14 DAY TRIAL // ASUS officially announced the VivoTab Note 8 at the CES 2014, after the tablet’s existence has been taunted in leaks, weeks before the trade show.
ASUS thus joins other brand vendors that have similar tablet offerings on the market, like Dell's Venue 8 Pro. Actually, the two models are quite similar when it comes to pricing and specifications, so if you’re a little confused wondering which you should be taking into account, we’re going to make a quick comparison between the two to help you decide between them.
The Dell Venue 8 Pro has an 8-inch IPS LED display (1280 x 800 pixels) with ten-finger multi touch support, while the ASUS offering has an 8-inch HD IPS (same resolution) display with multi-touch support, so we don’t have much of a difference here.
When it comes to processors, the Dell tablet is powered by an Intel Atom Z3740D clocked at up to 1.8GHz, while the ASUS’s life force comes from an Intel Atom Z3740 clocked at 1.86GHz, so basically both models are being powered by Bay Trail chip architecture combined with 2GB of RAM.
The Dell and ASUS models both have an option of 32GB and 64GB of internal storage, but the latter comes with unlimited ASUS WebStorage for one year.
The two run Windows 8.1 out of the box and offer, on average, the same battery life estimated at around 8 hours. In the photography department, the Dell tablet has a 5MP camera on the back with integrated 1.2MP HD Webcam, while the ASUS has a 5MP rear camera and HD front-facing camera.
As for connectivity, ASUS’ 8-incher has Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0+HS, Miracast and microUSB, while the Dell offers a bit more diversified options with Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth, microUSB, headphone output/microphone input combo and Micracast.
A plus you might want to consider is ASUS bundling the VivoTab Note 8 with the Professional Wacom Digitizer Stylus with ERM, which is said to provide the best accuracy, speed and responsiveness. Dell also offers an optional stylus, but you’ll have to pay extra for it.
If you’re wondering how heavy the tablets are, the Dell Venue 8 Pro is just 395 g / 0.87 lbs, but the ASUS model is even lighter at 380 g / 0.83 lbs.
Last but not least, let’s compare pricing. The Dell Venue 8 Pro can be grabbed for $299 / €219 off the Dell website, but customers can grab it for $279 / €204 off the Microsoft Store. On the other hand, the ASUS VivoTab Note 8 is priced at $299 / €219 for the 32GB version, while the 64GB costs $349 / €255.