Tablet PCs have been around for a while. While looking like a notebook computer by design, their differentiating factor is the ability to write directly on its screen with a stylus and have your scrawl converted into editable text.

However, apart from a small minority of loyal followers, tablets PCs have mostly been used in professional sectors such as hospitals and construction.

HP, however, is aiming to bring the technology back to consumers with its HP Pavilion tx1000.

It can be used like a normal notebook computer or the 12.1 widescreen can be rotated 180 degrees, folded flat onto the keyboard and used like a pad of paper.

Vista Home Premium is installed and its pen and handwriting support means nearly everything can be controlled by the stylus HP provides. However, in testing we found the screen was difficult to write on, largely because the screen needs a lot of pressure applied before it responds.

The tx1000 also has some impressive media capabilities starting with two Altec Lansing speakers that sit either side of the screen’s hinge – they are a cut above other notebook speakers.

A remote control pops out of the side of the chassis that can wirelessly control the volume and navigation of DVDs, videos and music. A lot of thought has gone into its usability for video and audio, such as two headphone jacks on the front and dedicated buttons for media navigation. Only a TV tuner is sorely missing from its media capabilities. However, USB TV tuners can be added for about £50.

And, being a touch-screen computer, everything – including Media Center – can be controlled by the stylus or by pecking with a finger.

Swirls of lines entomb the silver and black chassis. The finish is excellent, but the vast array of media buttons and plastic borders make the notebook feel very cluttered. An integrated pinhole webcam and stereo microphones make it ideal for video conversations, though.

The keyboard is a good size for such a small device, if a bit flimsy. Below the keyboard lies an attention-grabbing trackpad. It is a grid of sunken dots that gives it an interesting texture and funky looks.

The tx1000 weighs 2.55kg including power supply, which is a lot for such a small notebook. HP supplies a second battery, which is larger than the first and juts out an inch when plugged in.

Providing two batteries isn’t a generous move these days but, in this case, is an essential one, since the main battery lasted a dire 65mins when playing back a DVD. The extended battery lasted 100mins, which is better but still far from impressive.

The chassis is unusually thick for a tablet but this is to house some impressive hardware, such as a Lightscribe DVD writer for creating discs with ingrained images on them. There's also a large 120GB hard disk and memory card reader.

An AMD Turion 62 X2 TL-50 dual-core processor, running at 1.6GHz, powers the tx1000. There’s also 1GB of system memory, which is adequate although a chunk of this is apportioned to integrated Nvidia graphics.

Overall performance was uninspiring and below what most notebooks achieve. It's also incapable of gaming, but fine for office tasks and video playback.

At £899 the tx1000 is one of the cheapest tablet PCs we've seen. Corners have been cut to hit this price so it's a bit heavier and less refined than other models.

Vista compatible: Yes