The Dell Venue 8 7000 is more than just the current titleholder of The World's Thinnest Tablet. It also has a lot of power packed into its thin profile, such as its Intel RealSense stereoscopic camera, the first I've seen on a tablet.
It's this trio of cameras that really makes Dell's slate incomparable to the competition. When working together, they capture enough information to let you edit the focal point of a photo after you take it -- similar to a Lytro camera. For further tweaks, the tablet's Dell Gallery app delivers powerful photo-editing features to enhance or artistically edit the images and with the ability to sync with your Facebook, Dropbox and Picasa accounts (naturally), the Venue is a one-stop shop for your personal photos. Sure, say what you will about the folly of using your tablet as a camera, but if this is the future, it is a future I want.
Priced at $399 (also available in the UK for £326 and in Australia for AU$499), the Dell Venue 8 7000 costs as much as the 16GB Apple iPad Mini 3 with comparable features and performance and an equally health app selection. Its biggest Android competition is the Nvidia Shield tablet and Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 but the Dell's sleek aesthetic, swift performance, sharp OLED HD screen, and future-forward photography gives those top dogs a run for their money.
Design
The Dell Venue 8 7000 is currently the thinnest tablet on the market and it wears the title proudly. However, it's only the skinniest by a small margin. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 -- the previous Thinnest Tablet Ever -- is comparably slim and weighs a bit less, yet the solid and sleek construction of the Venue 8 7000 makes the extra weight worth it.
View Full Gallery (12 Photos)
The 8.4-inch tablet barely has any bezels, with the exception of a thick bottom bezel -- or top bezel, depending on how you're using it. Stamped on the back is the Dell logo and if you hold it with the monogram right side up, the big bezel is on the bottom. But, to operate it's main attraction, the Intel Real Sense depth camera, you have to flip it over in order to avoid blocking any of the three rear cameras. To be sure, the big bezel isn't just an odd design quirk; it houses both the front-facing speaker and 2-megapixel camera.
DIMENSIONS COMPARED
| Tested spec | Dell Venue 8 7000 | Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 | Nvidia Shield Tablet | Apple iPad Air 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight | 0.67 pound (306g) | 0.65 pound (294g) | 0.86 pound (390g) | 0.96 pound (437g) |
| Width (landscape) | 8.5 inches (216mm) | 8.4 inches (213mm) | 8.7 inches (221mm) | 9.4 inches (240mm) |
| Height | 4.9 inches (124mm) | 4.9 inches (124mm) | 5 inches (126mm) | 6.6 inches (169.5mm) |
| Depth | 0.24 inch (6 mm) | 0.26 inch (6.6mm) | 0.36 inch (9.2mm) | 0.24 inch (6.1mm) |
| Side bezel width (landscape) | top bezel: 0.18 inch (4.6mm); others: 0.69 inch (17mm) | 0.56 inch(14.2mm) | 0.81 inch(20.5mm) | 0.8 inch (22mm) |
Thanks to its small dimensions, the Venue 8 7000 one of the most pleasingly effortless tablets to hold for long periods of time. I didn't have to overstretch my fingers in order to get a comfortable grip on the tablet and, even though it's as thick as a tabloid magazine, it doesn't feel frail. Donning a sturdy and smooth aluminum body, the Venue 8 7000's design eclipses its Android competition and rivals the iPad Mini for swankiest small slate.
