Dell Venue 8 Pro 5000 Series 32 GB Windows 8.1 Tablet

I am gonna start off and say that the Dell Venue 8 Pro is probably the most portable and most functional tablet computer I have ever owned and at the price I got it, it is practically unbeatable spec wise. With the full windows 8.1 OS, my use for this is practically limitless and its portable enough I can hold it in its keyboard case in one hand with ease. Without a case or with a slim case the tablet is light and easy to grip the back is non slip and you don't have the feeling that its just going to slide out of your hands. I bought this to replace my over sized ASUS laptop which was just awkward to carry and required a large computer bag to transport and boy this puts it to shame in terms of portability and ease of use. First thing I do when I take the tablet out of the box is apply a screen protector (boy was that a pain...but that's another review), I was not about to trust the scratch resistance and strength of glass which for the price of the tablet is probably not as strong as its $500+ dollar counterparts. Then because its a windows computer, after setting up my user profile I started the first round of major updates, the second, and finally a few less important ones. Then I went into the my dell application and ran system check to verify everything was checking OK with windows, after all the tests passed I went to the dell update page to update device drivers. This is the part that most people don't seem to understand fully, this is not your average tablet, its not an android. You have to update it and maintenance windows constantly, that's the cost of having the convenience and functionality of windows (some people will disagree with me on that part). I installed the latest WiFi drivers, updated the dell software, and updated the bios to A08 (originally A04). The my dell application is very useful with its own checkup (cpu, ram, emmc, battery, etc), link to drivers, backup manger, and links to windows settings to help the user better set the look and feel that works best for them. Now for use, I recommend using IE11 (i know) as your primary web browser because it has the the windows 8 touch interface, it is the easiest to use on the touch screen unless you are going to be using a mouse or stylus more. The quad core atom processor inside provides more power than you would expect from a 200 dollar tablet, at 1.8 ghz. It is also a true quad core, not a dual core with multi threading. The 2 gb of ddr3 memory is enough for multitasking and windows 8 being much less demanding than win7 is plenty for office work and web browsing. Opening applications on this is quick and and there is enough free ram that can be used to open multiple applications simultaneously, even running the split screen I didn't experience any lag. I can have 10 tabs open in IE and quickly swap applications and it remains fluid. Now when it runs clocked at 1.8 ghz for an extended period of time you will notice one corner of the device start to get pretty warm (being fanless) but it is able to keep its temperature within a reasonable level. Gaming on this tablet will probably be limited to light flash games and low demand games off the app store or steam but I didn't get it for gaming. Now for a con, I'm sure everyone knows this and probably knows when ordering but when you receive the tablet, with the OS, updates, and office you are left with only 10-11 gigs of free space. Most (non app store) applications you install will need to be manually pointed to the micro SD for installation and storage. I bought a sandisk extreme plus micro SDHC with an 80 mb/sec read/write so that the tablet will be able to more quickly load applications. Link below. Another con is the overly erratic auto brightness adjustments, I had to disable that (I'll get a desktop widget or icon to quickly adjust the brightness manually). They could have picked a better location for the windows button too rather than at the top of the device but I'll get used to it. The touch screen at times can be touchy and a few times it has registered one touch as two. The battery has a decent amount of stamina, probably average for a tablet this size, while just browsing the web and general use of the tablet. Charging it on the other hand is very very slow, probably takes a few hours to go from 20% to 90%. I have noticed some battery drain because sometimes the audio driver prevents the tablet from going into standby, muting it fixes this, hopefully they have a patch soon. The