Hey all,
So the Surface Pro 3 is on sale at ShoppingExpress for 20% off. This probably comes in the wake of the 4 coming out soon.
@JB price = $2698
@SE price = $2159.2
@JB Price = $2,198
@SE Price = $1,759.20
@JB price = $1,848
@SE Price = $1,479
Seems to be across the range of the Pros :) Link
[updated with other models]
Isn't the LTE model only coming out on the non pro version?
Yep. Also the only pro in the non pro version is the lack of ram and the micro usb charging
Are they bringing the LTE out here for the surface 3 (not Pro)?? It's just come out in the US….
SP4 I think is October release so I would expect it will drop some more just before the release….(comment by Daniel Rubino on Twitter)
I really need LTE on these as well - considering a HP Elitebook 810 G3 until then
We use the HP Elitebook 810 G3 at work, Great unit, but I don't think you will get the same battery life as the Surface.
LTE version as in Surface Pro 4? I haven't read or heard anything about an LTE SP3.
The SP4 is expected to be trailing not too far behind the release of Windows 10… Which will be tonight.
Fairly ambiguous… But I'm holding off purchasing an SP3 because of this.
I'm holding out as well. For now my sp1 with power cover can do.
Nothing worse than buying a product and BAM…next generation release… Minus 50% at least in value
Can you get this one price matched with JB or Harvey Norman?
It's a pretty good tablet.
It's more a laptop in a tablet form factor. More comparable with an ultrabook.
Unlike an ipad, you can actually do work on this. So yes, worth every cent.
mmm I have a Teclast x98 Air II - I can do the same work and even cheaper than the transformer….. So the cycle continues??
I've got a Transformer as well as an SP3.
The Transformer is absolutely incomparable to the SP3 unless all you do is web surfing or MS Word.
MUCH higher res screen that's also larger, a LOT faster, more RAM for more serious multitasking, a stylus, very accurate colours, better build quality, etc.
@Forfiet: I've got a pen and pad, i can do the same work and its for free because I get it for 'free' from work.
I've got a transformer, but I've never tried connecting to the internet or anything with it. Mostly it just sits on my desk in Optimus mode pointing a sword at me.
The quarterly loss was "on paper" only. They chose this quarter to write down the value of their Nokia acquisition from ~$8bil to $0. They didn't actually lose any money, but they took a hit "on paper". So this took what was actually a ~$5bil profit in the real world and turned it into a ~$3bil loss.
Acquired at $8b, today's value $0 - They didn't actually lose any money (!)
Creative Accounting ?
Not even close. Probably a combination of asset disposal and write down of goodwill.
Think about it like this - if you buy a PC today for $1000, and say it is worth $1000, but then you go ahead and strip all the parts out of it, throwing away what you don't want/need, and putting the stuff you do want somewhere else. You put that empty PC case away for 12 months. In 12 months time, is that PC still worth $1000, even though it's missing all of its parts and is just an empty case? No, it's worth $0. So you used to own something worth $1000, and you had recorded it in your little spreadsheet of assets as being worth $1000. One day you look at your spreadsheet and go "That's not worth $1000, it's just an empty old dusty PC case. I'd better remove it from my asset list", so you remove that $1000 from your asset spreadsheet. So if your asset total was $5000 before, with the $1000 of PC included, it now only reads $4000. Did you actually lose $1000 since yesterday though, even though you spent that $1000 12 months ago? No, you lost nothing.
That's essentially what Microsoft did with Nokias Devices division. They bought it, stripped it back to what they wanted and needed (this is where all the layoffs were from, redundant staff from the acquisition), and are now writing off that $8bil purchase because it's not worth anything anymore since they gutted it and took what they wanted. So it was worth $8bil on their asset sheet, now it's worth $0 as everything they wanted in it has been taken out and moved to other divisions. So on paper it looks like they just lost $8bil, but in reality they lost nothing.
Obviously there is more to it than that, but (and anyone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on anything there) that's the gist of it.
