Impressed with the Dell Venue 11 Pro (Baytrail) in Hands-On

Posted on 07 March 2014, Last updated on 07 March 2014 by

Dell Venue 11 Pro (Baytrail) (10)

At MWC last week I had my first chance to go hands-on with the Dell Venue 11 Pro. Yes, it’s been on sale for a while, I know, but it’s one of the devices I just haven’t got round to testing yet. I wish I had done this earlier because it’s a nice bit of kit with an excellent keyboard. It feels high quality and the tablet isn’t too heavy.  Video hands-on below.

The total battery capacity with the ‘Tablet Keyboard – Mobile’ unit docked is 60Wh which is huge for a Baytrail-T tablet. Yes, the weight suffers a bit because the keyboard weighs as much as the tablet but considering the battery life this setup will have (10-15 hours connected working time at least) it could be worth it. Leave the charger and USB power-pack at home because you can just use the Venue 11 to keep your smartphone topped up.

I didn’t get a chance to check the pen out but I did take note that it had USB3.0 on board. That’s useful for DisplayLink docking.

Dell Venue 11 Pro (Baytrail) (8)Dell Venue 11 Pro (Baytrail) (6)

Dell Venue 11 Pro (Baytrail) (5)Dell Venue 11 Pro (Baytrail) (4)

Dell Venue 11 Pro (Baytrail) (3)Dell Venue 11 Pro (Baytrail) (9)

I don’t see this being a cheap setup – the power keyboard costs $130 on its own – but it could be something that you could work with in most scenarios. What you might want to do though is wait to see if there’s a 4GB version coming. That’s the only specification that doesn’t quite match pro-mobile requirements.

Video hands-on below.

Dell Venue 11 Pro (Baytrail) (11)

 

 

7 Comments For This Post

  1. meengla yip says:

    Chippy,
    I have been seriously looking into buying this one; in fact, yesterday my new supervisor asked me if I needed a laptop and–I declined for now. Anyway, in the docked mode does this tablet flip to show in ‘Display’ mode like the Acer W510 does? I have grown quite used to the W510 on my tummy lying in bed at night–so it is important for me!
    Thanks.

  2. Lou says:

    I’d get this over the fail called the XPS 11. Well, the Core i versions.

  3. prax says:

    Hi, the pictures are showing the asus vivotab…

  4. Chippy says:

    Where?

  5. Cam says:

    I’m interested in the Core i version. Is Linux supported well on that one?

    Intel must like me, I have a desktop, X230 notebook (possibly replaced by the Core i Venue 11 Pro or Latitude E7240) and planning on getting the ASUS Vivotab Note 8. MS probably doesn’t like me because if I can get a device without Windows I would. Except for the Note 8. I think Windows 8 is currently the best when combining the desktop and touch UIs in a single 8″ screened device.

  6. williamlegeek says:

    Hi there Chippy,

    Interesting that this is the device that caught a lot of attention from you… I just got the very similar Medion P2212T that you wrote about a while back. Same battery capacity but with the less efficient Celeron N2910 Bay Trail, so you’re talking about 8 hours of real battery life.(not bad)Interestingly, the GPU layer is clocked higher and performs a little better.

    The Dell though looks like its more premium, better build and must come with an ips display and better battery life. Still, at £349 (I was lucky to bag a brand new one from ebay at £280!)the Medion is a solid contender.

    Cons about the Medion: Really quite heavy, takes 5h + to charge, does not tilt enough. Not ips screen.

    Do you know how much the Dell weighs with its keyboard?

  7. aa says:

    ATTENTION WITH THE DELL VENUE 11 PRO with i3, i5 Y processor! They have seriouse problems and production stop!

    http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/mobile-devices/f/4586/t/19535987.aspx

    Baytrail is without problem, also not the Venue 8

    I had the i3 model. It was a disaster. Seems to be hardware cause not fixable by SW update, exchange or parts required! It would have been a good tablet if it would be realiable in use. (Ghost touch, freezes, pen not working, touch screen not react)
    After 3 month of introduction, problems are not yet solved! unconfirmed statements says that “soon” the fixed production batch arrives.

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