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$300 8" tablets: Thin+light, fast web browsing w/Flash, 8-10 hours...and Steam

A

Argyle

Member
Orayn said:
Can anyone vouch for the Venue 8 Pro as being usable for desktop mode with a kickstand case and keyboard? I'm almost sold on it and a nearby Microcenter has them for $230, but 8" just seems way too small.
Click to expand...

It's pretty damn small...(Galaxy S3 in there for scale. Using a Motorola keyboard with trackpoint which is bigger than the tablet. Not sure I like this keyboard, just got it, it's small enough that touch typing is a little rough for me. Honestly I would still rather use my Nexus 7 over setting all that stuff up...)

IMG_20131224_234806_zps3l5inzyv.jpg


Funky Papa said:
Thats a weell known problem with the drivers. Mine dores that too. Actually, all the typos in this post were introduced by that POS of a keyboard.
Click to expand...

Try running Dell Update and getting the urgent touchpanel update, if you haven't already.
 
M

maeh2k

Member
Orayn said:
Can anyone vouch for the Venue 8 Pro as being usable for desktop mode with a kickstand case and keyboard? I'm almost sold on it and a nearby Microcenter has them for $230, but 8" just seems way too small.
Click to expand...

I you want to use an 8" tablet as a desktop, you might be doing it wrong. It's not meant for that. You might be better off with a 10" device like the Asus T100. Desktop is a bit more usable, you can plug in a display and a keyboard, and e.g. the T100 comes with a keyboard dock.
 
F

Funky Papa

FUNK-Y-PPA-4
Argyle said:
Try running Dell Update and getting the urgent touchpanel update, if you haven't already.
Click to expand...

I already did that (plus flashed a new firmware and did everything I could). No dice.

But that's not really what's driving me bonkers. What really infuriates me is that my DV8P's touchscreen activates itself without any actual contact.

Basically, I open an Internet Explorer instance (or any other app, it doesn't matter) and let the tablet sit on the table. Then, if it feels in the mood, the tablet will start showing "contact orbs" all over the screen as if I were manipulating it, opening new tabs, zooming in, scrolling up and down... almost as if the Ghost of the Poor Cooding appeared out of thin air and rubbed his invisible hands all over the screen. It's fucking bizarre, the tablet looks outright possessed, to the point that sometimes becomes completely unusable due to ignoring your actual commands.

Whoever was in charge of the software optimization should be hung to dry.
 
W

Winterfang

Banned
Funky Papa said:
Thats a weell known problem with the drivers. Mine dores that too. Actually, all the typos in this post were introduced by that POS of a keyboard.
Click to expand...

Hey! you got it too :D. So it's not a defective batch, how do I get that urgent update? I'm terrible with computers.
 
F

Funky Papa

FUNK-Y-PPA-4
Winterfang said:
Hey! you got it too :D. So it's not a defective batch, how do I get that urgent update? I'm terrible with computers.
Click to expand...

Dell's update center is a mess to begin with, so you should open Internet Explorer from the Windows desktop, go to Dell's support site, pick the model and select all the due updates. Don't use the Metro version of IE, as it doesn't support some stuff that Dell may require to enable the downloads.
 
W

Winterfang

Banned
Funky Papa said:
Dell's update center is a mess to begin with, so you should open Internet Explorer from the Windows desktop, go to Dell's support site, pick the model and select all the due updates. Don't use the Metro version of IE, as it doesn't support some stuff that Dell may require to enable the downloads.
Click to expand...

Thanks Funky, I'll try it when I get faster internet.
 
R

radios shipping overview

Member
So I have a Venue 8 Pro. This is my first real experience using Win8. It's such a weird hybrid experience: all the quirks of Windows married to an ill-fitting interface and a spotty app store. The ontouch latency seems really huge.

I'm not even sure what games to play on the thing if I don't pick up a BT keyboard/mouse. Papers Please should ideally work great with touch, but it displays a mouse cursor onscreen that doesn't jump to the touch coordinates. It's fucked. I couldn't get Gestureworks Gameplay to work with Recettear.