I really like your analogy. However wouldn't the value of the computers that you moved the parts too increase? Shouldn't the other departments that now have some of the $8bil assets now be worth more?
@bluey47: Yeh I'd say something like that would occur. Hopefully someone with a finance background can provide some insight.
Would you rather buy $1500 Mac/ultrabook and $500 iPad?. Surface pro 3 is a "tablet that can replace your laptop". And it's around 1kg weight with keyboard.
Why would I buy a Macbook and an iPad, the Macbook alone can do everything the Surface pro can do and also run Windows and all its apps and its got 2 USB ports.
You might be missing the point of tablets. But that's OK, they're not for everyone. If a MacBook alone does everything you want, that's good for you. Just bear in mind not everyone uses their devices exactly like you.
This isn't a tablet its a laptop with an optional keyboard despite what Microsoft marketing would have your believe, 99% of people buy the keyboard because without it its a PIA to use, my Surface Pro is sitting in my book case unused for months. Its just a laptop with one USB port, a terrible keyboard that has a touch screen. MS own marketing team have said the direct competitor to their device is the Macbook Air, so my question above was fair and not personal unlike your response. I asked why would I buy this device over a Macbook Air or any other ultrabook for that matter when they can do more for the same money or less, the Macbooks Airs been $1500 for ages, this 20% reduction makes little difference, you still need to cough up for a keyboard.
This isn't a tablet its a laptop with an optional keyboard despite what Microsoft marketing would have your believe,
And that's based on the ways you assume everybody will use it. As I said, not everyone does things your way.
99% of people buy the keyboard because without it its a PIA to use
I have a keyboard for mine. When doing work or typing lots of things, I absolutely need the keyboard. It'd be quite frustrating otherwise.
But surprise surprise, I don't only use my Surface for work.
If I'm sitting on a sofa browsing the net, reading the news with my feet up on the table, watching a movie on a plane seat, doing a long Skype video chat, sketching a diagram, handwriting notes, annotating PDF forms, or giving a presentation, I have absolutely no need for a keyboard.
So what do I do? I remove the keyboard. The device then becomes an 800g touchscreen tablet without an unnecessary large-footprint keyboard that will otherwise take up room and add weight. The Surface will be able to stand on its own with a minimal footprint.
So when you said the MacBook can do everything the Surface Pro can do, you were incorrect.
The MacBook cannot do everything the Surface Pro can do.
The MacBook can do everything you want to do.
That's fine. Tablets aren't for everyone.
The key point here is, there are many people in this world. Not everyone has exactly the same usage scenarios as you.
I could very easily say to you, why would I buy a MacBook when I can buy a $500 Toshiba laptop - the laptop alone can do everything the MacBook can do and have 4 USB ports, and cost a third of the price. But you and I both know they're not exactly comparable.
p.s. you might want to double check and see what USB connectivity the new MacBook has.
"That's fine. Tablets aren't for everyone", you keep saying that like I don't like them and yet I haven't said anything to indicate that? I have 2 that are used daily, and yes I checked the Macbook Air I mentioned above and as I mentioned it has two ports….In my reply to "dadeadman" I said Macbook instead of Macbook air as I did later which may have confused you, apologies for that. I assumed it would be obvious the $1500 Macbook he meant was the Air as its the direct competitor to this device not the 12" Macbook recently released with 1 x USB type C and an Intel Core M processor which are nothing alike.
you keep saying that like I don't like them and yet I haven't said anything to indicate that?
You haven't said anything to indicate you don't like them, i.e. Surface tablets? Did I misunderstand something?
At the start, dadeadman said the Surface is both a tablet and a laptop, i.e. it takes the place of the MacBook and an iPad.
You said:
Why would I buy a Macbook and an iPad, the Macbook alone can do everything the Surface pro can do and also run Windows and all its apps and its got 2 USB ports.
So basically you're saying the MacBook alone "can do everything the Surface Pro can do" … and "also run Windows and all its apps and its got 2 USB ports" - i.e. there's no reason to get the Surface because your MacBook can do it all.
i.e., the Surface is pointless. Your MacBook can do it all.
