Dell Venue 8 Pro

[IamDavid]

Windows 7 on a tablet? What's the point? Buy a Laptop.

its odd how people are so different. I love the 11.6" win8 tablets. everything else seems cheap and awkward. still got one of these based on everyone's recommendations.

 

[cronos]

its odd how people are so different. I love the 11.6" win8 tablets. everything else seems cheap and awkward. still got one of these based on everyone's recommendations.

I thought that's exactly what he said. Windows 8.1 on a tablet is fine as its interface is designed for touch. Windows 7 however, will be terrible on a small tablet.

 

[EvilYoda]

Even though I got excited by the Lenovo Thinkpad 8, I looked up the Venue 8 Pro on microcenter.com just for fun and my local store had an open-box for $159...

Looks like I'll be picking up a cheap tablet on Monday. It'll be my first venture with Windows 8, not to mention a new tablet...still rocking my HP Touchpad at the moment, although it hardly gets touched.

 

[bearxor]

Windows 7 on a tablet? What's the point? Buy a Laptop.

As far as I'm concerned, at this level, there is no functional difference between a tablet and a laptop. This IS a laptop.

I thought that's exactly what he said. Windows 8.1 on a tablet is fine as its interface is designed for touch. Windows 7 however, will be terrible on a small tablet.

The DV11P checks a lot of boxes for us. Highly portable. Great battery life. Great performance. Nice keyboard. Larger than 10" screen. USB port. Wireless WAN.

The company just isn't ready to support Windows 8. Maybe next year. With Windows 7 installed it will function just like a regular laptop when the keyboard is attached.

 

[jacktesterson]

Returning mine tomorrow. Didn't know the Galaxy TabPro 8.3 existed.

Reserved one to pick up tomorrow. 8.3 inch 2560*1600 screen, KitKat and Snapdraggen 800

Sold

 

[EvilYoda]

Got home today and picked up my Venue 8 Pro on the way - played with it for an hour and so far I like it. Quite a learning curve for me since I've never used Windows 8 before. I was able to get MC to knock another $10 off since it didn't have the charger in the box so I ended up getting it for $149 plus tax.

 

[dlock13]

Returning mine tomorrow. Didn't know the Galaxy TabPro 8.3 existed.

Reserved one to pick up tomorrow. 8.3 inch 2560*1600 screen, KitKat and Snapdraggen 800

Sold

Really? The main draw of the Venue Pro 8 is the fact that it is running full blown Windows with support for x86 software. You don't have to use dumbed down app versions and can use the internet to its fullest extent.

 

[vi edit]

Really? The main draw of the Venue Pro 8 is the fact that it is running full blown Windows with support for x86 software. You don't have to use dumbed down app versions and can use the internet to its fullest extent.

While that's true..."Dumbed down app versions" can actually be A MUCH better tool than the web page. Zillow and realtor are perfect examples of that for me. I can't even use the realtor website without it crashing on IE when scouting properties. Same with Zillow. Using the apps on my phone it's a very smooth, easy to perform task. Too bad neither of those have Modern apps.

Same thing with the Fantasy sports apps through ESPN/Yahoo. I like using the apps more than the web pages.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

Got home today and picked up my Venue 8 Pro on the way - played with it for an hour and so far I like it. Quite a learning curve for me since I've never used Windows 8 before. I was able to get MC to knock another $10 off since it didn't have the charger in the box so I ended up getting it for $149 plus tax.

great deal...until you have to recharge it

 

[ChronoReverse]

great deal...until you have to recharge it

Is there a problem with the charger?

 

[Red Storm]

Really? The main draw of the Venue Pro 8 is the fact that it is running full blown Windows with support for x86 software. You don't have to use dumbed down app versions and can use the internet to its fullest extent.

x86 desktop apps do not work well on an 8 inch device. They are designed for precision mouse input, not finger tapping.

 

[jacktesterson]

I have been using the Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 all day and I'll be honest. Its in another league. (and price reflects that) But I also mean Android is just a better O/S on a tablet of this size. Its easier to use, quicker to get to things you need, and has a ton more of useful apps.

