Dell XPS 10

Dell’s answer to the tablet-laptop hybrid is the new XPS 10 Tablet – a 10.1-inch Windows RT slate that you can either buy on its own ($500), or bundled with the keyboard dock for an extra $180.

The XPS 10's IPS screen measures 10.1 inches (diagonally), which matches the screen size of its other hybrid docking tablet rival, the Asus VivoTab RT$559.99 at Mwave.com. Both screens are physically smaller than the 10.6-inch screen on the Microsoft Surface with Windows RT$344.00 at Amazon, even though all three screens sport a 1,366-by-768 resolution. The XPS 10's IPS screen is easily viewable from many angles, and its resolution supports 720p HD video.

The screen flaps around a bit when the keyboard and tablet are connected but it’s perfectly usable on your lap, unlike the Microsoft Surface, which needs a tabletop to be firm enough for QWERTY typing. The styling and build is businesslike rather than stylish, with a rubbery feel to the rear panels, faux chrome detailing and a hinge mechanism that's reasonably sturdy.

Inside the Dell XPS 10 is a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, clocked at 1.5GHz. Clearly, the performance here will be nowhere near the level of a traditional laptop, and it's pretty far below the low power Intel Core i5 chips you'll find on most Ultrabooks. 

Judged subjectively as a tablet, the XPS 10's performance isn't bad, and it posted average scores in our Web-based performance tests However, as a laptop, which is arguably the unit's most useful state, it feels just a tad sluggish. Most of the lag occurs when you open programs, switch pages, etc.