Dell Refreshes Atom-powered Venue 7 and Venue 8 Tablets

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By Jane McEntegart
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Set for release next month, the Dell Venue 7 and Venue 8 are slimmer and lighter than before and run on Intel's Merrifield processors. The previous generation Venue 7 and Venue 8 measured 9.6 mm and 9.8 mm in thickness, respectively. This new generation sees both models drop down to 8.95 mm thick. 

Under the hood, the Venue 8 boasts Intel's Atom Z3480 (up to 2.1 GHz) as well as 1 GB of LP DDR3 RAM, 16 GB of eMMC storage, and Intel HD Graphics (Imagination PowerVR G6400). All of this is powering an 8-inch IPS Display with FHD (WXGA 1920 x 1200). There's also Bluetooth 4.0, Miracast, optional LTE, a 2-megapixel camera in the front, a 5-megapixel camera in the back, a MicroSD card reader (up to 64 GB), and Android 4.4 KitKat.

As for the Venue 7, you're looking at a 7-inch IPS Display with HD (WXGA 1280 x 800), Intel's Atom Z3460 (up to 1.6 GHz), 1 GB of RAM, Intel HD Graphics (Imagination PowerVR G6400), 16 GB of eMMC storage, Bluetooth 4.0, optional LTE, Miracast, MicroSD card reader (up to 64 GB), a 1-megapixel camera in the front, a 5-megapixel camera in the back and Android 4.4 KitKat. Both the Venue 7 and Venue 8 have the same 4550 mAh battery.

The Dell Venue 7 and Venue 8 will be available July 1. The Venue 7 is priced at $159; the Venue 8 is priced at $199. There's also the option to buy the Dell Venue Cradle (pictured above), which was made for the Venue 8 and acts as a stand. The Dell Bluetooth Portable Speaker (also pictured above) offers connectivity via Bluetooth 4.0 wireless as well as NFC. It offers up to 10 hours of continuous play and has a wireless range of 30 feet. It also has a built in mic, just in case you've paired it with your phone and receive a call.

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Jane McEntegart
10 Comments Comment from the forums
  • ldogg1981
    They are dropping the amount of RAM from 2GB (current generation) to 1GB (next generation)? That doesn't make sense.
    Reply
  • nvllsvm
    They are dropping the amount of RAM from 2GB (current generation) to 1GB (next generation)? That doesn't make sense.

    $ure it doe$
    Reply
  • ikaz
    I think these are the andriod versions I thought only the Venue pro's running window 8.1 had 2 Gigs of memory but I could be wrong.
    Reply
  • alextheblue
    They are dropping the amount of RAM from 2GB (current generation) to 1GB (next generation)? That doesn't make sense.
    Did you look at the pricing? :) These have upgraded CPUs and displays over previous models, and they're really cheap. I suppose something had to give. I think they discovered that with the smaller (and cheaper) tablets, people don't generally take heavy advantage of multitasking. So most users only really need RAM dedicated to whatever is on the screen, and when the OS runs out of memory it can suspend background apps.

    With that being said, if I personally was to get a device like this, I'd want 2GB of memory. So I think if they're smart they'll at least have a slightly more expensive upgraded model with more memory. Of course, I'd rather have a 10"+ model, myself. If you demand more performance and plan on multitasking, you might be in the market for a bigger unit, so maybe this makes sense.

    Anyway, these could even run Windows 8.1 decently with the new compressed builds. But more internal storage and memory would be better, hence the Pro models. Hopefully they'll upgrade their Pro lineup with the new displays too!

    Oh, I just looked and Dell is listing the previous gen Venue 8 with a 32GB option for $30 more than the base 16GB model. So hopefully they'll have a similar upgraded model with 32GB for ~$229. Although the mSD support helps a lot, the internal memory will likely be faster for loading big apps.
    Reply
  • nnorton44
    Odd they would drop the RAM to 1GB; I'm sure because KitKat only "needs" 512MB...
    Reply
  • Pyree
    This is not the Pro line of the Dell Venue series tablet!
    Reply
  • ldogg1981
    I own the first generation venue 8 with 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage and I paid $200. They are upgrading the cpu and downgrading everything else and charging the same price.
    Reply
  • ldogg1981
    I think these are the andriod versions I thought only the Venue pro's running window 8.1 had 2 Gigs of memory but I could be wrong.

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834300173
    Reply
  • Chris Droste
    the Venue 8 1st gen was 1280x800, older Atom chip, and 2GB ram. i got a refurb one for like $120 and it's awesome at that price with stock Jellybean. Kitkat kinda screwed it up :/
    the new one, I was very interested in...until i saw the ram drop and with the slimmer design I'm actually worried they made the battery smaller too.
    Reply
  • vider
    I purchased originally the Dell Venue 7 (Android edition) at base price of 159 CAD, a week later got it back to the store and priced matched it to 129 CAD. Now, the older generation Intel Atom that was slapped into this unit (makes the OS feel smooth as silk, no lags, immediate response, super smooth transition effects) is more than enough for the average joe. The 2GB's of RAM are of a big help. Playing 3D intensive games on the other hand, is not so great (A dual Power VR 543GX is just not enough for tablet gaming).

    On the other hand, if on these ones the included GFX, should be much better for 3D intensive games. But the 1 GB of RAM will hinder that, effectively DELL just shot them selves in the foot (having 1.5 GB of Ram, should of somewhat helped with that)
    Reply