I gave the Windows Tablet a try. If your buying it based off the desktop touch experience, I think your going to be disapointed. Even using Chrome I could hardly ever get the Favorites bar menu to recognize my touch. Things like that. It's meant for a mouse.

I found myself always using the Tablet version of Internet Explorer because it was so much easier to use. (and its very fast browser - Its actually a good experience)

The other noticeable difference was the screen. Don't get me wrong, the Venue 8 has excellent colors and clarity, but I came from a Nexus 10 before this which died, and once you have that high PPI its hard to go back.

 

[bearxor]

While that's true..."Dumbed down app versions" can actually be A MUCH better tool than the web page. Zillow and realtor are perfect examples of that for me. I can't even use the realtor website without it crashing on IE when scouting properties. Same with Zillow. Using the apps on my phone it's a very smooth, easy to perform task. Too bad neither of those have Modern apps.

Same thing with the Fantasy sports apps through ESPN/Yahoo. I like using the apps more than the web pages.

Have you not used the Zillow Modern app?
http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/zillow/24a191a0-8a8d-4abd-9d77-2f41e8f2a3c8

 

[EvilYoda]

great deal...until you have to recharge it

Uhhh, any old tablet charger works fine. My Touchpad charger works like a charm.

 

[Necrolezbeast]

maybe it's the updated touch drivers I've installed, but I exclusively run desktop chrome on my Venue 8 and NEVER have issue with touch. Sometime I wish I could zoom in when clicking on a page of a thread, since those numbers can be pretty small... but as for the browser itself, I've never had it not register touches to any controls or favorite.

 

[fr]

I've had it for a month and it's meh. It has sat in a drawer for the last couple of weeks.

Sometimes I just want to watch YouTube vids on a screen larger than my phone. Well there is no official Modern YouTube app. Doesn't work in modern IE because there is no flash. Using a desktop browser, with no touch controls is a pain in the ass. I gave up when the YT player volume was set too low and I couldn't "hover" over the volume icon to drag the slider.

Modern IE is too dumbed down to be useful. No "find on page" function?

I have a very hard time using desktop mode with my finger because all the buttons are so small.

I used it to watch a few movies using the Xbox Video app. It doesn't support all formats and VLC is not touch-friendly yet.

It just proved to me that Windows 8 is a failure as both a desktop and tablet OS.

 

[cronos]

Uhhh, any old tablet charger works fine. My Touchpad charger works like a charm.

This is irrelevant to your specific discussion but your Touchpad charger is something special, it is not just 'any old' charger

It is rated the highest among several other tablet chargers in the past few years.

 

[jacktesterson]

I've had it for a month and it's meh. It has sat in a drawer for the last couple of weeks.

Sometimes I just want to watch YouTube vids on a screen larger than my phone. Well there is no official Modern YouTube app. Doesn't work in modern IE because there is no flash. Using a desktop browser, with no touch controls is a pain in the ass. I gave up when the YT player volume was set too low and I couldn't "hover" over the volume icon to drag the slider.

Modern IE is too dumbed down to be useful. No "find on page" function?

I have a very hard time using desktop mode with my finger because all the buttons are so small.

I used it to watch a few movies using the Xbox Video app. It doesn't support all formats and VLC is not touch-friendly yet.

It just proved to me that Windows 8 is a failure as both a desktop and tablet OS.

YouTube worked fine for me in the Metro version of IE - but I have set YouTube on my account to always be HTML5.

I honestly thought flash worked in the Metro IE though. I don't have it to test now.

I had no issues with the browser. I found it very fluid.

I think the device has potential - but its just not optimized as much as it needs to be at this point - especially desktop mode.

 

[bearxor]

I've had it for a month and it's meh. It has sat in a drawer for the last couple of weeks.

Sometimes I just want to watch YouTube vids on a screen larger than my phone. Well there is no official Modern YouTube app. Doesn't work in modern IE because there is no flash. Using a desktop browser, with no touch controls is a pain in the ass. I gave up when the YT player volume was set too low and I couldn't "hover" over the volume icon to drag the slider.

