not buying anything until I see what Nokia announces
Agreed. But if Nokia's tablet is RT then Dell or Lenovo win
Nokia's tablet will (extremely unfortunately) definitely be RT.
^^^ This!
I love RT, I just don't see why I would want x86 on a tablet. At that point wouldn't I just buy a laptop?
Why by a laptop when a tablet is just a laptop with the keyboard as an option?
What's the appeal of being able to run less stuff and have less powerful hardware in the same form factor?
Ask the masses who bought an ipad
Not the same. There is no Mac tablet that costs the same price as an iPad.
Like I've mention earlier, if RT/ARM had open video/audio codec support I would be super excited to buy the Nokia.... But until their is broader support for more codecs (especially Media Center WTV) then I need something a little more flexible. :-(
If the Nokia with Snapdragon 800 chip came out 6 months ago or if an AMD APU based "RT" Surface was released I would have purchased it in a second.
Totally agree. an 8" tablet should have gps capability. and off-line map support. after trying the second generation of nexus 7 for the past month, i can say that the offline capability of here maps is better then google. I hope they bring that to their rt tablet. What's interesting is the dell venue (android) tablet has the same intel chip, with built in GPS, however the venue 8 pro does not. It seems that they went for "productivity" with the digitizer stylus, and mapability with the android tablets.
either way, i purchased a venue pro this morning, and should get it by Oct 29. but I still want to see what a nokia tablet will have...
According to dell the Dell Venue androids are Dual core. And the Dell Venue Pro 8 is Quad Core. Specs at the bottom of webpage.
http://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/19/campaigns/dell-venue-tablets-dhs-us
ah, right. but they're both running baytrail. does having a duo core mean they can use the other 2 slots for a gps radio chip(i know nothing of what this chip looks like or how it functions)? I'd just assume them put a gps in both the venue and the venue pro...
Naw the CPU socket doesn't really affect whether GPS is available or not. At least from what I know in ARM cpu's it is up to the manufacture (dell) to simply pay extra for the GPS integration (I know that's how Qualcomm works) so maybe they just simply went and paid the extra buck for the quad core and sacrificed the GPS. Its a shame either way, its 2013 I don't think that sort of sacrifice should be made anywhere period.
Actually the NON Pro (ie the Android ones) are the old Clovertrail Atoms, so they are going to suck.
The Windows 8.1 are Bay Trail.
I just preordered this baby. It was a toss up between this and the Lenovo Miix 2 (8 inch).
Me too! Aesthetically, I could not stand the faux metal/chrome trimmings of the Miix2.
Also, Miix2 doesn't have an active stylus.
I love that part of it. I think it looks better than the dell especially the cover they are using.
More pictures of the Dell Venue 8 Pro with the case. You can't find these pics on any other tech blog. This page was burried deep in Dell's website. http://www.windowscentral.com/e?link=http2F2...
Oooh, I wish I had seen this earlier. Looks like I will need to get one somewhere down the road to protect this new toy!
Nice find!
The case is the eaxt same case as the xps 10 except smaller. I have the xps 10 and I love the case.

PS 8.1 on the xps 10 makes it almost like a completely new tablet.
I would love to follow this device into January and see if Dell post some sales numbers. Cant really find any complaints on paper at least. Hmm I am going with my girl tonight to get her a new Windows 8.1 laptop (nothing past 450$) she is not a tech head so that's all she cares to spend... and this comes to mind but she wanted a laptop... I guess it will come down to screen size really. Anywho, anyone care to inform me of any other differences between this machine and lets say a 450$ portable laptop with 11-13 inch screens??
It's smaller and more portable. This Dell is more of a consumption device (although you could do some limited productivity things with a bluetooth keyboard). If you want something that can also be used a productivity tablet, check out the Dell Venue 11 Pro.
^^^ This!
Although, dell made a pretty good desktop dock for their former tabs. If they make them capatible with this tab, I think the 8" is definitely the way to go.
I would make sure the laptop is touch screen. Otherwise, its not much of a comparison.
Why wait for sales numbers it doesn't matter what everyone else likes.only what you like
Agreed, I don't get the logic of buying something like this based on sales. Reviews, yes, but sales - no.
Good sales = good support. Bad sales = null support. It is that simple.
