Observations:
The screen is awesome, using it for netflix, amazon video, youtube, even screen sharing, it's been a trooper thus far. bright clear colors, maybe slightly oversaturated, but the depth and range of the colors is quite good. And blacks, I have a thing about contrast and value range with LCD panels. I really hate light bleed and flat looking displays. OLED tends to have solid blacks and this screen doesn't disappoint. It doesn't have that muddy look that some displays have. So thumbs up there. If I had a bit of a gripe I'd say there is a tendency towards redness, but I'm reaching here. It's a subtle gripe if anything.
Speed: I have to admit part of the reason I opted for this tablet was due to it being a device with an Intel chip. In fact Intel drives almost all this device, even the gpu. Some reviewers have complained about choppy performance or slow browser loading etc. First off, I bought the device and before I put it through it's paces I applied all of the relevant updates. Dell updated it to Lollipop, Android 5.1. Maybe Dell addressed some of the prior complaints cuz I haven't experienced any lag or stuttering with loading web pages or displaying video. Apps load very quickly, or at least the ones I use do. Chrome browser is speedy and responsive, the interface tweaks Lollipop provides are worth the upgrade alone. Much easier, better cleaner interface. So maybe there were issues in 4. whatever, but I haven't experienced any of those.
Expansion: The fact the device is expandable up to 512gb is pretty awesome. I dropped a much smaller card in but I've been able to save music to it and access it no problem. This is awesome.
Build: You know that annoying plastic feel? That creak that a cheaply made device makes (cough samsung tablets carbon fiber la-de-da ...cough). Oh heck no, this thing is solid. The speakers are on one end (more on that later) there's a plastic backing on the rear of the device where this speaker wedge exists, I ran my fingernail between the aluminum shell portion, which comprises the majority of the back of the tablet, and felt for a seam. None, there's no seam gap or feel at all. this thing is well well made. The glass on the front, solidly bound & flush to the aluminum frame. And thin, almost too thin. If you don't have a case or a cover for this thing you WILL touch the screen and deal with various interruptions in what you're doing. I always laugh when bezels are viewed as a negative on a device. You have to hold the thing, with something. Shifting a device while you hold it is part of using it.
Sound: Not great, considering how my most recent android tablet sounded like, it's miles better, meh. I've streamed some of my TuneIn podcasts and amazon music through it, and it's not bad volume wise or anything. But, the speakers are on ONE SIDE. Tinny sounding, zero bass, stream to an external bluetooth system if you can. Ha! there's this thing called stereo, sound separation. Sort of a laughable design choice, and yet I think they did that specifically to thin it! (sigh) meme as design driver, the device is a bit of a challenge to hold. When I say laughable design choice lets hope you don't tire from holding it in one hand, then switch to the other hand and accidentally press the power button while doing so, or click on a page link or inadvertently close the browser. What I'm saying here is thinness and lightness is awesome but compensatory design is just that, a compensation, an afterthought. Not a deal breaker really but it is a funny thing.
Camera: Can't really report on this, haven't played around with their special camera but I'll update this post once I have. But to be honest, my phone is my go-to camera device. And I have to admit the tech behind the camera is one of Dell and Intel's strongest marketing pushes for this tablet. So yeah, I'll give it a shot later.

Conclusion: For me this is an upgrade. I've had to support more samsung, lg, asus and other android tablets. Dell may be on to something, but they need to up their game, they're getting there in a big way, well, slightly clumsy way, but I look at this as a work in progress that delivers on many many fronts. It's worth it if you can get it at a lower price. The tech used in the device is top notch, great stuff, but upgrade it with Lollipop first thing. I can't emphasis that enough, install the 5.1 upgrade, Dell seems to have addressed some of the devices shortcomings functionality wise. Design wise it has challenges. Steve Jobs would have had a meltdown with speakers being on one end of the device. understandable. But, it's a solid 7/8th though out tablet.

