Hands-on: Dell ups its game with new Android and Windows 8.1 tablets

Dell's Venue 8 and Venue 10 tablets are Intel-powered tablets running Windows 8.1, not Windows RT.

To date, Dell hasn't been particularly invested in the tablet market. It has dipped its metaphorical toes in the water with Windows tablets like the Latitude 10 and the Windows RT-running XPS 10. There are some less-successful experiments in its more distant past, but so far the company hasn't jumped in with the enthusiasm of PC-making competitors like Asus, Lenovo, or even HP.

Today Dell expanded its efforts in the tablet market, launching a total of four tablets under its resurrected Venue brand. The tablets address a wide swath of the potential market—two run Android, two run Windows 8.1, and they range in screen size from seven inches to nearly 11—and they all use Intel's CPUs rather than chips from any of the major ARM partners. We got a chance to go hands-on with each of the tablets after the company's announcement today.

The two Android tablets, the 7-inch Venue 7 and 8-inch Venue 8, are competent but uninspiring. Both tablets share the same 1280x800 resolution IPS displays, which is in line with other budget Android tablets but short of the 1920x1200 displays in tablets like the 2013 Nexus 7 and the new Kindle Fire HDX. Both tablets are encased in sturdy plastic and run on Intel's older Clover Trail+ Atoms rather than the new Bay Trail chips—the 7-inch version uses a 1.6GHz Atom Z2560 and the 8-inch uses a slightly faster 2.0GHz Z2580. Both processors are dual-core chips with Hyper-Threading enabled, and both tablets run their near-stock Android 4.2.2 reasonably smoothly. While Dell alluded to future KitKat compatibility during its presentation, the company isn't ready to discuss update plans with any specificity.

Each tablet also includes optional LTE connectivity, 2GB of LPDDR2 RAM, 2.4GHz-only 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.0, and a GPS. The Venue 7 comes with 16GB of storage and the Venue 8 comes with either 16 or 32GB, and both sport a microSD card slot for storage expansion.

Both tablets have rear and front cameras. The Venue 7 uses a VGA front-facing camera and 3MP rear camera while the Venus 8 bumps the front camera to 2MP and the rear camera to 5MP.

The good thing about both tablets is that the price is right—the 7-inch version starts at $149 and the 8-inch version at $179—but neither tablet has a "killer feature" that would recommend them over the Nexus 7. If you're really looking for an Android tablet in this size and general price range, the newest Nexus 7 is worth the extra cash. Both Android Venue tablets will go on sale October 18th.

The more interesting Venue tablets are the ones that run Windows 8.1, particularly the 8-inch Venue 8 Pro. We're still looking for a really great small Windows tablet after the disappointing Acer Iconia W3, and at least at first glance, the Venue 8 Pro seems like it could get the job done.

Like the Android tablets, the Venue 8 Pro is limited to a 1280x800 IPS display, which at 189 PPI isn't particularly crisp but features decent color and good viewing angles.

Everything on the inside of the tablet gets a significant upgrade, beginning with a new Bay Trail-based 1.8GHz quad-core Atom Z3740D. Bay Trail should offer significantly upgraded CPU and GPU performance over older Clover Trail and Clover Trail+ tablets, potentially helping the Venue 8 Pro out especially when running Windows desktop apps.

Like the specs, the general build quality is good but not exceptional. Both tablets are backed with a smooth (but not slippery or glossy) plastic, and with the exception of the Intel branding on the back they feel like plastic Android tablets in the vein of the original Nexus 7 or Asus' newer Memo Pad HD 7. The Venue 7 weighs 0.52 pounds and is 0.38 inches thick while the Venue 8 weighs 0.64 pounds and is 0.39 inches thick—to compare, the 2013 Nexus 7 weighs 0.64 pounds and is 0.34 inches thick.

The Venue 8 Pro also includes 2GB of DDR3L, dual-band 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.0, a TPM module, a 5MP rear camera and 1.2MP front camera, and a micro SD card slot. Optional LTE. 32GB or 64GB storage options are also available, though it's still on a slow eMMC interface that will be significantly slower than a SATA or PCI Express storage interface. All of this fits into a package that is actually thinner than the Android-equipped Venue 8 at 0.35 inches, though it's slightly heavier at 0.86 pounds.

The Venue 8 Pro feels significantly more, well, tablet-y than the Iconia W3, which is just a little too thick and heavy to fit in next to tablets like the Nexus 7 or iPad mini. The weight, thickness, and soft-touch back make the tablet nice to hold, and the tablet's UI is smooth and responsive on both the Start screen and the desktop. The tablet should get about ten hours of battery life, though of course we'll have to wait to get a review unit before we can put that claim to the test.