Microsoft Surface Pro 3

Astro551 on 21/05/2014 - 02:33
Last edited 21/05/2014 - 02:49

So I think Microsoft has really consolidated its vision today. I'm not sure whether SP3 will sell like hot cakes, or change up the ecosystem of tablets + laptop combinations. But by focusing the SP3 being a laptop instead of a diluted.. "thing" is a step forward. Spec summary Official Microsoft press specsheet/info

Surface Pro 3

  • 12.0" diagonal screen
  • New kickstand which allows screen to sit at 150 degrees 'flat' (AND after the 22 degree it can be adjusted to any angle rather with full friction than a fixed-stage movement)
  • Type Cover keyboard with increased touchpad size (68% larger, 70% reduced friction, no mouse clickers), and "wedge" magnet which can only be described properly when seen (meant to simulate an actual laptop keyboard I believe)
  • Updated Haswell Core processors (30% more efficient fans/increased energy efficiency)
  • 2160-by-1440-pixel resolution (with Clear Type tech, same as SP2)
  • 3:2 aspect ratio (yes!!)
  • Windows button moved to the "side" (when in landscape)
  • 9.1mm thin (similar to iPad 1)
  • 800g (MBA weighs at about 1.08kg)
  • Moved from Wacom to N-Trig digitizer (w/ cool "clicking" pen to unlcok screen)
  • 4k dock support
First Thoughts

Laptop focus is definitely empahasised by it's increase to 12". As well as it's supposed increased "lap-ability" (a combination of it's new kick-stand and type keyboard). I still question this, but I'll leave my judgements till I get my hand on it. And of course increased thinness, light-weightedness, docking station only adds to it's usability as a laptop. Although the Type Keyboard's trackpad is really something to be desired imo (small surface area, lack of buttons), the issue is that in the end it's a cover and can't compete with an MBA trackpad. Some might argue that with the touchscreen it need not to.

It's 3:2 ratio is something that I think many Win8 Tabs are missing, 16:9 really restricts it's use as a tablet considering how wide they go when you approach 10" for portrait use. 150 degree flat angle for pen use (which now uses N-Trig, I believe which has a finer ink point? There is some partnership with Photoshop iirc). Either way it looks impressive, and then you get that cool "clicking" pen which turns on the screen. A bit of a gimmick, but also behind the rationale that the SP3 can replace your piece of paper.

I think Pan was an excellent presenter, engaging and entertaining. Didn't see that many awkward waits for applause either. It's weight is still an issue to compete with traditional 400g tabs, if it is attempting to replace the tab + laptop. Size is something to be reserved for until I see it in person I think, same with the ratio.

Everytime I see a Surface event I get bloody excited, but the 3:2 ratio for tablet use and increased size for productivity is something I can feel tingling in my bones.

Would love to hear everyone's thoughts!

Gizmodo link to MS Surface Pro 3 Live Stream

P.S - almost forgot the price. $799 starting in the US, sign me up please.

Computing

Comments

  • Astro551 on 21/05/2014 - 02:59

    Also found the release dates, really hoping that it doesn't take 2 months to get here!

    Beginning June 20 in Canada and the United States, customers can visit Microsoftstore.com, Microsoft retail stores, select third-party retailers and commercial resellers to purchase Intel® Core™ i5 Surface Pro 3 and select accessories. Additional configurations will become available during August, and additional accessories will be available in the next few months.

    By the end of August, Surface Pro 3 and select new accessories will become available for purchase in 26 additional markets, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Kingdom.

  • ozhunter on 21/05/2014 - 03:02

    Looks great. Definitely up for consideration when my macbook dies.

  • ProspectiveDarkness on 21/05/2014 - 03:04

    Well, it's certainly different, I'll give them that. I'm not a huge fan of the relocated Start button, and I'm not too sure about the aspect ratio (I wonder why they went with 3:2 over 16:10… there isn't a huge difference between them, and 16:10 is more common). All the other changes seem good though, particularly the kickstand angles and display. AU pricing will be a pretty huge factor though. I'm still wary of spending ~$1000 on not-quite-a-laptop though. Wonder what the SP2's will go for now.

    Also, here's hoping there's a black version, I'm really not a fan of that colour they were showing off.

    • Astro551 on 21/05/2014 - 10:34

      Yeh thinking about it now, not 100% how 3:2 will look when doing work. I guess MS was hoping to rid of the presumption of a "not really a laptop", but we'll have to see. It doesn't seem side-by-side application usage was hindered too much, and they mentioned something about more view-ability than MBP or something. Really can't wait to see it in person in stores :p

  • verio on 21/05/2014 - 06:45

    Let's see the battery tests first. Hope there was an improvement also.

    I still do see myself switching from MBA, however, I like to see more competition. More competition, lower prices :)

  • scotty on 21/05/2014 - 07:50
    +3

    Are we going to see $600 Surface Pro 2 later this year, like what we had with the original Surface Pro?

