Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet

For the ThinkPad diehards out there, you've just met the best business-bent tablet that money can buy. For everyone else, Apple or Microsoft's pro tablets can handle about the same tasks for less altogether.

Still don't know what to spend your hard-earned cash on? Check out our Best laptop 2016 guide to help you make the right decision.

Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Tablet offers modular add-on options, and has a sharp display and a great keyboard.

The Intel Core m3 base model is not the fastest machine around, and adding faster parts and optional modules can get expensive. There's no slot or magnetic anchor for the optional stylus.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 tablet isn't as slick as some other Windows tablets, but its modular add-ons give it a cool built-to-order feel.

Good quality screen; Fast and accurate fingerprint reader

Poorly designed modules and docking mechanism; Disappointing build quality; Short battery life; Awkward, fiddly when used on lap; Iffy touchpad

Lenovo’s upgradeable modular Windows tablet is less a vision of the future and more a collection of mistakes to avoid

The ThinkPad X1 Tablet is a peculiar mix of the wonderful and the awkward, then, but how does it stack up against its key rivals, the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 and HP Elite X2 in terms of the overall package? In some ways it surpasses both of them,...

The recommended retail price of the X1 is R15,000 – likely to raise a few eyebrows for a device with no optical drive, very limited hardware customisability and a touchpad from hell.

Despite the less than glorious screen resolution, in practice, I found the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 was really a pleasure to use. I’m simply a veteran ThinkPad user, there’s always been (at least) one in my Apple household, and I’m the sort of user who...

Kickstand ; Pen holder ; Different feature modules

Middling performance

If you’re the type of person who focuses mainly on benchmarks, you might be better off buying a competing convertible tablet. I still rate the ThinkPad X1 Tablet highly, though, since its performance ranks in the “good enough” category for many...

Semi-rugged design ; Full-voltage Intel Core i5 CPU ; Solid state drive

Touchpad could be better ; Had problems recognising SIM cards ; Could use more premium features

The ThinkPad X1 is the type of laptop that no reviewer wants to give back to the vendor. It feels solidly built and great to use, but it could be better. In particular, its touchpad needs refinement, it could use more premium features such as an...