Microsoft has decided to continue the bargain fun post Black Friday and Cyber Monday with a crazy good price on a decent tablet running Windows 8.1 — Dell’s Venue 8 Pro. The price for this gadget is normally $299 and the discounted price is $99.
For those wanting to take advantage make your way to any of Microsoft’s locations in the U.S. or Canada (or navigate to Microsoft’s website) Monday, Dec. 9th. The first 20 tablets purchased in each store (first 100 online orders) will get the $99 price. After those are gone the price will jump to $199 — which is still a $100 discount — and remain discounted until stocks have run out, according to the Verge.
This offer is part of Microsoft’s ‘12 days of deals.’
More on Dell’s Venue 8 Pro
So, this tablet is only $99 (plus tax) for a limited time, but is it worth the scramble to get to the deal first? The answer: maybe.
The Venue 8 Pro has an 8-inch HD display running at 1280 x 800 resolution. To compare, the iPad mini with retina has a 2048 x 1536 resolution. That’s a pretty substantial difference if you’re hoping to use this tablet for any photo editing. Even in terms of using the tablet as an e-reader, the Venue 8 Pro will simply not out display the coveted iPad.
Still, the office software that’s included with Windows 8.1 makes this little tablet a productivity wiz. Coupled with a stylus and keyboard (sold separately), the basic user could get a lot accomplished.
Multitasking is no problem either. The windows 8.1 software is great about giving users the ability to (literally) snap apps side by side on screen. Imagine being on your Skype call and taking notes in word without having to switch back and forth between applications.
There’s an SD card slot to easily expand memory and a mini USB connector for charging and connecting to other devices. The tablet also has a 5 megapixel camera and shockingly loud speakers. The new Bay Trail processor (Intel’s quad-core Atom Z3740D) inside also delivers high marks for battery life and speed.
Unfortunately, Windows’ app store is still less than desirable. Most common apps are available — and recently Mint was added to the lineup — but if you’re more concerned about using this tablet for work, the skimpy app store shouldn’t faze you. The Venue 8 Pro also has a little known software glitch that can be annoying: the auto brightness function doesn’t work.
As soon as the box is opened the brightness seems lower than it should be, which can be fixed by going into the settings and turning the auto brightness off. Annoying? Yes. Deal breaker? That’s up to you.
Something that would’ve been nice for Dell to add is an HDMI port for easily connecting to monitors. The tablet has more than enough power to manage additional monitors being connected (and it can be done with a series of adapters and cables) but the one cord option would’ve been nice.
If this deal sounds like it could be a winner for yourself or someone on your holiday shopping list, check out more details on the Venue 8 Pro on Microsoft’s site.