dual a/b micro usb port too feels very fragile, I am terrified because the latches on the micro usb connectors are all WAY too tight. I am afraid I will accidentally break the port, pins or the little plastic piece holding the pins, even though its inconvenient, verify that you are connecting it properly and do not yank the cable out of the device. Also, there's only one port so you cant charge and use a usb peripheral unless you buy a special expensive adapter, link below. Also the port only supports usb OTG (on the go) cables. I highly recommend buying a case for this tablet, it does not boast being drop or shock proof, it may survive a few on its own but not many, also its less than 200 dollars. The tablet itself feels sturdy in your hand and its light weight design makes it comfortable to hold. For a case I bought the Finite Keyboard Case with the magnetic Bluetooth keyboard, opened up this tablet looks like a miniature laptop that's more difficult to use in the lap but doable and its up to 60% smaller than a full sized laptop. All in all, the Dell Venue 8 Pro is an all around fully functional Windows 8 tablet PC and at its low price their are few that can compete with its specs. This is directed at Amazon, I am slightly frustrated that I bought this when it went on sale for $230 only to discover that the day I receive it (2 days later) the price dropped to $199. UPDATE (8/2/2014): I have been using the tablet for about a week now, still getting used to the size of the UI and the tiny keyboard that came with the case. Currently trying to figure out a battery leak that occurs during standby, its not a hardware issue with the tablet I just hope dell releases a patch for it so I do end up doing all the work. I have not broken the USB port yet, thankfully, I figure as long as I'm careful and don't try to force it in the wrong way I shouldn't have anything to worry about. If you feel like you may have issues plugging it in properly, mark the side that faces the screen with whiteout so you see it when plugging it in. The micro USB port is rated for 10,000 disconnects and reconnects and I realized that my kindle fire has the same port (and I used to plug and unplug that like 3 times a day). The port is kind of tight still, I hope it loosens up with use. Pros: *8" Capacitive 10 point touch screen *Functionality of windows 8 *quad core intel atom processor w/ 1.8 ghz boost *Bluetooth 4.0 for multiple peripheral connectivity *lightweight *long lasting battery *front and back facing cameras *Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 included Cons: (most of these can be ignored for the price) *Inconvenient windows button location *Still some bugs to work out *Fragile and tight micro usb port *charging speed *only 1280 x 800 res display *after the OS, office and updates only 10 gigs of storage space remain Device Specs: *Dell Venue 8 Pro *Dim - 8.5 x 5.1 x 0.35 inches (216 x 130 x 9 mm) *Windows 8.1 32 bit *Intel Atom quad core CPU w/ 1.8 ghz boost *2 GB of DDR3 RAM *32/64 GB of integrated eMMC storage *8 inch IPS HD 1280 x 800 res, 189 ppi LCD (LED lit) display; 10 point capacitive touch screen *Long lasting battery, 8-10 hours *0.87 lbs *wifi b/g/n dual band WiFi w/ Bluetooth 4.0 capability *micro usb a+b port (doubles as charging port) *volume up/down buttons *Micro SD expansion slot *built in speaker and microphone *5 mp rear camera/ 1.2 mp front facing camera *Accelerometer for orientation, Compass, and AGPS (WiFi assisted GPS) Useful Accessories: Fintie Blade X1 Dell Venue 8 Pro (Windows 8.1) Keyboard Case - Ultra Slim Shell Stand Cover with Magnetically Detachable Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard (Only Fit DELL Venue 8 Pro Windows 8.1 tablet) - Black SanDisk Extreme Plus 32GB MicroSDHC UHS-I Memory Card Speed Up To 80MB/s With Adapter, Frustration-Free Packaging- SDSDQX-032G-AFFP-A SanDisk Extreme Plus 64GB MicroSDXC UHS-I Memory Card Speed Up To 80MB/s With Adapter, Frustration-Free Packaging- SDSDQX-064G-AFFP-A EEEKit Office 3-in-1 Kit for Dell Venue 8 Inch Pro ASUS Transformer Book T100TA-C1-GR Windows 8.1 Tablet, Micro USB B 5Pin Male to USB A Female with Angle Adapter Host Mode OTG Cable + 3 Port USB Hub + 2.4G Wireless Mouse Black +Port: USB + Power at the same time for mobile devices (solution for the inability to charge and use the USB port at the same time)(I have not purchased this yet)

