Dell Venue 8 Pro

$250 is what the 32 GB is on Amazon, 320 for the 64 GB model. For what this is those prices are pretty impressive, I wonder what the margin is on these things and what Microsoft's deal is on the Windows and Office license, it must be pretty low on these devices.
 
Wouldn't that be awesome. I was surprised at how quickly the price on this came down, it's never generally sold it's MSRP and the 64GB has sold for less $300 during the holidays. I would love to know how many of these Dell has sold. I have no idea if the number would look or bad, though I would suspect it wouldn't be bad but maybe not that good. I'm genuinely curious.
 
Well the actual bill of materials for these devices is quite low. You can tell there was cost cutting as well such as no video out, something available even on cheap devices like the Nexus 7.

Intel has basically revealed they are using "market development funds" to promote Bay Trail among device makers. This isn't just a per chip subsidy as well but includes helping to offset one time costs like development costs.

Microsoft no doubt is helping to offset the software costs. There is no way they are asking the full costs for Windows 8 and Office for example.

The other large cost would typically be the digitizer but I suspect Synaptics was chosen for cost reasons. Wacom I suspect would likely more likely want to charge higher.

Otherwise the screen is relatively low resolution, albeit likely somewhat offset by being 16:10.
 
BillNutz said:
Not sure if posted, but Microcenter has this tablet for $199 (32gb) & $249 (64gb)

http://www.microcenter.com/product/422081/Venue_8_Pro_Tablet

Does anyone know of a good docking solution for this tablet or any other tablet in its class?
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It doesn't really have any ports to dock, and it can't charge at the same time as USB OTG devices are connected to it anyway AFAIK. Are you mainly looking for a stand to use while charging or something else?
 
Wow, crazy pricing. Yeah, there really is no straightforward way to dock the V8P and charging while other peripherals are attached can be done but there's no off the shelf solution to do so right now. There is a company called Pluggable that supposedly has something in the works specifically to connect a V8P to power and external monitors simultaneously, not sure when that's going to come to market.
 
CEpeep said:
It doesn't really have any ports to dock, and it can't charge at the same time as USB OTG devices are connected to it anyway AFAIK. Are you mainly looking for a stand to use while charging or something else?
Click to expand...

I was hoping to have a real docking station with a full size monitor and KB+M for desktop mode.
I saw this http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-UD-3...hernet/dp/B00ECDM78E/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
Does anyone know if it'll at least charge when not in use while docked?
 
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heatlesssun said:
Wow, crazy pricing. Yeah, there really is no straightforward way to dock the V8P and charging while other peripherals are attached can be done but there's no off the shelf solution to do so right now. There is a company called Pluggable that supposedly has something in the works specifically to connect a V8P to power and external monitors simultaneously, not sure when that's going to come to market.
Click to expand...

Do you know of another tablet in this class that has better docking support? or am I looking at these tablets wrong?

I'm hoping to get one of these for my 8 y/o daughter as an iPad alternative.
Tablet mode for leisure and casual use, docked for desktop mode with external monitor and KB+M for school work and research.
 
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BillNutz said:
Do you know of another tablet in this class that has better docking support? or am I looking at these tablets wrong?
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Yeah, you should probably get one with an HDMI port and a USB OTG port that supports charging out-of-the-box if you want to dock and use an external display. Lenovo Miix and Toshiba Encore have HDMI ports, not sure on the USB OTG/charging deal. Anything lacking an HDMI port is going to be mediocre at best when plugged in to an external display (since you either need to output over USB 2.0 or 802.11n). If docking to an external monitor is part of your everyday use case, you should strongly consider something with HDMI instead of the Venue 8 Pro.
 
BillNutz said:
Do you know of another tablet in this class that has better docking support? or am I looking at these tablets wrong?

I'm hoping to get one of these for my 8 y/o daughter as an iPad alternative.
Tablet mode for leisure and casual use, docked for desktop mode with external monitor and KB+M for school work and research.
Click to expand...

If you're not looking for a digital pen you can look at the Toshiba Encore and the Lenovo ThinkPad that have HDMI out.
 
Microcenter has the 64 gig for $250 or the 32 gig for $200 in store pickup only.

During lunch I will be picking up my 64 gig one. Now to get the active pen somehow :/
 
$250 for the 64 GB is amazing, that's $50 less than the MSRP of the 32 GB when it launched just over 3 months ago. The pen has been trickling out here and there, still can't order it from Dell's site but the listing that had been taken down is now back up.
 
I am so glad my friend called me last night since he knew I was on the edge of buying this vs waiting for Asus.
 
If you get a good pen, and hopefully that get's worked out with the redesign, inking on this this is pretty decent. It won't be as good as the Wacom in the Asus but I've been pretty pleased with the results after the firmware updates.
 
I got hit with the bug where if you turn off wireless and it suspends and you go to turn wireless back on it will not. Known problem of MS patches installed in wrong order :( All because I said hey I might as well turn off wireless right now to save on battery some.

Had to uninstall two patches reboot, enable wireless again and then installed 3 patches in the correct order.

So you guys might want to check yours out and patch it correctly before it hits you at a bad time.
 
mngl1200 said:
I got hit with the bug where if you turn off wireless and it suspends and you go to turn wireless back on it will not. Known problem of MS patches installed in wrong order :( All because I said hey I might as well turn off wireless right now to save on battery some.

Had to uninstall two patches reboot, enable wireless again and then installed 3 patches in the correct order.

