With Windows Vista now housing full tablet functionality, Microsoft must be hoping for a boost in sales of the much maligned tablet PC.

As it happens, the relatively low specification of Fujitsu-Siemens Lifebook P1610 means it only just meets the minimum specification for Vista Basic.

Since tablet functionality is only available with Home Premium or above, Fujitsu-Siemens has been forced to opt for the older Windows XP Tablet Edition.

If you crave Vista, a higher-spec model (1GB Ram, 80GB hard drive) is available for a smidgen over £2,000 - this also includes a UMTS module for high-speed HSDPA internet access on the go.

Software aside, the Lifebook P1610's obvious draw is its portability. Just 230mm wide and weighing only 1.2kg, you'll barely notice it in your bag. Opening up the lid reveals an 8.9in screen and full Qwerty keyboard. The keys are small and crammed in pretty close together, which hinders typing speeds considerably.

Despite using the Lifebook P1610, we never felt entirely comfortable bashing out long documents; fumbling unsuccessfully for the shift, control and Windows Start buttons was a common occurrence. That said, it's certainly easier than using the miniature keyboard on Sony's UX1 ultra-mobile PC.

There's no room for a trackpad, so you're left to navigate via the nipple, keyboard shortcuts or the touch-screen display.

The screen can flip round and fold back on itself should you want to switch to full Tablet mode. A small stylus for scribbling notes is stored on the right side of the chassis, which had a tendency to get stuck in its slot during testing.

Handwriting recognition in XP Tablet Edition is excellent, though not as fully featured as the new version included with Vista. The small screen also makes it difficult to write anything more than short notes.

The exterior is home to a fingerprint reader, two USB2 ports, a PC Card slot and an SD card reader, while networking is available via 802.11g, Bluetooth, wired Lan and a 56k modem. The 60GB hard drive is pretty small, and may cause you storage concerns down the line.

The Lifebook P1610 is powered by an Intel Core Solo U1400 processor trundling along at 1.2GHz. Just 512MB of Ram occupies the single Micro-Dimm slot, which will have to be ditched if you upgrade to 1GB. As expected, it struggled through Sysmark 2004 SE with a score of 108.

Although adequate for office tasks and browsing, processor intensive applications such as video editing are out. Graphics are taken care of by Intel's 945GM chipset; fine for tablet tasks, but a score of 322 in 3Dmark05 shows just how unsuited it is to gaming.

Although we can forgive sub-standard graphics and low processor power on a tablet, poor battery life is another matter. In our benchmarks is managed two hours 43 minutes in the productivity test. When out an about, with a good mixture of usage, it rarely kept going over two hours. A six-cell battery is available for £81, which should power the P1610 for an extra hour or so, but it's still not great.

At £1,464, Fujitsu-Siemens would have done well to include both batteries as standard. As it stands, you're paying a hefty premium considering the poor battery life and low specification.

Take a look at HP's new Pavilion tx1000 Tablet, with its dual-core processor, 1GB Ram and 120GB hard disk all for £899, and the Lifebook P1610 starts to look outrageously expensive. Then again, the HP's larger dimensions won't suit everyone.

Portability is without a doubt the Lifebook P1610's best asset, but the high price tag and poor battery life don't do it any favours.