PROS:
-If you wonder if OLED screen is better for ebook reading, the answer is YES.It is definitely one grade better.Makes my iphone screen looks like an old monitor.(I read white text on black background).If you are looking for a mid-size tablet for ebook reading, stop reading this and go buy it now.
-OLED is also better with video playback, but the difference is not very noticeable.
-You will like the lighter weight. I didn't think I would care before I get it, but now I actually love how it feels in my hand.
-Thin bezel.Same foot print as a 7in tablet, yet rocking a 8.4 screen.Nice.
-Though there are a few pre-installed apps, the interface is very much basic Android.(And that is a good thing)
-SD card slot.

CONS:
-McAfee came pre-installed!

Screen and Media Consumption

The screen for this tablet oozes beauty. There isn’t anything you would watch on this tablet that wouldn’t make you think it looks better on this tablet versus another screen. The only issue with this is the color accuracy is over the top and colors are overly saturated and unrealistic. This is great for games and animation, but not as good for movies and TV shows. If you don’t know what you are looking for however, this won’t bother you.

If colors do bother you, I found a great free app that works on any tablet called Screen Adjuster Free in the Google Play Store [...]

One of the things I don’t like about this tablet is that the speaker bar is large and makes the screen off centered, mostly not an issue because the OLED screen produces such dark black levels that you will not notice this much. However, when watching 4:3 content this issue becomes readily apparent. On another note, this tablet does a fantastic job of upscaling older standard definition contentand is a great choice for movie lovers.

Now I am mainly using this tablet for media consumption and to that end this tablet is perfect. I tend to watch movies in bed using this tablet and it is light enough that I’m able to use it with a tablet holder which I found on Amazon and you can get here (http://www.amazon.com/Tryone-Gooseneck-Cellphone-Rotating-Flexible/dp/B01AUQ33LG?ie=UTF8&ref_=cm_rdp_product)

Gaming

Besides watching movies on this tablet, I actually game a lot on it as well. For this end, I use an Amazon Fire Controller which works brilliantly with this tablet via Bluetooth. I tend to play a lot of emulators bro on this tablet because I can lay in bed, go hands free with the holder, and use the controller. In regards to performance, I am able to run every android game that I have thrown at this tablet at max settings and it looks gorgeous. Additionally, I am able to even use the PSP emulator (PPSSPP) with this tablet at 2x render which isn’t amazing, but good enough for a tablet of this size. Games look better than they do on the PSP and play mostly the same.

Speakers

Now besides the speaker positon, it is sadly only a row of speakers in a solid line so you will not get stereo from this tablet. However, the speakers and Maxx Audio software are so superb on this tablet that it literally doesn’t matter. This tablet can fill my large bedroom with sound at near max volume and I guarantee that you will never need to use them that loudly. Additionally, the excellent audio software provides fantastic sound even through basic Ipod headphones. Listening to music and watching movies with this tablet is pure joy.

Battery Life

The battery life on this tablet is fantastic. I am able to watch many hours of movies (probably around 10 or so) before I need to charge this tablet again. Additionally, I can game for hours on end before the battery level gets low, even with demanding emulators like PPSSPP I still get 3-5 hours of play. The only negative about the battery is that is charges VERY slowly and it is best to charge it when you go to sleep or go to work.

Flaws

Unfortunately, there are two flaws with this tablet and keep it from being perfect, and are the reason why I am looking for a 2nd tablet. The first is the size, 16gb is not enough for any modern device. Android software is getting bigger and so are games and you only have about 8gb leftover for games and apps, etc. Thankfully, you can use a micro SD card with this tablet and I have a 128gb card in mine loaded with roms and movies. Sadly, you can’t install a lot of games onto the Micro SD card itself, this is fixed in Android 6.0 but sadly this device will most likely be stuck at 5.1.1 indefinitely. The other flaw is compatibility, not every game is compatible with this device because of the Intel CPU. Now, most games work and work well so don’t let this stop you if you are interested in gaming, but core games like Banner Saga and Dead Space do not work and will never be compatible do to lack of dev support.

So besides the size and compatibility, I still give the Dell Venue 7040 five stars because of the shear value. You won’t find a better looking and better performing tablet for the money at this time.