I'm sure most users of this site know more than most support agents I never by tech with the hopes of support firmware will be updated for a few months at least so should be stable buy than and ms does the os part.
No guys you completely misunderstood me lol I first stated that I would love to see the sales numbers of this device by January (just curious to see how much they sell) I then said that I would be buying my girl a new laptop TONIGHT lol not in January :P
How does it compare to the new Acer W4? Will you be doing a comparison/rundown?
Or better yet, a comparison with the Lenovo Miix 2! http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/16/4845064/lenovo-miix-2-press-photos
Question! Does anyone know if the 10" tablet will stand like a laptop with the full keyboard base attached? Or does it require a kickstand of some sort? As much as I love my Surface Pro, my biggest complaint is the need to use the kickstand when in my lap or setting it down on a surface (usually meaning the viewing angle is terrible). Again, not trying to bash the Surface, and I know the second gen is adding the two-step kickstand. But I prefer a freestanding device.
What 10" tablet are you talking about? The Dell Venue 11 Pro? That one is 11".
Oh, right. 11" then. Haven't checked on it since I read the initial announcements.
Check this out: http://i.dell.com/sites/doccontent/corporate/secure/en/Documents/dell-ve...
I like those docks!! Hmm..
BOTH THE KEYBOARD AND THE DESKTOP DOCK ARE NICE! I WISH THE 8 PRO WOULD BE COMPATABLE WITH THE DESKTOP DOCK THOUGH. I THINK DELL MADE A MISTAKE NOT INCLUDING THAT.
It looks good but the rest of the world needs to wait a month.
Would get it if it has full USB3 port. I guess I will wait for Surface Mini so Microsoft can show these lazy OEMs how its done.
Not putting a full USB port on a Windows tablet, really?
And you know MS is putting a full USB port on theirs?
I guess we'll see.
The xps10 had a dongle for full USB. Say don't want dongle but if you plug USB in isn't that on a cable anyways
A usb Flash drive is not on a cable.
Y'all ever get the felling that some people can't be satisfied.
Surface Mini will be running RT (Snapdragon 800) unfortunately...
More than likely RT but snapdragon 800? Where's your proof? or who's your source?
Well, the consensus is that it will not be another Nvidia Tegra - their commitment to use 2 generations of Tegra is over (according to reports) and while it may not be the 800, it will most definitely will not be another Tegra and now that TI is out of the picture, that only leaves Qualcomm and Nvidia.
Snapdragon 800, quad core lower speed is my guess...
Even WinRT support most USB devices, so a full USB port on it would be very useful as well.
Although it sounds ridiculous, I'd trade my headphone jack for a full 3.0 USB port on my 920.
Amen!!!
LOL, if you compare the new Surface 2 and 2 Pro to the first gen Surfaces, then they are lazy and only worthy of a a revision 1.5 - not 2.0!
Then compare this years 8.1 tablets to the same companies last years tablets and many of them would put them at v2.5 or 3.
So while I truly
This or lenovo miix2? Btw, does it has hdmi output?
Neither have HDMI out, but the Toshiba encore and the Acer W4 do.
According to their online support it supports miracast though.
If you have an Xbox and a few others just pull up the charms bar hit share and any windows 8 machine will play the content on that device
I'm debating myself. The Miix is thinner and lighter, but the Dell suppossedly has active stylus support. I did read on another forum a user reporting he was at a Dell event and had some hands on time with the 8. He said the stylus performance was pretty disappointing.
The Dell does come out first which is a major plus.
That's disappointing about the active stylus.
Quick question, is Nokia supposed to reveal the quarter results tomorrow?
No, they moved it to October 27th (or maybe it was the 25th).
Thanks
I ordered mine this morning at 9 am. I got the bundle with the foilo and pen. I also upgraded the storage to 64 gb. Without taxes it costed $419.
Will a micro usb to usb otg adapter work. I'm looking at the one from eForCity?
Windows RT killer
LOL +1
Already preordered mine!
Will wait for Lenovo and Bay Trail
The Venue 8 Pro has Bay Trail.
Argh... every day I see a new one that I want. THIS might be the one! Although I originally wanted a Surface 2, I don't know that the sleekness and design is worth the extra moolah... (as long as performance on the lower end model is adequate).
