LENOVO IDEAPAD MIIX 10

At the given price point, the Lenovo IdeaPad Miix 10 delivers a satisfying tablet experience. It does feel a little hollow and the display on the face feels more plastic than anything. Yet the overall user experience is adequate for the cost of entry.

The Miix is certainly less stylish than the Surface. Instead of a kickstand that emerges from the back of the tablet, the Miix comes with a plastic keyboard case. That may sound like a compromise but we found it a much more practical solution than Microsoft’s kickstand and keyboard cover combo.

The 10.1-inch display offers 1,366-by-768 resolution, which is far from impressive, especially when compared to the high-res displays seen on smartphones and smaller CE tablets, but it's par for the course among Windows tablets.

Like the Samsung Ativ Smart PC and the Acer Iconia W510, this is based on Intel's new Atom processors, which offer performance and battery capabilities along the lines of what you'd expect from Apple's iPad 4. It's what enables the Lenovo Miix 10 to run Windows 8, but be only 9.9mm (0.4-inches) thick and weigh just 576g (1.27lbs). And like those two machines, it comes with a keyboard, so you can easily turn it into a thin and light laptop substitute.

The Miix 10 isn't necessarily a poor tablet, but it doesn't stand out from a crowd. An average display, decent battery life, and poor building materials create a tablet that might be good - at a lower price point. We recommend taking your money and looking into other options including the ThinkPad Tablet 2 and VivoTab.