14 DAY TRIAL // The Dell Venue 8 Pro is one of the company’s most popular Windows-based tablets that launched back in 2013.
Now the company is taking the opportunity to apply some minor enhancements to the lineup. Don’t expect anything too mind-blowing, but at least we’re shown Dell hasn’t forgotten about its older products.
Dell didn't make a big fuss about the updates
Dell quietly refreshed the lineup, adding a model with a slightly faster graphics processor. On top of that, a new cheaper model will be available in select markets starting next month (November).
Back when it launched, the original Dell Venue 8 Pro arrived with an Intel Atom Z3740D quad-core Bay Trail processor fitted with 2GB of RAM and either 32GB or 64GB of internal storage.
The tablet shipped out with an 8-inch display, 1280 x 800 pixel resolution and an (optional) active digitizer which caused its fair share of woes to owners when it unexpectedly stopped working.
But if you now take a look at the Dell official website, you’ll notice the company offers new models running on the Intel Atom Z3745D platform. These chips are quite similar to the original Atom Z3740D processors found in older models, but the perk is they support higher graphics burst frequencies.
However, as TabTec noticed, Dell is also prepping a new model with an Intel Atom Z3740D processor (the same as in the 2013-version) that is to be sold with a cheaper price tag.
The cheaper model has less RAM onboard
As opposed to last year’s model, the new Dell Venue 8 Pro takes advantage of 1GB of RAM rather than 2GB of RAM. But the tablet has the same screen size, storage and operating system as the original. The active digitizer option also seems to be lacking.
Sure, the new tablet might not be responsive as the original model, but it will cost you less. Dell hasn’t officially announced the slate, but Amazon Germany is taking pre-orders for the device at €159 / $202. The first batches should start shipping out November 4.
In all possibility, the cheaper Dell Venue 8 Pro might ship out bundled with Windows 8.1 with Bing, so expect it to be one of the cheapest from the company’s Windows lineup.
This is good news for folks who have been thinking of purchasing a Dell Venue 8 Pro, but didn’t want to pay as much as $250 / €196 which is what the original model sells for.
How about the true Venue 8 Pro successor? It appears Dell has other plans for the time being.
