MEGATech Reviews: Dell Venue 10 Series 7000 Android Tablet

As I sit here at my local Starbucks, sipping on an iced Americano and typing away on a tiny keyboard attached to a 10-inch screen, I’m reminded of a nearly identical experience some seven years ago. There I was, also sitting at a coffee shop, also typing on a tiny keyboard attached to a 10-inch screen, except that was an Acer netbook running on some distribution of Linux that I fail to recall.

You see, today is completely different. Instead of Acer, this is a Dell. And instead of a hard physical connection, this keyboard is Bluetooth. Oh, and this is Android, which is only based on Linux and not exactly Linux itself, per se. Say hello to the Dell Venue 10 7000 Series Android tablet.

Because Venue 10 Is Bigger Than 8

The Dell Venue 10 7000 Series has a lot in common with the 8-inch version I reviewed a short while back. You get a similar kind of design language with a remarkably slim profile. The software optimizations and technical specifications are also pretty well the same.

However, the Venue 10 7000 Series differentiates itself in at least a couple of important ways. Obviously, the display is a good deal larger at 10.5-inches, though it has the same 2560 x 1600 WQXGA resolution. The surrounding bezel is a little wider too, making for an easier grip, but the most notable difference is that big barrel on the bottom edge.

That’s where you’ll find the bigger battery, the bigger speakers, and some other internal components. Lenovo did the same kind of thing too, if you recall, except this Dell is far more powerful with far better specs. It may look a little strange at first, but this barrel really does make it easier to wield this tablet. And it comes with an added function too.

Snapping on a Keyboard

Continuing with the growing trend toward convertible PCs, Dell gives you the option of picking up the keyboard attachment for the Venue 10 7000. This is hardly new in the Android tablet space either–the awesome (at the time) Asus Transformer series really kicked off that trend.

Even though the tablet “docks” into the keyboard stand in a magnetic-kind of way, the actual connection is made over Bluetooth and happens automatically. The backlit keyboard itself draws power from the tablet. I found that connecting the tablet to the keyboard was really easy, but disconnecting was a little more finicky.

In terms of actual use, the keys don’t travel all that much, but they still give you that satisfying feel of a physical keyboard. The keys are well-spaced and you’ll find minimal delay. The way that things are oriented, those larger speakers in the tablet’s “barrel” base are suitably pointed right at you too, as if this were a “real” laptop.

My challenge came with the trackpad. You see, I’m a bit of a lazy typist, so I have a habit of resting my wrists or the bottoms of my palms while typing. The sensitive trackpad would pick up on this, bring up the cursor, and move me around when I didn’t want to move anywhere. A quick key to disable the trackpad would’ve been appreciated.

The Same Depth-Sensing Camera

Just like the Venue 8, the Venue 10 also has the 8MP Intel RealSense Snapshot Depth Camera on the rear, which works by way of two additional 720p cameras. Part of my complaint with the Venue 8 is that I couldn’t figure out how best to hold the tablet to take photos using this feature.

The Venue 10 is laid out in a far more intuitive way. I can more easily grip the sides of the tablet and not obscure the three cameras on the back in doing so. Of course, a big part of this has to do with the size of the tablet. Sadly, the image quality itself still isn’t that great.

I won’t go into some of the additional functions that the Intel RealSense camera can provide; you can read about them in my Venue 8 review. Everything is the same in terms of changing focus and making measurements.

Regarding video capabilities, the Venue 10 7000 can shoot full HD 1080p. The video quality is decent, but hardly great. Be sure to watch the sample clip in full screen mode and click the gear icon to select the 1080p resolution.

Benchmark Performance

Performance from the Intel Atom Z3580 processor, 2GB of RAM and PowerVR G6430 graphics is admirable. The Venue 10 scored over 46,000 in AnTuTu v5.7.1, putting it in the same league as the Galaxy Note 4 and the OnePlus One, but below the Galaxy S6.

Similarly, the scores achieved in PCMark and 3DMark were quite good. The Work performance benchmark in PCMark yielded a score of 5195, while the Ice Storm Unlimited benchmark in 3DMark yielded a score of 20,908. These are all in line with what was achieved on the Venue 8 7000.

MEGATechie Setting the Stage or MEGATechie Handling It?

The Dell Venue 10 7000 Series is suitable for a pretty particular audience. These are the kinds of people who want to have a larger tablet with great performance and an even better screen, but they also want to have a more productive laptop-like experience on an as-needed basis. In that regard, this tablet delivers.

As mentioned, the barrel design may feel a little odd at first, but it’s actually quite clever and makes for some rather loud speakers (even if the sound quality isn’t great). I like the idea of the keyboard attachment and resulting balance is such that it doesn’t tip over when you start tapping the screen.

For my part, aside from the added size, the sticking point is the price. The Venue 10 7000 sells for about $500 on its own with the optional keyboard ringing in as a $100 extra. If you really want to have a laptop experience, you can get a real Windows machine for that price. Better still, you can save a lot of money and get a Chromebook instead and still have enough money left over for a smaller tablet.