The battle for tablet supremacy continues as Dell pushes with its bid to enter the slate market. With the Dell Venue 8, the company wants to target the budgeted sector. It offers comparable features to Nexus 7 and iPad but does not go over the price. Can Dell make an impact finally?

Dell Venue 8

Dell Venue offers access to apps like Netflix viewed on a full HD screen. The device measures 9.5mm thin. People will find it easy to carry or hold the device. Dell ships the device with Android Jelly Bean operating system. People can enjoy all specs and features brought by the Android update.

PocketCloud 2.0 offers people access to applications and content from a tablet, PC or smartphone. Users can update their files and other accounts anywhere so long as they have the slate. The device comes with IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors offering 800 x 1280 pixels, 8.0 inches (~189 ppi pixel density). It runs on Intel Atom Z2580, Dual-core 2 GHz.

Other features include:

- SNS integration

- MP4/H.263/H.264 player

- MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player

- Google Search, Maps, Gmail,

- YouTube, Google Talk

- Document viewer

- Photo viewer/editor

- Organizer

- Voice memo/dial

- Predictive text input

The device can be upgraded up to 32GB with expandable memory via micro SD slot. Users can expand memory up to 128GB.

Google Nexus 7 2

Google's second generation Nexus 7 does not fall short compared to the first generation. It packs on LED-backlit IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors with 1200 x 1920 pixels, 7.0 inches (~323 ppi pixel density). The device also boasts of corning Gorilla Glass for a sleek look and durable design. It runs with Android OS, v4.3 (Jelly Bean), upgradable to v4.4 (KitKat) so it is a notch higher to Dell's Venue 8. The device's chipset is a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4Pro, Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait and Adreno 320. Other features include:

- Wireless charging

- Google Wallet

- SNS integration

- MP4/H.264 player

- MP3/WAV/eAAC+/WMA player

- Organizer

- Image/video editor

- Document viewer

- Google Search, Maps, Gmail,

YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa

- Voice memo

- Predictive text input (Swype)

The Google Nexus 7 remains one of the best tablets around.

iPad Air

The iPad Air combines the functionality and portability of the MacBook and iPad series. Many sources agree it is Apple's try on the hybrid market. Similar to the iPad Mini, the device features a stunning display and incredible performance.

It comes with LED-backlit IPS LCD, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors and offers 1536 x 2048 pixels, 9.7 inches (~264 ppi pixel density). The device is fast because of the Apple A7 Dual-core 1.3 GHz Cyclone (ARM v8-based) processor with PowerVR G6430 (quad-core graphics). Other features include:

- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic

- Siri natural language commands and dictation

- AirDrop file sharing

- iCloud cloud service

- iCloud Keychain

- Twitter and Facebook integration

- TV-out

- Maps

- Audio/video player/editor

- Organizer

- Image viewer/editor

- Document viewer/editor (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

- Voice memo

- Predictive text input

The iPad Air is a stunning piece of equipment though Dell's tablet is comparatively cheaper. People looking for high-end looking piece with premium features can do well with iPad Air. For those looking for better functionality at a slightly affordable price, the Nexus 7 should be good deal. Dell's Venue 8 is a good option for those with really tight budgets but do not want to compromise entirely on functionality.