True iPad killer is here if you don't really enjoy Apple ecosystem. I stream movies and musics as files from my own server, without any DLNA or AirPlay in between, that so I get the full strength of everything. This is something only a Windows tablet could do. Pros: - Powerful. It is a x86 CPU with two cores, with a decent graphic engine. I play COD 6 on it and it is smooth. - Light weight. Lighter than iPad, but more powerful. Heavier than some same sized Android pads, but a similarly powerful one never existed. - Good screen. The screen is of course not as decent as Retina. But for its size and general use on it, the resolution is high enough. Also the color is very good, bright and vivid. I've seen better on professional displays, but this is only a tablet. Except resolution, the screen is pretty much up to 1st Gen iPad Mini. - Long lasting. Unless you get to run a bunch of close-relative-of-computer-virus software on it, its battery lasts longer than 6 hours. That's 6 hours of time you have it turned on. I carry it with me all day and use it occasionally, and it lasts 2 days for me. - Full strength of Windows 8.1. Although haters are going to hate Windows, but for an average user, it means everything familiar is runnable on it. Productivity stuff like PowerPoint and Excel runs smoothly. Photoshop is running OK on it, only that the limited RAM size cause it to panic time to time. - Don't forget it is fundamentally a PC. You can wipe the system and install Ubuntu. Or Android. It can virtualize an Android for sure. When did you see a tablet run another OS inside its own OS? You can connect a lot of things to it, like an printer. You'll need a USB HOST cable to connect your old non-wireless printer that comes with a proprietary driver. No other kind of tablet else can, like a twice expensive iPad. Also, although not for everyone, you can install Computrace (Computer LoJack) on it and worry less if you lost it. And more to it, it is Dell, that means your Computrace is not possibly be wiped out. Alright enough with all the sweet talking. Cons: - Battery. Though this applies to every tablet. If you play a game on it you get much less battery life, like about less than 2. But it is the bottom line. - No MHL. You need an USB Video card to connect to external display, or a Mira supported wireless display adapter. None of them is cheap and decent at the same time. - Sound. The speaker is not too good. It is quite reasonable to expect no bass, because of its size. But there is popping sound and trembling when volume is high. It is better than most Android pad, but clearly no match with an iPad. - Cannot charge at the same time using USB OTG. Weird design, I wonder if it is fixable by BIOS update or driver update. However this only applies to you guys with a Y-cable which is physically possible to do so. - Stupid placement of physical start button and power button. Power button is too close to volume rocker, I make wrong moves all the time. Very annoying. And you don't get a delay trigger kind of power button (like on an ThinkPad, you press and hold for a very short while to trigger the button action), so it is quite easy to interrupt whatever you are doing when you try to move it. It is okay if you are doing Office. It is very not okay if you are skypeing with your friends. Start button is too isolated to everything. It is on top side (as the orientation is designed to be, because that side could be any side if you turn it around). I usually cannot find it at once without looking. Windows 8.1 is easy enough to perform such actions, why not just add some functionality buttons? - Structure design minor flaw. If you press the bottom side (again, the supposed to be bottom side) seam, it squeaks a little bit. I owned three of this (2 being gifts to my parents and friend), all three of them does this. Wrap up: If you are more comfortable with Windows, this is the smallest and yet decent thing running Windows 8.1. It is affordable but comes with amazing power. It runs smoothly just like your desktop. I could not be more strongly recommending this tablet to you. If you are looking for a laptop / desktop replacement, you'd better go with Venue 11 Pro or Surface Pro (1 and 2). It's lack of expansions will make your life harder. If you are an Android / iPad lover, consider this: I play COD6 on this tablet. If you don't like to use mouse, you could play Civilization. I play it too. If you are swinging between this, Lenovo Miix 2, and Acer Iconia W3, here's my opinion (based on very limited knowledge): Miix 2 sucks in screen, Iconia W3 sucks in overall build quality. Thank you for reading this.