Microsoft offers yet another alternative to people who are tired of carrying around their heavy laptops with them. Its brand new Surface 3 tablet is one of the most portable surfaces currently in the market, and it comes at an affordable price too.
Tech experts compared Microsoft’s new gadget with the Pro 3 version released last year. They came to the conclusion that Surface 3 is better in every aspect, while retaining most of its predecessor strong points.
Microsoft Surface 3 is smaller, cheaper and weighs less than last year’s tablet. One of the features that specialists expect to attract consumers’ attention is the tablet’s ability to run all existing Windows applications, being nothing less than a regular laptop in this aspect.
It comes with a 10.8-inch display, much smaller than the Pro 3 12 inch model. The framework is pretty much identical in the two versions, but Surface 3 is lighter – 1.37 pounds, compared to the 1.76 pounds the Pro 3 weighted.
The new Silicon processor allows Surface 3 to get rid of any cooling fans that Pro 3 used to have. The quad-core Intel Atom x7-Z8700 processor normally runs at 1.6GHz but can reach up to 2.4GHz thanks to the Intel Burst technology. The processor’s speed is good enough to keep up with what Microsoft’s competition has to offer and the most important thing – it doesn’t heat up.
Surface 3 works flawlessly with Windows 8.1, the operating system specifically designed by Microsoft for touchscreen devices. It is also upgradable to the upcoming Windows 10 version, so buyers will have no major effort to make staying in touch with the latest interface improvements.
The new tablet was announced on Tuesday and is expected to be available in stores starting from next month. Microsoft seems to want to give potential consumers enough time to mull over Surface 3’s characteristics. The tablet starts at $499, with an extra 100 bucks for double storage capacity and RAM memory.
The most obvious choice buyers will have to make is between Microsoft’s Surface 3 and Apple’s iPad Air 2. Surface 3 seems to be a little bit faster than the 1.5 GHz processor on the iPad Air 2, but the difference is negligible and both tablets are expected to perform well in this aspect. The primary camera is identical on both products, although Surface 3 does come with a better frontal camera.
The Apple tablet really seems to have an edge in terms of display and design. Also, even they made it lighter, the Microsoft device doesn’t look able to compete with iPad Air’s feather weight.
Overall between the two, a verdict is still out.
Image Source: Mashable
thecrud says
poop
KahokFan99 says
My experience with the Surface maybe unusual but it was not good. Bought the Surface RT about 18 months ago. The Apps I needed and used daily were never created for Windows. The unit died an early death. It just won’t turn on anymore. Microsoft Surface is a poor product. I will use the up front more expensive Apple hardware from now on.
JeffD says
The new Surface 3 will run the full range of windows applications. It is a real computer that is perfect for sending with a college student. It is not just a competitor to the iPad.
admin says
I work in an enterprise environment. these (any) tablets can only be used for paper weights. If it has to be marketed to you this hard, you don’t want it. microsoft is a software company, apple is a hardware company. macbook air every time is the winner. and i am a pc person by choice, but the down time, and unfriendly nature of the tablets makes them useless. you can surf the web with them on your home network. did you see them when the espn guys were using them during the nfl/college playoffs/bowls. they didnt know what to do with them, they just poked them with pencils. that ad with all the happy people dancing around, being productive, writing with a pen, editing… has caused me so much pain, we wont let purchasing order them. and we spend about 10k a month on laptops. the demographic for these must be 13 year girls.
What The says
My family has an RT and two Surface 2s. I use the Surface 2 for accessing the internet when I am on the road and need to look up something quickly. How? I create a wifi hotspot with my phone ;-). It is much easier to boot up and use than any laptop I have. My elementary school son uses his Surface 2 for school and homework. Both of us do not need any app that is not already offered. We both have Office (however depleted) and internet access. I have the 32gb version, but I added a 64gb card for additional storage which I probably will never fill.
I bought all three surfaces at different times as refurbished units for $200 a piece. That is what they are worth. Maybe I would have pushed it to $250, but they were not worth their list price at the time.
ZippyZion says
I have a Surface Pro 2 I’ve been using for a year now. It is a powerful little device and the quality of the build is quite high too. I’ve replaced only the power adapter and the only reason for that was because my 2yr old destroyed it. It has done everything I have asked of it. Everything from school work, to gaming, to media, to virtual boxing Ubuntu and it has done everything well. For the people who say these devices aren’t good for anything, evolve out of the IBM 8086 age and move on. When used properly even the Surface RT is a useful device, though not terribly powerful. The fact that Microsoft has moved away from Windows RT means that you no longer need to worry about a striped out OS. This Surface 3 is a full computer as much as an Ultrabook is a full computer. Any of the Surface Pro machines are full computers. If you can’t figure out how to use them then that is your own fault.