Hands on: Dell Latitude 10 Windows 8 tablet 2

Appalling naming conventions aside, this is actually a nice spread of options to cater for consumer and business users. The two more expensive models include Windows 8 Pro, a swappable battery, Wacom stylus support, rear LED flash, micro-USB charging port, mini-HDMI port, micro-SIM slot and hardware TPM chip. If you slip in a 4-cell battery it boosts their weight to 820gm. As the name would suggest, the most expensive model also features a built-in fingerprint and smart card reader.(Android Tablets PC)

Fire up the Latitude 10 and you're presented with the tile-based Mode UI, as with any Windows 8 device. There's already been a great deal written about Mode UI, so I won't cover too much old ground here. The menus are smooth and responsive, although sometimes a little sluggish when the interface rotates from portrait to landscape mode. Intelligent resource management ensures the unit remains snappy even when you've got a few applications running.

The tablet's 1366x768, 10.1-inch display looks respectable, even though it falls short on pixel density compared to its top-of-the-line rivals. The picture quality also falls slightly short of the iPad in terms of contrast, skin tones and viewing angles -- a little underwhelming for an IPS LCD screen but not enough to complain about. It's protected by tough Gorilla Glass but has a little more trouble with outdoor glare than the iPad. The built-in speakers also lack punch but are acceptable. You'll also find a 2MP front camera in the bezel and 8MP at the rear, useful for taking pics, capturing movies or making Skype video calls.

Below the screen you'll find a home button which always takes you back to the Mode UI screen. You'll also find dedicated power, volume and orientation lock buttons along with a single USB2.0 port, SD card slot, headphone/mic jack and a dock/power connector. The buttons can be a bit stiff and stubbo at times. There are no Back or Settings buttons as you find on Android, so leaing your way around the interface takes time but soon feels intuitive once you master the art of flicking in from the bezel to call up menus.

If you're willing to give Mode UI a chance it's actually quite nice to use on a slick touchscreen device like the Latitude 10. If Microsoft hadn't generated so much ill-will by forcing it on desktop users, Windows 8 tablets like this would probably get a better reception from your average punter.

If you're contemplating the Latitude 10 as an Apple/Android alteative then you'll need to make peace with the fact that the Mode UI App Store still lags behind. It's certainly improving and the store might already meet your needs, but keep in mind that for the foreseeable future you'll always be last in line for new apps. Of course you've always got the traditional desktop to fall back on, although it's not optimised for touch and is clunky to use with your fingers.(Android 4.0 Tablet PC)

Alteatively you might be contemplating the Latitude 10 as a low-end notebook/desktop replacement, sometimes using Mode UI in tablet mode and sometimes dropping it in a stand to use in desktop mode with a keyboard, monitor and mouse. As long as you don't need too much grunt, this PC/tablet hybrid model could be the perfect use for the Latitude 10. It might start as your companion device but perhaps even ea its place as your primary computing device.

It's no powerhouse but Dell's Latitude 10 really lets Windows 8 shine. If you're looking for a mobile computing all-rounder which lets you run productivity apps during the day but can slip into something more comfortable after hours, and you're not seduced by Apple or Android, this could be the one for you.