So this is Clover Trail while the Lenovo Mixx 2 will be Bay Trail? Or did I fail at life? Haha
You failed. Both are Bay Trail.
Ohh, your right. Thx.
Too slow!!!
The new bay trail atom processors have pretty solid stats when ranked against other chipsets in the mobile market. Nobody is making a full W8 tab in an 8" size with the higher end intel chips. If you want more performance, you need to go with a 10" or larger tab.
Atom that is!
Full windows or rt??
Full windows with Office Home & Student.
Windows 8.1 (32Bit) Do you think this is Windows RT?
It's full Windows 8.1 not RT. If it was RT, it would say Windows RT in the specs
Can you repeat that? I didn't quite catch it.
They dropped the rt branding
They dropped it for the surface, not windows.
This has full Windows 100%
Microsoft is the only company now that uses Windows RT[With surface 2], all other OEMs have dropped support for it as it does not make sense when they can give Full Windows at a low price point.
Except if you are selling into Fortune 500 or other companies and government agencies that require securing their intellectual property/devices.
If a device has x86/64 Windows, it is more likely to be hacked.
I can see many business directly benefiting from RT devices rather than x86.
Does the case come with a keyboard?
No. The keyboard doubles as a cover, but it is not available for ordering right now.
Aww
Nope :( so far only Lenovo with the Miix2 has nailed it right in the head. Lenovo said take that SONNNNN.
"The optional smart cover ($20) with a stylus rounds out the Miix 2."
is there much difference between Z3770 and Z3740? will we be seeing 8inch tablets with Z3770?
Its a small incremental increase of like 100Mhz from 1.33Ghz to something like 1.4Ghz, and the Z3770 can support up to 4GBs of RAM and has a slightly larger bandwidth. Noticeable? Probably not.
The base clock only goes from 1.33GHz to 1.46GHz, but the turbo goes from 1.86GHz to 2.39 GHz. That's a pretty big change, especially considering the likelihood of being on turbo. Memory is differentiated between the Z37X0 and Z37X0D models, D has single channel/2GB while non-D has dual channel 4GB.
Put the $5 more expensive chip in and I'll pay you $25 more for it.
Haha...Bob, you are crunching way too many numbers :-) At the end of the day I don't believe the standard user is really going to notice the difference in turbo boost speeds. Remember that this is mostly a media consumption device with some capabilities of being slightly productive and not a workhorse machine. Considering that the majority of these 8" tablets will only come with 2GB RAM, and none of them will even be user replaceable. I can see where the Z3770 supporting dual channel memory can be beneficial on a small notebook with expandable options. For tablets of this size? I think it's a mute point :-)
Moot.
Haha you beat me to the comment. I said the same thing below
ok thanks for the specs info.
I'M RIGHT THERE WITH YOU. I WOULDN'T USE THIS AS JUST A MEDIA CONSUMPTION DEVICE. I DON'T USE ANY SUPER DEMANDING PROGRAMS, BUT IF I HAD THE MORE EXPENSIVE CHIP WITH 4GB OF RAM AND A DESKTOP DOCK, I WOULD BE ABLE TO COMPLETELY REPLACE MY WORK AND PERSONAL LAPTOPS.
My ears!
Lol!
This is exactly what I need to know before purchasing!
There is a huge difference for the following reason: this D processor only supports single channel memory (much slower than the 3770s dual channel), less ram, a significant decrease in terms of clock speed (500mhz difference I believe), among other things. I was really eying the dell venue but they went cheap on the atom.
shouldn't they sell one with the Z3770 ?
Yeah they should deff consider an upgrade down the road, maybe right before Christmas come out with a spec increment. To call this a 'Pro' machine, they should have gone with the Atom Z3770 or at minimal the Atom Z3740 which still has 64-bit dual-channel 533 MHz LPDDR3-1066.
I just ordered mine at 10am PST, and it is estimated to be delivered on 10/23! I got the stand-alone 64GB version, and made my decision based on two penchants. The Dell's microSD card slot supports SD/SDHC/SDXC up to 128GB, whereas all the other upcoming tablets indicates up to 32GB. Although these tablets are geared more towards the portrait orientation, I will be using this mostly in landscape mode. It is nice to see that Dell doesn't brand their logo or Windows button/key on the front of the screen like the others e.g. Toshiba, Lenovo, and Acer. The only branding that is present happens on the back of the device. I can't wait until next week to get my toy...woohoo!
