Dell Announce Venue 10, Android 5.0 Lollipop Tablet Certified for Google Play For Education

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Dell Announce Venue 10, Android 5.0 Lollipop Tablet Certified for Google Play For Education

Dell have announced two new tablets, the Venue 10 and the Venue 10 Pro, optimized for the education market, but should be available to buy by anybody. It’s the Dell Venue 10 that’s more interesting here because it runs Android 5.0 Lollipop and is going to be one of the first tablets to be certified by Google for Google Play for Education. The Venue 10 Pro runs Windows 8.1, but otherwise the devices are reputed to have a very similar specification. This is speculation because at this juncture, Dell have only released the specification for the Venue 10 Pro so it’s possible that the Venue 10 will differ when it’s released later in the year. Early reports give the Venue 10 an Intel Atom processor whereas the Venue 10 Pro has a more powerful Intel processor.

However, going on what we know, the basic Venue 10 Pro is $330 with an optional detachable keyboard for $50, meaning that the Venue 10 can be converted into an Android-powered notebook. The screen has a Wacom digitizer and for an extra $33, users can include a digital pen. The screen is 10-inch across the diagonal and will be HD as standard, a little over 720p. There’s an option to upgrade this to 1080p, but the price isn’t yet disclosed. The Windows version has NFC, Bluetooth 4, 802.11ac WiFi, USB 3.0, a Micro HDMI port, a MicroSD slot and a 38 Wh battery with a claimed battery uptime of ten hours. There’s 2 GB of RAM and between 64 GB to 256 GB of local storage. Finally, there’s a 5MP rear camera and a 1.2MP front facing camera.

If Dell’s original promise is true and the devices are very similar, this is a well specified Android tablet with plenty of options, but what’s perhaps more interesting is how this is the first tablet designed for the education market. Google have fingers in every pie, including education; I do wonder if products such as the Venue 10 run the risk of cannibalizing Chromebook sales, especially as they’re more expensive. We also don’t have a release date for the Venue 10, which means things could change – Dell are saying “Spring 2015,” so I’m sure we don’t have long to wait. Let us know your thoughts below in the usual fashion!