At least Sunvox runs well, but I'm convinced that app will adapt to anything with a touchscreen.

Is anybody using a Bluetooth gamepad with theirs? Which one?
 
A

AlimNassor

Banned
I'm looking to get into the tablet market. My mom has a galaxy tab 3, and my sister a surface rt. I want to watch netflix and play games, nothing too demanding, but, I want something to replace my laptop as it's unusable now. How do games even work on tablets? With a keyboard that just makes the tablet a tiny laptop, and if thats the case what's the point?

Seems to me tablets weren't meant for games. if I were to say get a tablet to play games like WoW or mmos how would they work and which should I get?
 
E

endre

Member
jiji said:
So I have a Venue 8 Pro. This is my first real experience using Win8. It's such a weird hybrid experience: all the quirks of Windows married to an ill-fitting interface and a spotty app store. The ontouch latency seems really huge.

I'm not even sure what games to play on the thing if I don't pick up a BT keyboard/mouse. Papers Please should ideally work great with touch, but it displays a mouse cursor onscreen that doesn't jump to the touch coordinates. It's fucked. I couldn't get Gestureworks Gameplay to work with Recettear.

At least Sunvox runs well, but I'm convinced that app will adapt to anything with a touchscreen.

Is anybody using a Bluetooth gamepad with theirs? Which one?
Click to expand...

You already have the device, but none the less. I think if you do not need to access genuine windows applications than you should stick with Android or iOS when buying a tablet.

I also think that there will be more and more tablet oriented apps when more of these cheap win8 tablets kick in. I am planning to write one for simple CAD document history management and such (If I buy the Asus t100 on Friday).
 
R

radios shipping overview

Member
endre said:
You already have the device, but none the less. I think if you do not need to access genuine windows applications than you should stick with Android or iOS when buying a tablet.

I also think that there will be more and more tablet oriented apps when more of these cheap win8 tablets kick in. I am planning to write one for simple CAD document history management and such (If I buy the Asus t100 on Friday).
Click to expand...

It was a gift. I already have a Nexus 7 that I like just fine. The purpose of me keeping a Windows tablet would be to run genuine Windows apps, and not stuff from MS's app store. So far, I'm underwhelmed.
 
B

brotkasten

Member
jiji said:
It was a gift. I already have a Nexus 7 that I like just fine. The purpose of me keeping a Windows tablet would be to run genuine Windows apps, and not stuff from MS's app store. So far, I'm underwhelmed.
Click to expand...

That is not what 8" tablets are supposed to be, unless you plug in a bigger monitor. Also, did you update the touch panel driver? It's supposed to be on Windows Update.
 
M

mltplkxr

Member
AlimNassor said:
So, what would be a good tablet for a newcomer? Dell venue or asus? Can they play any games at all?
Click to expand...

The thing with Windows tablets is that they have Windows games and Windows games are made to be played with a keyboard and mouse or a joystick, but all you have is your fingers or a stylus and that's the equivalent of a one mouse button. So,the constraints are not as much technical as they are with the controls.

Without connecting anything, I've found it's a great way to play point and click games like Machinarium or Lucasarts classics like the Indy games. I have a previous generation tablet and Torchlight seems to run well. But don't expect to play any FPS or platformer on the go.
 
T

The Abominable Snowman

Member
mltplkxr said:
The thing with Windows tablets is that they have Windows games and Windows games are made to be played with a keyboard and mouse or a joystick, but all you have is your fingers or a stylus and that's the equivalent of a one mouse button. So,the constraints are not as much technical as they are with the controls.

Without connecting anything, I've found it's a great way to play point and click games like Machinarium or Lucasarts classics like the Indy games. I have a previous generation tablet and Torchlight seems to run well. But don't expect to play any FPS or platformer on the go.
Click to expand...
Define "any" because mine plays them decently, about the same performance of early Intel 4xxx IGPs. Just set your expectations low.