Modern IE is too dumbed down to be useful. No "find on page" function?

I have a very hard time using desktop mode with my finger because all the buttons are so small.

I used it to watch a few movies using the Xbox Video app. It doesn't support all formats and VLC is not touch-friendly yet.

It just proved to me that Windows 8 is a failure as both a desktop and tablet OS.

Do you want to sell yours?

 

[jacktesterson]

Do you want to sell yours?

I returned it to the store as I was within the 14 day return window. Brought home a Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 inch. 2560x1600 and Snapdraggen 800, with Samsungs new UI. Much better experience.

Edit: I'm an idiot. Thought this post was at me.

 

[ChronoReverse]

YouTube worked fine for me in the Metro version of IE - but I have set YouTube on my account to always be HTML5.

I honestly thought flash worked in the Metro IE though. I don't have it to test now.

I had no issues with the browser. I found it very fluid.

fr is wrong. Since we're talking about Windows 8.1 Pro and not RT, Flash works in Metro IE AND there's a Find on Page feature

 

[bearxor]

fr is wrong. Since we're talking about Windows 8.1 Pro and not RT, Flash works in Metro IE AND there's a Find on Page feature

Yeah, I wasn't really going to bother with that. Flash even works in RT in Modern.

I will agree about the 'Find on Page' not being completely obvious. I have serious problems with the usability of IE in Modern, just from an organizational standpoint. Like tabs. But I also don't like the implementation in WP8 either.

I don't think VLC is that difficult to use via touch. There's even XBMC if you wanted to do that instead.

 

[gorcorps]

I've had it for a month and it's meh. It has sat in a drawer for the last couple of weeks.

Sometimes I just want to watch YouTube vids on a screen larger than my phone. Well there is no official Modern YouTube app. Doesn't work in modern IE because there is no flash. Using a desktop browser, with no touch controls is a pain in the ass. I gave up when the YT player volume was set too low and I couldn't "hover" over the volume icon to drag the slider.

Modern IE is too dumbed down to be useful. No "find on page" function?

I have a very hard time using desktop mode with my finger because all the buttons are so small.

I used it to watch a few movies using the Xbox Video app. It doesn't support all formats and VLC is not touch-friendly yet.

It just proved to me that Windows 8 is a failure as both a desktop and tablet OS.

WTF? Youtube works fine on the 8.1 browser and it has a find on page option... swipe from bottom edge and tap the wrench icon, it's right there.

Sounds like all of your problems are your own doing, quit blaming the device or windows for your own ignorance.

 

[imported_brandon]

Hate to semi-necro a thread, but has anyone had trouble installing metro apps from the Windows store on their Venue Pro 8? I keep getting a variety of errors, a different one every time, usually.

I tried doing a ton of googling, changing settings, resetting things, clearing the windows store cache, to no avail.

I also want to stop SkyDrive syncing from a "new" install, since I want to start completely fresh and anew. Is there a way to do so without having to not sign into my MS account?

 

[ControlD]

Hate to semi-necro a thread, but has anyone had trouble installing metro apps from the Windows store on their Venue Pro 8? I keep getting a variety of errors, a different one every time, usually.

I tried doing a ton of googling, changing settings, resetting things, clearing the windows store cache, to no avail.

I also want to stop SkyDrive syncing from a "new" install, since I want to start completely fresh and anew. Is there a way to do so without having to not sign into my MS account?

I had a lot of problems downloading apps as well. Every time I would try to install something it would just say "pending" forever, so perhaps it was a different issue. In any case, this is what I did to fix it:

(1) From your charms (swipe in from the right) select "Search"
(2) In the search box, type in "Troubleshooting" and select the top option
(3) This will flip you to the classic desktop with a control panel window
(4) Select "Fix problems with Windows Update"
(5) It will run once and not find anything.
(6) Choose "Try troubleshooting as an administrator"

When I did the last step, I was given the option to repair windows update. After this and a reboot my store was working as it should be.