Dell held a press event in New York on Wednesday to announce the upcoming launch of a new line of tablets.
The product line will be called Venue, a name Dell previously used for a group of failed smartphones that were scrapped in 2012. The new Venue tablets are set to include devices that run both Android and Windows, with the Android devices priced and built for more entry-level users.
The Android-based Venue 7 and 8 will cost $149 and $179, sporting 7 and 8 inch touchscreens, respectively. The Venue 8 Pro and Venue 11 Pro will run Windows 8.1 and are expected to sport a stylus and 4G connectivity as optional add-ons.
The Venue 8 Pro starts at $299, while the Venue 11 Pro will start at $499. Dell claims these devices will be less than 9mm thick and thus the "world's thinnest Windows tablets."
TechCrunch's Chris Velazco got an early look at the tablets and his initial reaction to the lower-priced Android end of the line-up was not positive:
The biggest issue I noticed was a lack of sensitivity on some of the devices while I poked and prodded at their screens: it occasionally took multiple attempts to successfully bring up the App Launcher or return to the home screen. I suspect that’s all because of non-final hardware or software, but it was alarming enough that it managed to sour me on the experience a hair. The Venues’ cameras were awfully iffy too, though that shouldn't come as a surprise. Images looked grainy and under saturated, so stick to your smartphone and you’ll be better off.