And as an added bonus, it plays Android games very nicely, about on par with the Galaxy S2-era devices
 
B

border

Member
The Abominable Snowman said:
Define "any" because mine plays them decently,
Click to expand...

He means don't expect to play those games with a touchscreen. You can only really play titles that rely on 1-button mouse input. So yeah -- point and click adventure games and maybe some low end-Diablo clones.

I don't think even Walking Dead would work sine you need a keyboard for the QTEs.
 
M

mltplkxr

Member
The Abominable Snowman said:
Define "any" because mine plays them decently, about the same performance of early Intel 4xxx IGPs. Just set your expectations low.

And as an added bonus, it plays Android games very nicely, about on par with the Galaxy S2-era devices
Click to expand...

Just to be clear, I'm not talking frames per seconds or 3D Mark scores here. I'm talking about controls. How do you control your character in an FPS with just the tablet? Can you play Rayman Origins with just the tablet?
 
A

AlimNassor

Banned
mltplkxr said:
The thing with Windows tablets is that they have Windows games and Windows games are made to be played with a keyboard and mouse or a joystick, but all you have is your fingers or a stylus and that's the equivalent of a one mouse button. So,the constraints are not as much technical as they are with the controls.

Without connecting anything, I've found it's a great way to play point and click games like Machinarium or Lucasarts classics like the Indy games. I have a previous generation tablet and Torchlight seems to run well. But don't expect to play any FPS or platformer on the go.
Click to expand...

Say would it be possible to play WoW or say older games like Baldurs gate or fallout? I mean I'm not expecting or wanting to play FPS or shit, but, maybe older games that aren't graphically demanding or even RTS games. I really like how portable tablets are and they may be cheaper then buying another laptop.
 
B

border

Member
AlimNassor said:
Say would it be possible to play WoW or say older games like Baldurs gate or fallout? I mean I'm not expecting or wanting to play FPS or shit, but, maybe older games that aren't graphically demanding or even RTS games.
Click to expand...

You can probably run any of those (though I suspect WoW will be garbage in heavily populated areas). Playing without a mouse or keyboard will not work at all, of course. You will need to hook up extra stuff.
 
R

rrs

Member
Controls by touchscreen alone aren't going to be common, you'll need to install third party software for it.

Performance: The most common GPU among this thread will be a 4 compute unit "HD Graphics" series GPU, as these are in the atoms powering the $300 titular tablets.
For comparison:
  • Newest Atoms have 4 compute units
  • HD Graphics 3K have 12 compute units
  • HD Graphics 4K have 16 compute units
  • 42xx-46xx have 20 compute units
  • Iris: 40+ units
 
M

mltplkxr

Member
The Abominable Snowman said:
Oh ok sorry. I see your point. I use a 360 controller myself.
Click to expand...

Can't wait to try this once I get a mini-HDMI cable to connect my tablet to a screen.

I'm interested in comparisons between tablets chipsets and laptop and desktop CPUs and graphics cards. Is there a table somewhere that lists games specs A will work on tablet specs B?
 
A

aaaaa0

Member
jiji said:
Papers Please should ideally work great with touch, but it displays a mouse cursor onscreen that doesn't jump to the touch coordinates. It's fucked
Click to expand...

I got it to run perfectly. Try running it in a window, not full screen mode.
 
M

mltplkxr

Member
AlimNassor said:
Say would it be possible to play WoW or say older games like Baldurs gate or fallout? I mean I'm not expecting or wanting to play FPS or shit, but, maybe older games that aren't graphically demanding or even RTS games. I really like how portable tablets are and they may be cheaper then buying another laptop.
Click to expand...

Never played WoW but my guess is it won't work well because it's heavy on 3D. Haven't played enough of Baldur's or Fallout to say. They'll probably run fine but anytime you'll need the keyboard, it's going to be a hassle.

I've been through a couple of games on Steam and so far so good. My GoG list is next and Fallout is in there. If I find the time to try it and no one chime's in until then, I'll post some impressions.
 
