Using Dell Venue 8 Pro as Desktop / Laptop Replacement

I have been writing quite a lot of articles on various experiments that I am performing with Dell Venue 8 Pro. Well, this article is about my experience when I used the Dell Venue 8 Pro as a replacement to my desktop and how it performed under my extensive needs. So below goes my experience and verdict if DV8P could be a decent replacement to a desktop.

Let us have a little revision about the specifications of the tablet; it has an Intel Atom quad core processor. The graphics are supported with Intel HD graphics, RAM is of 2GB and it comes coupled with Office 2013 Home and Student. It is an 8 inch tablet with 1280x800 pixel display, 32GB of storage and microSD card slot to extend the memory. The company also offers a digital pen to make ease of use with the tablet and a folio case which doubles as a kick stand. Also, you don’t get an HDMI or VGA port, and there are no full-sized USB ports.

Now to make Dell Venue 8 Pro work as full fledge desktop computer, there are a number of challenges, first being connecting the keyboard. To connect a keyboard, a mouse or some other device with a full size USB connector you will need to buy micro USB OTG adapter if you do not already have one, I had one so it was easy for me to figure things out. Also, since there is only one micro USB port which is used for charging the tablet as well, so you cannot use a USB device while charging the tablet and vice versa.

The second problem you might face is when you will try to connect your Tab to external video device. There is no separate video out port and hence one has to figure out some other methods to attach your tablet screen to your TV screen. One such method is using Miracast wireless display technology. I believe that since the tablet has to be lean and light the video out adapter has not included but instead it supports Miracast wireless display technology. So if you have a Display Link adapter you might connect a monitor to the USB port. I did have a Display Link adapter and it worked like a charm.

When coming to the other general usage of desktop like checking mails, tweeting, writing, watching movies etc., tablet proved to be really good, the only catch being you have to stay little close to the screen unlike using a regular desktop which you can operate from far, but you can always change the DPI settings to 125 percent which gives a zoom to all the windows. This is mainly because the screen is smaller when compared to a conventional desktop and the icons are pretty small when viewed from a distance.

Having said that, I assure that Dell Venue 8 Pro acts as a regular desktop in cases of distress, like when you miss your desktop/laptop when away for a journey or in a hotel, office or other such places. The Windows 8 apps works perfectly great, giving it a feel of the desktop. So next time, you are going out on vacation, just keep your Dell Venue 8 Pro handy, and you won’t miss your laptop or desktop computer.