World's Thinnest Tablet: Dell Venue 8 7000
Dell has made a splash this week with its latest tablet, the Dell Venue 8 7000. Previously their Venue tablets were either low specification for Android or a line of Pro versions with Windows running on them. This tablet is an Android slate with some new camera features and comes in thinner than any tablet currently on the market at just 6mm thin.
Whilst the Dell Venue 8 7000 is named 8, its screen size is actually 8.4-inches which puts it on a par with the lightweight Samsung S Tab 8.4 slate. A similar AMOLED screen is used here with the Dell model including a 1600 x 2560 resolution for a 359 ppi.
Design
The Dell slate is extremely thin with tiny bezels on either side as well, but whilst it's slight at the top, it has a wider bottom bezel in portrait orientation. This is because it houses a fairly powerful speaker setup there. This gives the tablet a different look than other slates on the market. The distinctive Dell logo can be seen on the rear.
Operating System
The operating system with this slate is a little disappointing as it is still using the Android 4.4.2 KitKat OS. No Android 5.0 Lollipop here folks. It is suggested as an upgrade but considering the Nokia N1 tablet is coming shortly and the exciting Nexus 9 both sport the latest Android you'd think Dell would have done so out of the box. Perhaps in the final release version this will be the case.
64-Bit Is 2015
This new Dell slate uses the Intel Moorfield SoC with Intel Atom Z3580 processor running 2.3 Ghz Quad-core for some decent power and the PowerVR G6430 on the graphical side of things. The biggest thing is this has a 64-bit instruction set so it is fully ready to blast away at 64-bit to keep up with the likes of Apple which is requiring its app developers to switch over their apps to 64-bit compatibility shortly into this year.
The speed of the Intel Atom Z3580 shouldn't be mistaken for the earlier Atom chipsets that came with netbooks. This is an entirely different beast altogether and will most likely sit between the Qualcomm 805 and the newer Qualcomm 810 in terms of performance.
Memory
There is 2 GB of RAM inside this Dell slate. This is about right for a tablet of this size and power. A 3 GB RAM chip would have matched it to the likes of the Samsung S Tab 10.5 but this amount of RAM puts the slate on a par with the Nexus 9 that also runs fine with 2 GB.
Storage
The storage options are a little curious. On the one hand the 16 GB of internal storage is a bit skimpy for a modern tablet. 32 GB goes so much farther than 16 GB does when Android has been fully installed.
On the flip side, the microSD slot supports 512 GB microSD cards which provides an incredible amount of portable storage for a slate. With that said, when you're faced with not being able to install your favorite app because there is too little internal space left out of the 16 GB then that half gig microSD card won't help you any.
A better balance was needed here especially with Google actively trying to stop users being able to transfer apps over to the microSD card to save on space.
Communications
As one might expect, Wi-Fi is fully supported to the latest AC standard on a dual-band setup. There is the Wi-Fi hotspot option to tether wireless connections to other devices, Bluetooth 4.0, A-GPS, and several sensors including an accelerometer and a proximity sensor. The range of fitness-related sensors included in some smart phones is not included here.
A micro USB 2.0 port is included on the Dell slate. This is a bit old school. It would have been nice to let buyers sync data using the faster micro USB 3.0 standard.
Cameras
The real interesting change here is the Intel RealSense 3D tech that is present with the Dell Venue 8 7000 model. There is an auto-focusing 8 megapixel camera supporting 3264 x 2448 pixel resolution rear-facing camera. On the back is a 2 megapixel shooter, but also two 720p cameras as part of the RealSense technology created by Intel.
RealSense uses both of the 720p cameras to create two 720p depth sensors on the back panel to determine depth and length to a 10 meter maximum range. This means that any rear shot taken can later be examined to see distances. Potentially a photo could even be refocused after it was taken with the benefit of the depth and length measurements to guide a refocusing app.
A ruler pops up on the screen which can slide around and show measurements as it does so. It is quite something else. Whether buyers will really take to the technology or if it'll just be another passing fad or gimmick remains to be seen. One possible use for the technology could be real estate agents who could accurately measure the dimensions of the rooms in a property they are looking to rent or put up for sale.
Dropbox
Dropbox offer 20 GB of cloud storage with this model which is down from the 50 GB previously offered on certain Samsung models.
Overall
The real standout with the Dell Venue 8 7000 is the 6mm thickness of the tablet and being only just over 300 grams in weight this really fits into your hand nicely. The RealSense distance measuring is a nice 1-2 punch to punctuate the extra features.
The thicker bottom bezel for the speaker may be a bit odd for some and the restrictive 16 GB of internal storage a pain, but the 1600p AMOLED display is no slouch and makes this a definite contender against the Nokia N1, Nexus 9 and Samsung S Tab 8.4 tablets.
