8. HP ElitePad 900

• Reviewed on: 4 April 13
• RRP: £659 inc. VAT
• Rating:

The HP ElitePad 900 is a well-built and nicely designed Windows 8 tablet aimed at business users. It's no great performer, although battery life is decent. If you need an extremely portable Windows PC for around £600, you could do a lot worse. But you may want to consider adding a keyboard, mouse and stand to your setup.

7. Asus VivoTab Smart ME400

• Reviewed on: 29 March 13
• RRP: £400 inc VAT
• Rating:

Asus has done a good job with the VivoTab's design, producing a tablet that can compete with any of its Windows, Android or iOS rivals. The dual-interfaces of Windows 8 still feel like a compromise when running on a tablet, but if you do need to run existing Windows software on a light and compact portable device then the VivoTab provides a good alternative to Microsoft’s own Surface tablet.

6. Dell XPS 18

• Reviewed on: 2 July 13
• RRP: £999 inc VAT
• Rating:

We were surprised how quickly we became used to having a device like the XPS 18 that could follow us from room to room. Of course, you could get a 15-inch laptop for half the price – but that wouldn’t have such a large and attractive HD display. That portability is, admittedly, a bit of a luxury – but it’s a luxury that you could learn to take for granted.

5. Lenovo ThinkPad Twist

• Reviewed on: 3 July 13
• RRP: £798.79 inc VAT
• Rating:

The battery life has plenty of room for improvement, but the versatile design of the ThinkPad Twist makes it an available choice for business travellers who can’t decide between a laptop and a tablet.

4. HP Envy x2

• Reviewed on: 29 March 13
• RRP: £799 inc VAT
• Rating:

We love the X2's design, but it's rather expensive given the modest performance on offer. Even so, it can still handle most basic computing tasks perfectly well, and its ingenious convertible design and impressive battery life mean that it will continue to earn its keep long after most laptops have run flat.

3. Dell Latitude 10

• Reviewed on: 8 March 13
• RRP: From £496 inc VAT
• Rating:

Dell's first Windows 8 tablet is an Atom SoC soluton that's aimed primarily at business users thanks to a slew of security options, including TPM, biometrics, SmartCard and encryption software for local and USB drives.

2. Lenovo IdeaTab Lynx

• Reviewed on: 29 May 13
• RRP: £800 inc VAT
• Rating:

If you specifically require a tablet that runs Windows 8 then the slimline design and striking IPS display of the Lynx make it one of the better options currently available. However, it’s quite expensive on its own – especially given the modest memory and storage capacity – so we’d only recommend it if you can find it in a bundle that includes the keyboard dock as well.

1. Microsoft Surface Pro

• Reviewed on: 16 May 13
• RRP: £719 inc VAT for 64GB model; £799 for 128GB model
• Rating:

The Surface Pro is the best Windows tablet we've used. It also makes a pretty good laptop. But as a tablet it's not match for the best iOS or Android devices, and as a Windows laptop it can't compete with Ultrabooks. It's portability and performance will be perfect for a few, and okay for most. So that makes it a good but not perfect device, which feels about right as a verdict.