Lenovo Miix 8 vs. Dell Venue Pro 8
(Note: I lost part of my write-up while editing prior to posting - something that was MY fault - and I tried to get what I could remember put back in before my time expired, since I've had issues here when editing long posts. I apologize in advance for any typo's, awkward grammar and general lack of proper writing.)
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Since the rise in popularity of the 7" - 8" category of "mini-tablets" in both the iOS and Android spaces, I have gotten a lot of email requests to cover the new 8" Windows mini's. I have long been a fan of the 7" Android Tablets as they are big enough to actually get field work done but small & light enough to tote easily. Most of them will fit into the back pocket of standard jeans and a regular jacket pocket, which makes them perhaps more viable during inspections than the larger 10" - 11" Tablets. Once you start getting up around 8 plus inches, that "pocket-ability" factor starts to go away and so does the ability for most to be able to fit them into one hand in "portrait" or "upright" mode. This is particularly true for the very popular iPad mini unless you have NBA-class hands. I have fairly small hands for a 6' tall male (OK, my shoe size is also only 9 1/2 D, and I have already heard "those" jokes, fellas!) so if your hands are larger, you will probably have a little extra leeway on one-handedness if you go for an 8+ inch Tablet. While the iPad mini is a little touch to grip one-handed (slippery), the main issue is caused by the 4:3 aspect ratio - in portrait mode, it is simply wider than the 16:10 aspect ratio found in most Android Tablets. While most of the 10" and larger Windows 8.1 Tablets out now are 16:9, these 8" Tablets are (currently) the (superior IMHO) 16:10 form factor.
These two Tablets are virtual clones of each other with identical core hardware - the excellent Intel "Bay Trail" CPU, 2 GB of RAM, decent graphics (for work stuff - no heavy duty gaming on these), 1280 x 800 resolution, and readily available with 32GB - 64GB of storage. The chipset is the latest 32-bit "Atom" but it is greatly improved from last year's "Clover Trail" CPU. First off, it is a Quad Core vs. Dual Core design and without getting deep into geeky stuff, suffice it to say that they are worthy upgrades from last year's models. They won't keep up with a "full Core i5" (or even Core i3, much less a Core i7) but for what they are, they do remarkably well. There IS another, more powerful "Bay Trail" CPU in the Intel line-up, but nobody is shipping devices with these in them yet. I expect to see those chips in the "Enterprise" class devices sometime in Q1 or Q2 of next year, but those devices may be quite limited and most likely will not be found in "big box" retail shops for quite some time - maybe when the chipset after Bay Trail is starting to ship (?)
These two Tablets both cost right at $300 (less with coupons, sales, etc.) for the base models and about $50 more for the 64 GB models. Each have available microSD card slots, so you can add another (say) 32 GB of storage for about $20, but I recommend the 64 GB models. I strongly recommend using a microSD card in any Tablet that offers a slot (this is a definite weakness in both the iPad and Nexus lines) regardless of the base storage on your Tablet. I've probably covered this too many times to go into, but basically it has to do with being able to save your data on a card in case you destroy it. While on that topic, these lighter tablets are not all that prone to drop damage, but I always recommend an accidental damage policy if you can get it. With these Tablets, they run about $40 for a year of coverage. With the Dell, you can order it through them, but with the Lenovo, it is more of a retailer "add-on" (i.e. "Square Trade") at check out.
So, which one is better? I have a hard time declaring an out and out winner here - each has their own strengths and weaknesses. Both are overall fine machines and I think it comes down to personal preferences. The Lenovo is slightly thinner and lighter, but you could only tell by looking at the numbers - in hand, the differences are negligible. The Lenovo has a slicker, metallic back and sides, where the Dell is grippy (ridged) plastic that feels sort of like rubber. I find the Lenovo harder to pick up with one hand and harder to hold onto. The Dell is simply easier to grasp and seems more sturdy. From a personal experience, each of our Dells have worked great out of the box except that for some reason the Auto-brightness control is flaky - the first thing to do is to disable that function, else you'll think the screen is defective. A software update for this is reportedly in the works, but for now, just turn off Auto-brightness. Speaking of brightness, the Lenovo is definitely "punchier!" (see pix) If you are in a particularly sunny region, this may be a factor for you. I found, however, that they are about equal in legibility in direct sun. I still recommend that folks apply a good anti-glare screen protector (i.e. DayVue) to reduce reflections and distractions on glossy screen devices.
[Edit] I combined the two "in-hand" pictures into one so I could add a "Direct Sun" photo. This is a poor shot and it is not as accurate as I would like. The Dell is not actually that much darker - this is an effect of the cell phone camera, no polarizing, poor photography skills, etc. Being so close, the left image suffers a bit from the effects of the screen treatment. Still, I wanted to put it up so you could see these two units in DIRECT SUN. It may look like they are in a shady area due to my poor skills, but I was just off axis from direct sun reflecting in the Dell. You can see that they ARE usable, just not ideal in this circumstance. Still, the Lenovo is "punchier.
In the end, guess I just feel better overall about the Dell for most appraisers. With my first two Lenovo's, they both had defective power switches and I had to return them for replacements. Even the replacement devices seem to have "mushy" power switches that do not inspire confidence. For this reason, I recommend that if you like the Lenovo better, get it from a local shop like Best Buy, Office Depot, etc. so you can have them open the box and test the power switch before taking it home. I like the ability to get "factory" accidental damage protection coverage and it just feels better, more sturdy in MY hand (YMMV.) Lastly, I like the fact that you can get an optional active pen with the Dell. It is not a Wacom pen, but it is FAR better than those flaky capacitive stylus' offered by some. Even if your appraisal software doesn't support this active pen, it is supported in other apps like the excellent One Note by MS and is a nifty "stylus" if your non-mobile program you loaded hasn't been properly updated yet to a real mobile app. It's not magic, but I think it is worth trying out.
Oops, almost forgot the rear camera thing. The cameras are overall pretty similar in actual quality, but the Dell has a basic flaw IF you use it in Landscape ("sideways") mode. Gripping it normally, your had falls over the lens (I thought mine wasn't working for the first few seconds.) The Lenovo camera is better placed off-center, in a corner. This is not a strong negative on the Dell, however, since I feel that most will use these in Portrait mode. If you are a "Landscape" user, keep this in mind. In the future, I will post sample shots from the cameras IF strongly desired.
Oh, the Red Dell is pretty nice. I did not shoot pix of that for reasons I may have explained earlier, but it IS harder to misplace ;-)
Hope this helps for now!
-Randall Garrett-
..Apex Software..
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IF an Android (type) device is of interest to you or your family, my opinion is that you should consider this device, wireless version or WiFi, as appropriate.
