Dell Venue 11 Pro – Review
Dell Venue 11 Pro is a Windows tablet available in multiple configurations with prices starting from $499. It is the main rival of Surface 2 Pro, cheaper and with some tangible benefits, the only one with battery and replaceable disk. I have a model and its keyboard dock for two weeks, and now I’m ready to tell you how it goes.
Dell Venue 11 Pro is a rival of Surface Pro 2, and this means that it is a tablet designed to work. It has features designed for use in the office, such as TPM, NFC and Synaptic digitizer, various configurations available, including Core Haswell, and accessories to match – including a keyboard dock with extra battery and hinge. All on a solid frame and well finished, the only one on the market to boast a replaceable battery and an SSD drive available. Not bad for a product offered to start from $499.
For a couple of weeks, I have a Dell Venue 11 Pro, which is the version with Intel Core i3-4020Y, 4 GB RAM and 128 GB SSD. I also have the keyboard dock with extra battery available. The combination creates a convertible 2-in-1 10.8-inch tablet with part 790 grams and 1470 grams total weight, with all the power that can be used to a laptop like this and with a range in the order of 16 hours of actual use in WiFi.
Not bad at all. Dell Venue 11 Pro costs less than Surface Pro 2 and is a real top product (a rarity hardware: the 4 built-in microphones to make video calls while better), but for this you claim so much from him. It will be a disappointment? It will have weaknesses? Or you confirm a device without flaws, almost perfect for the modern mobility? We try to understand it.
Dell Venue 11 Pro – Design
790 grams are not just for a tablet, and it must be said that about Venue 11 Pro will do all to hear. But it is a 10.8 inch, then his larger than average, and has a replaceable battery, so to force things a little balanced (and not accessible to the built-in battery allows you to save several grams on the final weight). I would have liked to see a thinner frame, fewer outline on the screen, but this was later made it difficult to hook the keyboard. The build quality is very good, with all the contours of metal and the same nice smooth finish, matte and anti-fingerprint, used for the line of Dell Ultrabook XPS.
In my taste, so chamfered edges and the central part of the tablet that seems to give effect sheeted, are not that great, but it is a compromise to accept to gain access to internal components and rely on adequate ventilation to the Core i3 used (TDP of 11.5 watts). Good layout of the ports, with USB 3.0 Full Size, mini HDMI, microSD and microUSB in the lower part of the sides, and headphone jack, volume and on / off button at the top.
Most of the top edge, with the exception of 4 microphones that are scattered all around, is occupied by the vents, and it is a good thing because it helps to keep them away from our hands. There is the HOME button, capacitive finally, in the center of the frame (making it impossible to press a keyboard included) combined with a vibration system.
Dell Venue 11 Pro – Dell Mobile Keyboard
The keyboard is so important on a tablet work like this from certainly deserve further investigation. There are two models and I’ve tried the most comprehensive and expensive, the only built-in battery with 28 W and zipper in the middle.
It’s called the Dell Mobile Keyboard. What can I say: it’s impeccable quality and construction, is extended almost to the edges of the frame, has well-spaced keys and a good run (not too light) with a line dedicated to Windows 8 (open Charm, share, open the list of open applications, adjust the brightness and so on) and a touchpad oddly shaped 16:9 (very large) type all-touch, comfortable and smooth. It has two built-in LEDs: one to indicate the CAPS-LOCK, the other to make it clear when the battery is fully charged.
The back is absolutely well-built, with feet additional anti-slip rubber on the zipper (it seems trivial, but some laptops have them in hard plastic and become a nightmare when you write on a plane a bit tilted) and an LED that indicates the status of the battery. The keyboard does not add ports to the Dell Venue 11 Pro, but has a microUSB to charge it without going through the tablet (good idea).
In general, it is really well made, very elegant frame with metal material and plastic trim anti-fingerprint, which presents a unique, real, big problem: the opening angle of the hinge. It is limited to 117 degrees, very little for a machine of this kind, probably a constraint due to the balance of the weight, to avoid excessive inclination causes a reversal of all (as happened on Dell XPS 12).
