Dell’s Tablet Blitz Includes ‘Venue 11 Pro’ — A Surface Pro Rival For Australia

Remember Dell’s ill-fated Venue smartphones? Probably not. But the Venue line has just been reborn in dramatic fashion with Dell’s two new Windows 8.1 tablets announced for Australia in November.

Overseas, Dell doubled down by also unveiling its new $US150 Venue 7 and $US180 Venue 8 Android 4.2.2 tablets. As you’d expect, these are 7- and 8-inch screen devices, respectively. Dell has confirmed it doesn’t have plans to bring these to Australia just yet — disappointing given how competitive that pricing could be against something like the Nexus 7 2013 edition.

Dell Venue 11 Pro

November in Australia; pricing to be confirmed.
Starts at $US500

This is Dell’s hero Windows tablet. The Venue 11 Pro has a 10.8-inch (1080p) IPS touch display and 4th-generation Intel Core i3 and Core i5 processor options. Most distinctly, though – it has two keyboard options. The first is a Surface-style fabric keyboard/screen-cover, while the second ‘mobile keyboard’ that its own extra battery built-in. Speaking of batteries, the Venue 11 Pro also has a user removable battery; a rarity amongst tablets.

For your desk, Dell has yet another optional extra: an Asus-style desktop dock option that lets you connect another display and gain USB 3.0 ports. The tablet itself comes with an active stylus and NFC. We’ll learn more about the full Australian specs in a few weeks. Our guess: Up to 8GB of memory and 256GB solid-state storage.

Dell Venue 8 Pro

November in Australia; pricing to be confirmed.
$US300
In Australia, the Dell Venue 8 Pro features new Intel quad-core Baytrail processors, specifically designed for tablets.

The 8-incher won’t be quite as powerful as The Venue 11 Pro, but will be competitively priced. The multi-touch display supports a 720p resolution and can also be used with Dell’s included active stylus. You can see the optional Bluetooth travel keyboard pictured.


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