H

Hylian7

Member
Story time...

My sister got an Asus T100 for Christmas today, and she played with it for a few minutes, then did an Asus update. At first it was reluctant to reboot afterward, then it rebooted and all of the font was in FREAKING WINDGINGS! She managed to translate the onscreen keyboard by looking at the real one (the real one wouldn't work for some reason) and type her password. Then after getting in I couldn't access the start menu at all for some reason, and her desktop background was gone. We ended up doing a factory restore on it, and now it's been fine ever since.

I googled this issue though and apparently all the results I found about it were about Asus computers...

So why the fuck is Asus putting out an update that can potentially translate all of your font into Wingdings?!
 
D

Danj

Member
Hylian7 said:
Story time...

My sister got an Asus T100 for Christmas today, and she played with it for a few minutes, then did an Asus update. At first it was reluctant to reboot afterward, then it rebooted and all of the font was in FREAKING WINDGINGS! She managed to translate the onscreen keyboard by looking at the real one (the real one wouldn't work for some reason) and type her password. Then after getting in I couldn't access the start menu at all for some reason, and her desktop background was gone. We ended up doing a factory restore on it, and now it's been fine ever since.

I googled this issue though and apparently all the results I found about it were about Asus computers...

So why the fuck is Asus putting out an update that can potentially translate all of your font into Wingdings?!
Click to expand...

o_O

Okay that's one to watch out for if/when I eventually get a T100. That is really weird sounding.
 
M

maeh2k

Member
Winterfang said:
I got a 25 dollar app card from Microsoft and all I have downloaded was Facebook and Metrotube. The app situation is that bad.
Click to expand...

There are some decent Twitter apps like Twitter and Tweetium. Latermark is decent Pocket client. Nextgen Reader is a great Feedly client. News Bento and Flipboard, as well as Weave are pretty good news readers. Drawboard seems to be great for annotating .pdf's. The Wikipedia app seems nice. The 500px app is nice if you like photography.
As for games I like Wordament and AlphaJAX.

I also got a 25 Euro gift card. So far I think I've only paid for Nextgen Reader and Tweetium on Windows 8. However, I bought Brothers and Wolf Among Us on the Xbox.

I think there are a couple of deals going on right now on Windows 8. Nextgen Reader is on sale as well as some games.
 
F

Funky Papa

FUNK-Y-PPA-4
I cannot believe there's not a single battery meter for Windows 8's metro interface besides Microsoft's crappy one.

What.

The.

Fuck.
 
M

massoluk

Banned
Hylian7 said:
Story time...

My sister got an Asus T100 for Christmas today, and she played with it for a few minutes, then did an Asus update. At first it was reluctant to reboot afterward, then it rebooted and all of the font was in FREAKING WINDGINGS! She managed to translate the onscreen keyboard by looking at the real one (the real one wouldn't work for some reason) and type her password. Then after getting in I couldn't access the start menu at all for some reason, and her desktop background was gone. We ended up doing a factory restore on it, and now it's been fine ever since.

I googled this issue though and apparently all the results I found about it were about Asus computers...

So why the fuck is Asus putting out an update that can potentially translate all of your font into Wingdings?!
Click to expand...

That's sadly hilariuos, so random.
 
H

HolyBaikal

Banned
I don't want one of these all that badly, yet. But I can see myself wanting on in the future.

In particular, one with a 10 inch or larger screen. And more powerful for the same price.
I'm glad that this technology is surfacing at this price.
 