You will often not have the optimal view for work, to try to tilt the screen for more than find that you cannot do and therefore, swear by asking why such a choice. Dell Mobile Keyboard has the potential to be perfect, really adds at least 8 hours of battery life to the tablet (we’ll talk about in a moment), but it is also limiting.
Dell Venue 11 Pro – Performance and battery life
The two batteries are managed in a very clever way. Dell Venue 11 Pro that seeks to preserve the tablet, then use the first battery charge when they are both connected and before that of the tablet when connected to the power supply.
You cannot use the keyboard to charge the battery of the tablet (as well as to charge external devices, only negative), but you can also use the tablet when it is completely charged using the keyboard. In short, you must work hard to remain completely without charge. The integrated power supply is 1.2A, and charge the two batteries from 0 in a morning.
They are very good results. I think the best recorded on a Hybrid 2-in-1 of this generation, really important if we consider that there is a real Haswell here to manage everything. Dell Venue 11 Pro with Bay Trail Atom has a smaller battery (32 W vs. 36), but its advantage is a more fuel efficient hardware platform.
To say the autonomy should be identical. The performance of the Dell Venue 11 Pro is more than enough for office productivity, office or home, and I think that on this, there is little to say. Extensive connectivity makes it perfect for these contexts even without the keyboard dock.
Dell integrates both the Intel HD4400 GPU configuration’s Haswell (GT2) and this ensures a Venue 11 Pro a bit of advantage in media management with respect to products with HD4200. It is not a gaming machine, but clearly has no problem with Full HD video, video and photo editing and video streaming in the background while you work on Office. Really, it seems superfluous to talk about it.
Note that this model integrates a Sandisk SSD X110 (SD6SP1M-128G 22 x 60 mm) of good quality but not among the fastest on the market. Again to quote the Pro tablet from Microsoft, here you will lose some points in writing. Stuff of little consequence, but those who look hard to find benchmarks of the differences. Please note that the basic configuration with Atom SoC uses an eMMC cheaper.
Good temperatures and the usually quiet internal fan. Let’s say that you only hear when you play (or when running benchmarks), while in all other contexts is absent. The heat generated by the Core i3 is brought out by 4 grid positioned at the top.
In general, the Dell Venue 11 is a cold machine, with a keyboard cold (this is one of the great advantages of hybrid devices) and a system of heat dissipation that never comes into contact with our own hands.
Good, finally, the audio, as well as the yield of the 4 integrated microphones. I had no problems with reception or WiFi disconnects, even if I happened to see the touchscreen is not recognized after connecting the keyboard. The problem you are no longer offered after the firmware updates (including the touch panel), but it would take a longer test of my 10 days to investigate.
I could not (and now there is no more hope) to prove the Dell Active Stylus and then Synaptic integrated digitizer. Dell did not send me a unit to test, which was aiming a friend could not lend me, so nothing to do. The latest update has solved most of the initial problems. I read on the net good impressions, but I cannot add more.
Dell Venue 11 Pro – Conclusions
In the end, my list of qualities has many more entries than the defects. Dell Venue 11 Pro is a good machine, preferable to Surface Pro 2 in some cases, only in the possibility of updating and able to replace a laptop from work when choice in its Core configurations.
It is also the Windows tablet with the best in its class autonomy, unattainable when connected to the keyboard dock. A tool to work with no real flaws, which takes full advantage of the construction and Dell offers hardware goodies high profile (like 4 microphones and SSD Ultrabook).
But from such a product, I expect almost perfection, or otherwise compromised due to hardware limitations, not just spot-on choices. Because the keyboard does not flex a few degrees more? Because sometimes the software does not support it well? That does not change the substance of my opinion, but keep it in mind when you are going to choose.
If you have not already done so, watch the video review at the beginning of the page; adds details that I have not discussed in the text and helps you better understand some steps. And if you think, this configuration Core is too much for you, take a look at the one with Bay Trail Atom SoC. It is located online at just over $400 and is the only one to offer an almost-11-inch Full HD screen and digitizer. It is one of the best deals of the moment.
Review
- Design
- Screen
- Connectivity
- Performance
- Value of Money
