The neutral looks, superb mouse buttons and Trackpoint controller of the HP Compaq tc4200 series will no doubt appeal to business users.

This PV984ET model uses a fast 1.86GHz Pentium M processor with 512MB of DDR2 memory and a 60GB hard drive.

While it’s priced at an attractive £1,175, it is clear HP Compaq hopes you will lay out extra cash on some accessories.

There’s no optical drive supplied as standard, so you’ll require either a USB Multibay II or another external drive to make use of the recovery CDs or the versions of Sonic Recordnow 7 and Intervideo Windvd 5 – both are included in the software package.

You may also consider buying the HP Docking Station, which raises the back of the tc4200 to give a more natural feel when you are typing.

The HP Wireless Assistant button on the left side enables and disables wireless and Bluetooth in a single operation, which is another tick in the box for business users who don’t want to mess around in System Properties before a flight.

Spinning the screen round and laying it down flat results in the display automatically switching to portrait mode.

There’s a button at the base of the screen specifically intended for presentations. This is to open the application of your choice and select a suitable power scheme.

The HP is the lightest of the three big tablets in this round-up, but still weighs over 2kg so you’ll soon tire of carrying it wherever you go.

This article is part of a group test. All articles in the test are as follows:
Intro
Acer Travelmate C202TMi
Fujitsu Siemens Lifebook P1510
HP Compaq tc4200 PV984ET
Motion Computing LS800
Toshiba Tecra M4
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
Editor's Choice