The Dell Venue 8 Pro: Add To Your Windows Phone Experience

I was recently lucky enough to pick up an item that not only enhanced my Windows Phone experience that my Nokia Lumia 925 delivers to me, but I got this item at an amazing price. The Dell Venue 8 Pro is a remarkable little machine and whether you are in the market for a tablet or a laptop, you might want to read on to find out more about this powerful little monster.

I have to admit that my journey began with a search for an e-reader. I was looking at Kindles and Nooks, since I already had a nice portable Windows powered Netbook, I didn’t need much more than a slightly larger screen than my Lumia provided for reading. Since I was pretty well committed to the Kindle due to all the free titles that I had earned from Amazon, I decided that I was going to rule out the Nook and wait for a Kindle sale.

It was at this point I saw the Dell Venue 8 Pro in the same price range as the Kindle tablet series devices. Then I read on a bit more and found that it was as small as the Kindle and ran a full version of Windows, not the dreaded RT that the Surface that I previously test drove had on it. I figured why on earth would I not give something this size a shot as a reader for that $229 price tag? There were also refurbished units down as low as $169.00 which I highly recommend if you are budget conscious.

Now that you know the journey that led me to getting my Dell Venue 8 Pro, let me tell you a bit more about it, show you how it works and what I use it for. The Dell Venue 8 Pro runs Windows 8.1, and a full version of it, not the cut RT like most lower cost Windows tablets run. The Venue 8 Pro is equipped with an 8” display, MicroSD slot, MicroUSB port and a volume rocker.

The internals of the device aren’t anything that will make your head spin, but the quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM and 32GB or 64GB of storage are enough to keep pace with the basics that you would want to run on the Venue 8 Pro. You might wonder why I emphasize the Pro on the Dell Venue 8 Pro so heavily. It’s because the Dell Venue 8 is an Android tablet and the Pro is the Windows version. It’s a pretty important feature to note.

I snagged the 64GB version for myself thinking that I would need the additional storage, but after getting everything I needed installed and inserting a 32GB SanDisk Ultra MicroSD card, I found that the 32 would have given me enough storage room. I’ll still take the extra 32GB for the small amount that it cost to upgrade it, but the second Dell Venue 8 Pro in our house is only the 32GB model. Yes, it was so impressive the wife had to have one as well. Now that you have an idea of what the Dell Venue 8 Pro is, how do I use it to make my Windows Phone Experience better?

• Mobile Office - I have Office 2013 installed on my Venue 8 Pro – this allows me to edit the documents that I have on my Lumia 925 on a larger screen and with my travel Bluetooth keyboard. Sure, I can edit and post to blogs from my Lumia, but how much easier is it to edit that Excel spreadsheet on an 8” display with keyboard?

• Photo Editing – I actually started a Lumiaography blog site last month. It’s all dedicated to photos taken with my Lumia and edited only in OneDrive for Windows 8. There’s no Photoshop magic, just the native OneDrive editor in the Windows 8 App. When I am out and about, I can stop at the nearest coffee shop, and let my OneDrive sync to the Venue 8 Pro. I can then edit a few shots and post them via Live Writer 2012 and be on the road again in minutes.

• Gaming – I’m not a gamer per se, but you guys know how much I review on here, so I get a good taste of what is out there. I’ve tried the graphics intensive games like Asphalt 8 that run without any issue and some of the easier ones like Xbox World Series of Poker which runs smoothly as well. I haven’t thrown any of the major PC titles at it yet, but I would expect that it would lag on anything with heavy 3D rendering. I’ve heard a rumor, and read online in a few place, that you can even hook an Xbox controller to it and play games that way.

• e-Reader – This was the primary reason I was looking for a mid-range tablet device. My Toshiba Thrive was just too big and my Lumia was just a bit too small. I originally thought about replacing my 925 with a Lumia 1320 for $325, but I decided that it wouldn’t be a great move for overall since the camera was weaker and it’s just plain big for a phone. That said, the Venue 8 Pro is a spectacular reader. Using the Kindle App, I am able to store all my books online and only download a few at a time to conserve space. The screen is bright and easy to read and the adjustable fonts are fully customizable.

Overall, there really isn’t a gap that the Venue 8 Pro can’t fill. It is a fully functional laptop, a tablet and an e-reader all in one. Is it the fastest on the market, no. Is it the best on the market, no. Is it as glamorous as the Surface Pro 2, no. What it is, is an extremely affordable, ultra-mobile, Windows 8.1 powered tablet that will work for many functions that most people are forced to drag a 6 pound laptop around to complete. With a Venue 8 Pro and a Bluetooth keyboard, you will be more productive and get more from your Windows Phone, just like me.

If you have any questions about the Venue 8 Pro, feel free to leave them in the comments below or send an email to smartphonedeals@gmail.com. The Venue 8 Pro is available at Amazon.com from $169.00.