The Thinkpad is a mainstay of mobile productivity, a favourite of business users (and astronauts on the International Space Station) since IBM's original 1992 machine. Now produced by Lenovo, the devices continue to offer a premium, powerful option for those working on the go, and the latest X1 Tablet (Gen 3) is no different.

A Windows 10 tablet with a magnetically-attaching keyboard, the new X1 goes toe-to-toe with Microsoft's latest Surface Pro and comes out looking pretty good. The base model packs an Intel i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of in-built storage for $2699. This is $700 more than a similarly-appointed Surface Pro, but the Thinkpad offers several advantages.

First of all it includes a stylus for writing, doodling or digital painting, as well as a solid, detachable version of the iconic Thinkpad keyboard. These are optional extras for the Surface Pro, costing close to $400 combined. The Thinkpad also features a newer 8th Gen processor and a bigger, higher-resolution screen. For a couple hundred extra you can add 4G capabilities.

It is heavy for a convertible tablet, weighing almost 1.3kg with the keyboard attached, but it makes up for that by feeling incredibly strong and solid. It's not that much lighter than the more powerful and similarly-priced ThinkPad X1 Extreme laptop, which offers a similar keyboard and stylus setup. The key difference here, of course, is that the tablet can drop the keyboard to become a very capable sub-900g slate.

In some ways the new X1 fully commits to the future, dropping just about every legacy port in favour of two USB-C Thunderbolts. This will make it tough to use an external keyboard or mouse, or a USB drive, but when you're on the go it's arguable whether you'll need that stuff. If you're in the office, Thunderbolt makes it easy to connect to a monitor, peripherals and charging brick with a single plug. The Surface Pro, by comparison, has a full-sized USB but requires use of the proprietary Surface Connect port if you want an all-in-one hub like this.