So you guys might want to check yours out and patch it correctly before it hits you at a bad time.
Click to expand...

I got this too (or something similar) but fixed it by turning off WiFi in the BIOS and then booting to Windows, rebooting and enabling WiFi again. YMMV.
 
I'm getting a much larger tax return than I planned this year, so I was very heavily considering spending a small chunk of it and grabbing a Dell Venue 8 Pro. Especially with all of these sales. I was about to place an order, in fact, but now I'm looking at the ThinkPad 8 which is going to be shipping soon. I just can't say no to an 8" IPS LED display that does 1920x1200.

I've also heard fairly convincing claims that with the settings turned down sufficiently far, Civ 5 is actually playable on the Venue 8 Pro. Has anybody here tried it? I'm hoping with the newer, faster hardware the ThinkPad 8 will make this even more realizable.
 
First of all congrats on the unexpected "windfall".;) There's several videos on YouTube demoing Civ 5 on the V8P here's one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSgHdoAGba8. Civ 5 comes up a lot with these 8" Windows 8.1 tablets because it's a good game with a touch mode, not my speed but the impression from YouTube and people just reviewing the device in general is that it works well.
 
I did not know Civ V was good with touch. I will have to give it a try since I just got the Humble Bundle with it.
 
Here is the link to tabletpcreview.com where some people added the second usb port to the Dell Venue 8 Pro. They are using the second usb port to put a 128 gig usb drive internally in the empty space next to the battery.
 
so has anyone had trouble playing media files, such as Hi10P, locally or from a network share?

also, is the current gen pen good enough for note taking in a college setting?

Thanks!
 
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mycomputersucks said:
so has anyone had trouble playing media files, such as Hi10P, locally or from a network share?

also, is the current gen pen good enough for note taking in a college setting?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I play movies just fine from my NAS using XBMC, others are using Plex just fine.
I also use Media Player Classic to play local files.

I do not have the Rev A01 pen yet, still waiting on it.
 
reviews from just 2 weeks ago claim that dell is still shipping the faulty stylus hardware. will another non-dell active stylus work on the Venue?
 
Anybody find a way to use the usb port to go to a docking station and charge at the same time yet?
 
Finally got a working replacement pen from Dell today. Surprisingly accurate. Only thing I could complain about would be pressure sensitivity... but that is about the only place I notice it really performing poorly compared to wacom.
 
FYI, I ordered a new case that should be in today or tomorrow:

61J9fGr9Y7L._SL1500_.jpg

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HH0ZDKS/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
$8 for a faux leather case with pen loop and little pockets was too good to pass up. Looks a bit nicer than the chinese crap (not saying this isn't) that looks the same between so many companies (i.e., IVSO and Fintie).
Will post impressions when it comes in.
 
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Can you actually run current-gen games (Skyrim, etc.) on this thing if you run them at the lowest settings?
 
Modred189 said:
FYI, I ordered a new case that should be in today or tomorrow:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61J9fGr9Y7L._SL1500_.jpg
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HH0ZDKS/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
$8 for a faux leather case with pen loop and little pockets was too good to pass up. Looks a bit nicer than the chinese crap (not saying this isn't) that looks the same between so many companies (i.e., IVSO and Fintie).
Will post impressions when it comes in.
Click to expand...

Any update on the case quality? Starting to use my DV8P on the go more and would like a well built solution at a good price.
 
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Megalith said:
Can you actually run current-gen games (Skyrim, etc.) on this thing if you run them at the lowest settings?
Click to expand...

Pretty large thread over at TabletPCReview on how well it handles games.

I haven't tried any on mine yet, but check youtube for games like Starcraft, Civ 5, etc. I remember there being a lot of ppl trying modern games and recording them when it first came out.
 
Deinos said:
Any update on the case quality? Starting to use my DV8P on the go more and would like a well built solution at a good price.
Click to expand...

I love it.
First, let's be clear, it's not an expensive case. That said, I carry it around every day in an outer pocket of my backpack, commuting on a train, and I use it around the office for note taking and document viewing, with periodic Hulu/netflix sessions when doing dishes at home. It's a plasticy leather, and as a result, dings and dents add some flavor to it, and minor scuffs self-heal a bit. The pen loop hasn't worn down or gotten loose (nothing worse than a loose loop for your pen). And the little pockets inside the cover don't seem to mark up the screen at all (I don't use a screen protector).
It does get warm under extended use, as it has no venting and the leather/plastic is a great insulator, but the tablet's never overheated, so it doesn't seem to be an issue.

So far, I've been very happy and if I were to somehow screw it up, I'd probably buy another.

Add to the list of approved accessories the E-Thinker bluetooth keyboard.
http://www.amazon.com/E-THINKER-Portable-Wireless-Bluetooth-Protector/dp/B00CPITW2W
It's meant for an iPad mini, so shares its dimensions, but works fine with the DV8P. Now, that means it's a little shorter than teh dell, but it covers the screen well enough. It's not a superb keybaord, but if you want a good clamshell keyboard for emergencies, it's hard to beat for $25.
 
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Megalith said:
Can you actually run current-gen games (Skyrim, etc.) on this thing if you run them at the lowest settings?
Click to expand...

You can, see the thread posted above.
It's just not a great experience. The screen's awfully small, and you'll either need a bluetooth keybaord and mouse combo, or a bluetooth gamepad (SO expensive!) or a mini-USB->USB converter, sticking out of the device at weird angles.
Metro games work fine (Halo Spartan Assault works no issues anymore).
 
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