Dell Venue 7 and 8 tablets sport a groovy design

The Dell Venue 7 and 8 tablets are a modest pair of slates in the best sense. Instead of cutting-edge specs or high-end gimmicks, the 7- and 8-inch tablets have a comfy design, silky smooth performance, and pure Android OS, all for a reasonable starting price.

While the Venue 7 remains a US-only offering, the Venue 8 is now available in the UK with LTE capabilities for £179. Australian availability and pricing has not yet been announced, however the Venue 8 Pro is available there.

Dell's revamped Venue tablets share a few of the same traits, like thickness and bezel size, but their designs are subtly different.

The volume buttons are almost flush to the edge of the tablets, but they're still easy to find without looking directly at the slates.

Both tablets house a single speaker on the bottom edge. To enhance audio, Dell packs the Venue tablets with MaxxAudio to optimize how music, video, and gaming sound.

The back of the Dell Venue tablets resembles a vinyl record due to the circular grooves that move outward like a ripple in water.

The Dell Venue 7 and 8 tablets differ in a few important ways, one being their screen resolutions. The 7-inch sports a 1,280x800-pixel resolution, while the 8-incher has a 1,920x1,200- pixel resolution.

Rounded corners that comfortably sit in your palm paired with the textured backs make for quite the pleasant holding experience.

The rear cameras on the Venue slates provide surprisingly detailed and sharp photos. This is a high compliment, considering tablets aren't known for photography prowess.

The screen on the Venue 7 has a yellowish tint to it, but it isn't very noticeable unless you're looking for it.

Dell slapped on an identical pair of bezels on the Venue 7 and 8 tablets.

Pure Android is a rare treat on any device, let alone two affordably priced tablets.

A closer look at the twin bezels also show the difference in the screen pixelation of the Venue 7 and 8.