    • Astro551 on 21/05/2014 - 10:18

      I'm just still surprised the SP3 was officially announced so early, compared to October for SP2. Also no news of that Surface Mini/or RT. Wonder if this was just a mini-event for surface or are they finally canning.

  • CyberMurning on 21/05/2014 - 09:17

    12" ? too big

    • Astro551 on 21/05/2014 - 10:31
      +3

      Great for the laptop size I think, 10.6" really wasn't enough for it to be considered a fully fledged productivity device imo. For a tablet? Well it will remain to be seen, have to wait for reviews to come out.

  • ProjectZero on 21/05/2014 - 09:54

    Hmm… their website has the price starting at $979

    Not too sure if it is US or AU though, but at that price range it seems rather tempting.

    • scotty on 21/05/2014 - 10:10
      +1

      Indeed good pricing.

      $979 is for i3 with 64GB. However the price goes up very quickly when you up the spec. i5/128GB is $1,209, and double the storage to 256GB increases the price to $1,549. Type Cover is pretty much mandatory to make it useful, which is another $149.

      • ozhunter on 21/05/2014 - 13:20

        Forgot the $799 wasn't in Australian dollars, even with those prices, it's still pretty good. This video made it all the more tempting.

        • Astro551 on 21/05/2014 - 17:12

          Bloody this video.. makes me want one so badly ha. I mean if the lap-ability issue really is fixed I'm so down (esp with that magnet on the cover). Even the part at around 4:00, it just seems because the Type Cover is still essentially a cover, it's different to a LAPtop in that respect.

          Well for a thousand buckss you can buy both a cheap laptop and the newest flagship Tablet of Apple or Samsung.

          Also not sure if that comment on YT was a troll or not, but I think will be delightfully happy when this isn't a need anymore.

    • Astro551 on 21/05/2014 - 10:16

      expected as much for AU (although still not a "terrible" price). if you change it to US at the top it changes to "Starting at $799".

  • Merlict on 21/05/2014 - 17:56

    Pretty cool, I think the new size is about perfect (Full sized SD now is handy too)

    .. I can't get over the keyboard flaps though. Would pack a Bluetooth keyboard if I thought I'd really need it on the go.

    Bring on the Pro 2 clearance prices though!

  • FabMan on 17/06/2014 - 04:07

    Any thoughts on the difference between the cheaper i7 version vs the cheaper i5 version. Do people think the 50% cost increase is worth it?

  • scotty on 17/06/2014 - 08:07
    +2

    http://penny-arcade.com/news/post/2014/06/16/surface-pro-3-u…

    Penny Arcade's update on using Surface Pro 3. Looks like MS is doing a good job getting user feedbacks and trying fix some issues.

    • Astro551 on 19/06/2014 - 19:10

      Hmmm their previous review seems to suggest that even i5 takes a hit on performance. Also regardless of sensitivity issues N-Trig vs Wacom I'm more concerned about the fact that you need batteries for the stylus now. The last thing I'd want is the pen actually dying on me in the middle of a lecture or something and no spare batteries.

  • scotty on 17/06/2014 - 10:34
    +1

    Also noted that Microsoft Store has 10% off Student price and Microsoft Surface 3 starts from $881.10 for students.

    This academic offer for eligible students, faculty, and staff requires verification of eligibility prior to purchase and is subject to limitations

    "Eligible" being uni students, i.e. not K-12.

    • Astro551 on 19/06/2014 - 19:05

      Noticed they put the 10% off price on the Pro 3, but is it actually only elligible for uni students? Apparently they expect us poor uni students to be able to be more likely to afford than parents of K-12 :P But seriously strange they would actually limit it.

      Even stranger the base 64GB SP2 is more expensive than the 64GB SP3. They must not be in a rush to get rid of them yet, why you would want a 64GB is a whole 'nother story though. Must be peanuts memory left after OS. But a $200 jump for i3->i5, 64GB->128GB is rather annoying as 1.1k pretty much becomes the base price. Wonder if I could live on a microSD + cloud and an i3 being suitable.

      • ProspectiveDarkness on 19/06/2014 - 19:11

        I reckon I could get by on 64GB. I'd still probably buy the 128GB version for safety's sake, though. I don't do a whole lot of media consumption on my portable devices, so it's really only a few programs and a heap of word documents and PDF's.

        • Astro551 on 19/06/2014 - 21:44

          Yeh I'm not too sure haha. To be fair I'm in the same boat, it would mainly be for pdfs/slides/etc. But there may be that odd occasion where you need to install some programs and then you have no storage space :P

          Heavy usage of cloud also results in a reliance on internet connections too I guess. But even stored locally docs wouldn't take much room at all.

  • FabMan on 22/06/2014 - 16:37

    If only they were on sale at eBay right now :( Pre-orders cost more with $100 off.

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