When HP unveiled its new 8-inch tablet on stage during its Barcelona holiday line-up reveal event it looked like a conventional device at that size. But then the company slotted it into a 10-inch keyboard and everybody looked on in bemusement.

Our quick take

HP Envy Note 8 hands-on

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Funnily enough though, it works.

The Windows 10 tablet comes with the extended keyboard in the same package, plus a Wacom-made HP Active Stylus. And considering it'll start at around £360 when it hits the UK later this month, that's a lot for the price.

The tablet part itself has an 8-inch 16:9 Full HD display (1920 x 1080) and is 7.7mm thick. It feels solid and well made, with a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 screen, and its design is less sleek than, say, an iPad mini, but you'd feel safer dropping it.

hp envy note 8 hands on image 5
Pocket-lint

Inside, it is run on an Intel Atom x5-Z8300 processor, clocking from 1.44GHz up to 1.84GHz in turbo mode. There is an Intel HD graphics chip on board and battery life is estimated at up to 6.25 hours.

The tablet also comes with a 4G LTE module for mobile internet and it connects to the keyboard through Bluetooth. It has a micro SIM card slot, micro SD slot for expansion, and a micro USB 2.0 port for charging. The keyboard has a micro USB 2.0 port for charging too.

The keyboard part is made of aluminium with a material cover and the tablet can safely and securely slot into the rear to protect it while travelling. It also has proper laptop-grade keys and a trackpad.

hp envy note 8 hands on image 4
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The Envy Note 8 can be slotted into the keyboard either horizontally or in portrait mode, and while it looks a little small when sitting in the much larger keyboard, it actually makes sense. At least you can use the Note 8 on your lap, unlike many rivals in the sector that require a desktop.

We also found that the keys were better for our larger fingers. Having used iPad mini case covers before, typing on them is usually quite fiddly. Not so with the Note 8's keyboard.

It might seem odd, and look as much in shots with the tablet docked, but it works far better than you think.

We don't think it'll catch on really, but at least this is an 8-inch tablet that can really double as a work station when on the move. And for a very reasonable price, to boot.