N

nilbog21

Banned
Really surprised to see all the hate on the Venue 8 Pro in this thread. I don't have small fingers or anything and I'm not at all precise, but I love using the desktop on this thing. 8" just seems perfect to me, if it was any heavier or bigger I think I would end up using my phone more.. With some minor tweaking the desktop is very easy and FUN to use.
t1jkwo7.png


Really not a Dell fan at all l but this thing is well built, is very light, and looks very slick with this case I just received:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GPN52O0/?tag=neogaf0e-20


After a few tweaks it looks and functions perfectly:
QMBGz7t.png


I'm a first time tablet user so i don't have anything to compare the UI with.. but as a big windows 8 skeptic I must admit this operating system is just fantastic. Now I am starting to customize things more.
jU5U3On.png

my start screen is ugly, i try to keep bigger icons for my gf

for those asking, hearthstone and papers please run and function flawlessly without a stylus (I've never used one). Still Can't believe I paid $200 for this device when I see what people are paying for ipads when to me.. this thing can do three times more. No more HBO or app exclusivity bull shit.... I saw on SD they are still 230$ at MC which is a STEAL!! worth every penny and more IMO
 
E

endre

Member
Well, I bought the t100 today. I am posting from it now. Anyone have recommendations what to tweak first? I think i should disable this dynamic contrast.
 
TheLaughingStock

TheLaughingStock

Member
endre said:
Well, I bought the t100 today. I am posting from it now. Anyone have recommendations what to tweak first? I think i should disable this dynamic contrast.
Click to expand...

Update BIOS using Asus live update or Winflash, disable adaptive brightness via power options, and remove reading mode via Asus t100 support page.
 
E

Eel O'Brian

Member
Had a weird problem with my DV8 tonight. Screen started flickering dark bands randomly, and had some pretty bad image retention. No amount of rebooting seemed to help, so I figured maybe the backlight was going out. I looked at the various forums to see if anyone else had the issue, but didn't find anything other than some people having trouble waking the screen from sleep. I checked on Amazon, and to my surprise the return date was January 31st, which is pretty damned good for something I bought on November 8. I set up a return/replacement. Of course, five minutes later the screen banding and retention seemed to fade away, but I'm not taking any chances on it shitting the bed again a month from now after the return period is over. Hopefully they won't give me any grief over it.
 
B

border

Member
nilbog21 said:
Really surprised to see all the hate on the Venue 8 Pro in this thread. I don't have small fingers or anything and I'm not at all precise, but I love using the desktop on this thing. 8" just seems perfect to me, if it was any heavier or bigger I think I would end up using my phone more.. With some minor tweaking the desktop is very easy and FUN to use.
Click to expand...

I think it's a great device if you're looking to abandon your desktop or laptop and are willing to buy a bunch of accessories so you can use it like a real PC (USB-to-HDMI cable, bluetooth mouse/keyboard, Mini-USB to USB convertor for an Xbox 360 controller).

But if you are retaining your desktop/laptop and just looking for a pure tablet, it's not the greatest. Touch-friendly apps are few and far between -- touch-friendly games are even more rare.

Still Can't believe I paid $200 for this device when I see what people are paying for ipads when to me.. this thing can do three times more. No more HBO or app exclusivity bull shit.... I saw on SD they are still 230$ at MC which is a STEAL!! worth every penny and more IMO
Click to expand...

I paid $99 for my DV8P and $259 for a used iPad Mini. My intent was to sell the Mini and keep the DV8P. But now I'm leaning much more towards selling the DV8P. The selection of games on iOS is just so much better. I suppose I would like the DV8P much more if I had any real need to use Office frequently. But even then running Office would still require all those aforementioned accessories.

I do kinda like the idea of being able to download movies or TV shows in any video format, and then just watching those on a TV through the DV8P. Having to tether it to the TV with an HDMI cable seems like a kinda crappy idea. Is there a reliable way to stream/beam it through my Xbox One or 360?
 
I

InaudibleWhispa

Member
border said:
I do kinda like the idea of being able to download movies or TV shows in any video format, and then just watching those on a TV through the DV8P. Having to tether it to the TV with an HDMI cable seems like a kinda crappy idea. Is there a reliable way to stream/beam it through my Xbox One or 360?
Click to expand...

You should be able to push media to the 360 from any PC, though it might be restricted to certain file formats. If you buy something like the Netgear PTV3000 you can use Miracast to wirelessly mirror your display.
 
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