Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Announced

Microsoft has announced their Surface Pro 3 tablet. This version uses a 12 inch display (3:2 ratio) and offers a number of updated parts from the Surface Pro 2.

Specifications:

• Windows 8.1 Pro
• 12 inch 2160 x 1440 display (3:2) with N-TRIG active digitizer and stylus
• i3 / i5 / i7 Haswell U series
• 4 GB / 8 GB LPDDR3
• 64GB / 128 GB / 256 GB / 512 GB SSD
• front and rear 5MP camera and microphone
• stereo speakers
• WiFi 802.11ac/a/b/g/n | Bluetooth 4.0 LE | TPM Chip
• 1x USB 3.0 | 1x microSD | 1x headphone/microphone | 1x mini DisplayPort
• Ambient light sensor | accelerometer | gyroscope | magnetometer
• 11.5 x 7.93 x 0.36 inch | 1.76 lbs
• Up to 9 hours of battery life

Pricing:

• $799 - i3 / 4 GB / 64 GB
• $999 - i5 / 4 GB / 128 GB
• $1299 - i5 / 8 GB / 256 GB
• $1549 - i7 / 8 GB / 256 GB
• $1949 - i7 / 8 GB / 512 GB

Comparison chart with an ARM based Android tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 and a Haswell Y series based Windows tablet, the Sony VAIO Tap 11.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/surface-pro-3-vs-11-inch-macbook-air-specs-price-features-compared/#!PbnzW

Compare it to the MacBook Air and I'll save me 300$ and get the Apple product even if I usually against them, I see no point to favor the Microsoft one.

Too big, at that size I'd rather just buy a laptop.

I think this can be an excellent product based on your needs. I would have loved something like this during my engineering undergrad. I was constantly going between class, the lab and meetings. The one tap to OneNote would have been awesome to take down quick notes from a classmate, in lab, or during meetings, plus the high resolution makes it easy to get work done, I can attach a keyboard when I need it. Plus full Windows and fast Intel processor, can run all my engineering applications no sweat. Oh well, that time has passed. Cool product if you ask me. You can definitely get a powerful laptop for this price range but for me the money is worth it for its flexibility.

Surface pro starts to look tempting, but I'll have to hold one as well before deciding whether I might buy one or not. Not that I need now luckily so will be even better in the future when I might need one.

The screen resolution on the MacBook Air is too low for me to consider it. I use a fair amount of circuit simulation software and the Surface Pro 3 would be far superior for my needs than the Air. Also the Air is a good amount heavier.

@Marfoo A classmate (electrical engineering) uses an MS Surface for what you described and it does seem very convenient.

@achilles614: Ha, that's exactly what I studied.

The Surface series are great products, but are just too overpriced for some people. Yes you pay for quality build and tech, and it really is a laptop/tablet hybrid, but there are tablets like the Asus VivoTab and Dell that offer the same with a lower price.

Good thing about a new Surface being announced is that the older versions go down in price.

Oh good they've made it look more presenteble and better use of colours. a good start.

I can't get inboard though.... I love the concept... but at that price, the level of milkage....

Why can't I have an i5 version with 512GB? .... the i5 storage is absolute garbage.... wtf do I need an i7 in one of those for?...

and the windows store on both pc and phone are still absolutely trash compared to Android and iOS .... I see very little reason to support there... I would take a touch mini ultrabook over this.... despite loving its look and concept.... its just STILL not there in its third revision.

They do need more customization options on it. Any processor you choose and you should be able to at least choose the hard drive space of your liking. They use a standard SSD drive, don't they?

no GPU specs...

*is skeptical*

They don't have dedicated gpus thats why :P .... since theyre not about games.

Though with steam home streaming working so well they can act as a portable pc in your home at least.

Also 12 inch... its kinda losing its tablet status now... other than to have a jumbo tablet in my hand, what reason would I have to choose this over a touch ultra book? or even those asus touch ultrabooks with the removable keyboard?

I don't think the Surface is about customization on the hardware. It's like the iPad, a few different versions come out and you have to choose what you want. Most of the time with laptops/hybrids/tablets you don't get to choose the specs, just the model.

Yea we know why its like that, but I'm pointing out the milkage.

i5 is plenty for most tasks... they need value on these machines if they want to sell any. remember while it is "like an iPad" its practically double the price.... and its in the ultrabook range.

simply offering a 512GB version with an i5 would bring slightly better value.

but its grasping at straws at the moment.... its simple too expensive.... and just not that practical..... like Steam Box... it doesn't fit any market well enough.

@topgunmv: thats the point, rather then having two devices and taking them both with u, only have one that does it all.

The price increases for more storage and ram are ridiculous!

UPDATE

Here are the specifications of the different processors:

It would appear that there is a reasonable performance gap between each processor. I would also be curious what the battery life on the i3 model would be due to the lower max TDP.

Damn, I bought Surface Pro 2 128GB with type cover 2 a month ago.

I wonder how much more power it will have than my current model. Damn thing runs Skyrim and Bioshock : Infinite on low-mid settings. Not bad for a tablet...