I ordered mine at 9 am EST. I got a 11/8 date. Why? I did order the tablet/folio/pen bundle.
Not sure. Did you order through Dell Home or Dell Business? I see that the Business division has a ship date of 11/8, while the Home division has a ship date of 10/25. I just checked the status of my order and it is in "SHIPPED" mode, so that means it is on its way to the carrier. Shortly after that I should get my tracking number. I haven't been this excited in getting a new gadget in a very long time!
I also paid $335 for the stand-alone 64GB version (no bundle). Received a discount of $15, plus another $15 was waived for 2nd day delivery through the Dell Loyalty Program.
I used Dell Home. When I ordered this morning it had a ship date of 11/8. I checked my status. I will get the folio and pen on 10/29 and the tablet on 11/8. I think this is a case of jumping to early does not help.
Oh, I'm sorry :-( I noticed this morning that the dates were shifting up or down depending what options were placed...that's why I just did the stand-alone and upgraded to 64GB of storage.
Still not sure how well full Windows performs on an Atom...but the price is good to say the least.
Remember that these tablets are made to be mostly media consumption devices but can also provide some simple productivity tasks. In the "modern UI" environment they run extremely fluid and fast, while in the "desktop" mode they are every bit capable of running iTunes, Firefox, Word, etc. at reasonable speeds. Don't expect it to perform like an i5/i7 processor...those are reserved for workhorse systems.
I have a Clover Trail atom tablet(Samsung 500t). Works quite well. I have done small Programming projects with visual studios on it. And I also run Age of Empires II HD from steam on it occasionally. It works surprising well. And for anything media or Office it is fantastic at. The Bay Trail atom is even better. The Bay Trail will work great.
thanks!
how well does sql server run on it please.
Hmmm.. That's soemthing I don't remember I don't have that installed on it or visual studios anymore. If you plan on doing programming a lot I wouldn't make an atom device your main device. It works decently for portablility. I did programming for a class I took. It was small little projects. When you get to doing a larger project it can slow down. For an average windows user this works great. But for a Developer or programmer I advise not making this your main device. But it could still be beneficial.
thanks a lot for responding! I am considering to use it as my main win 8 dev machine. Since bay trail is so much faster, paired with faster memory, I wonder if it will suffice. It could be so awsome...
Is it going to be available at Best Buy soon? I want to use my Surface trade-in gift card for that.
time for me to order one
How fast are these compared to the new RT devices based on Tegra 4?
I saw a benchmark on the ARM processor and Intel (can't remember where), and the results were pretty tied with the Intel being about 20% faster in certain areas such as multi-tasking processes but everything else they were about the same.
About the same on CPU. Tegra4/Snapdragon800 have a faster GPU.
Already delt with these idiots with the Dell Venue Pro. Avoid these people like the plague. The two worst built devices I have ever owned were toss up between am Archos and this. Neither company wanted to do anything to make it right and in the end, essentially dumped lemons on their costumers.
Have you actually tried the Dell Venue Pro 8 yet? I mean it was just released. Don't knock it until you try it.
Dont have to. I know what they did with the Dell Venue Pro. And I now know that if they have major hardware problems with a product, that they will just turn their back on it and stick it to the consumer. Not going down that road again, and I strongly suggest to anyone that is looking at this, that if you have the money, go elsewhere. I'm not saying it is going to have issues, but track record shows that if they do, they will leave you high and dry.
Wheres the LTE version? Was hoping to order one of these for a family member but the LTE is a must
with windows 8.1 ability to link to your phone to start its internet sharing, this is less of an issue for me.
Just ordered it with case and pen but says shipping Nov 8
Fiasco I went through with the dell venue pro windows phone (I know, a phone vs a tablet) turned me off to dell for good lol. This tablet however does look good
Said the same.above. Good for you. They think we as consumers have a short memory. That left such a bad taste in my mouth.
What did they do to you?
I actually liked the DVP, the only device that stand out of crowed at that time.
I like 10" display more, I have an 8" and a 10".