You then said
my Surface Pro is sitting in my book case unused for months
I assume that is because you don't like it - otherwise it wouldn't be sitting unused for months.
Next, you said:
Its just a laptop with one USB port, a terrible keyboard that has a touch screen.
Sure sounds like you don't like the Surface.
But now you're saying you have two tablets that are used daily?
The mere fact that you said:
I asked why would I buy this device over a Macbook Air or any other ultrabook for that matter when they can do more for the same money or less
clearly shows that your usage does not benefit from the Surface features and form factor. So it might be completely pointless for you. But that doesn't mean it's pointless for everybody else.
So back to your original question, there's no reason why you should buy the Surface over a MacBook or Ultrabook because from what you've described, the way you use your devices will probably not benefit from the Surface form factor.
@hotzone: http://www.globalmobileawards.com/winners-2015/ According to these guys surface pro 3 is "Best Mobile Tablet". I don't see why its not a tablet. Does getting keyboard for ipad makes ipad not tablet?
Sorry I didn't bother replying till today I figured you think you are right I think I am, so I left it, I didn't realise you wrote an essay and put in so much effort proving your point…ummm very nice
@hotzone: You might want to re-read the thread now that your mind is fresh.
No need to apologize, but thanks anyway. :)
Not sure how this is a bargain. Bought Microsoft Surface Pro3 Core i5 256GB 12" Tablet in November 2014 from Microsoft Store for $1,394.10 and the Type Cover for $134.99. Also got cashback of $41.70. Actually I missed the $100 voucher promo at that time, so the price could be even lower.
The price is academic version's price, which is so easy to get if you know someone that has .edu email address.
The price is academic version's price, which is so easy to get if you know someone that has .edu email address.
So that price doesn't apply to everyone then, unlike this deal.
Microsoft has also raised the rrp since then similar to what apple did with the iphone due to the significant decline in the value of the $AUD
Do they still have the academic price?
All the time
just checked but now student offer for i5 256G @ 1664.. vs yours 1394
guess have to wait
http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msaus/en_AU/pdp/Surface-…
Not really sure how you could have missed the Aussie dollar tanking in that time. #faireffort
Also, comparing an academic price to retail? You're really on fire today. (And I'm wondering what course you're doing to get an academic price…)
Sorry I see no change in BigMac's price and i am taking a course on How to Train the Jedi Way, if you must know.
What? BigMac's are made locally…
@FabMan: Have you heard of BigMac Currency Index? So it determines whether the curency changes is justified or not, hence my initial argument.
@FabMan: if you said The Economist being silly, then yeah…:D
http://www.economist.com/content/big-mac-index
@Mic Cullen: Ummm, Big Mac Index actually has fair bit of solid reason behind it (i.e. it allow you to measure Purchasing Power Parity really roughly). It's about comparing purchasing power of two countries (if I can grab a big mac from US at blah price and Australia at lower price, then US dollar has more purchasing power). That said, there is a reason why we have use other measures to measure PPP. Maccas for example is seen more as a fine dining in certain part of the world than a fast food restaurant and that influences the price and yaddi yadda.
Besides, exchange rates fluctuate from things other than PPP.
Well one has 8gb ram 256ssd and an i5…..
Surprisingly Windows is becoming more lightweight, especially compared to that Samsung Touchwiz crap.
Windows starting from 8 runs really smoothly on old hardware (if you have an SSD).
They are more notebook replacement with tablet-like features.
These are full desktop version tablets. They can run any computer programs/games.
I own the Galaxy s 8.4 LTE tablet and I can tell you that this is a proper computer while my galaxy is a media/internet device. I think you need to know the difference between the two before commenting. I am looking to get one of these to replace my laptop and will keep the galaxy when I just want to browse internet or watch YouTube etc.
I have to say for more than 10 Windows notebooks I ever have, Surface is still the best.
Australia warranty?
Yes
cheers
SE
So this is legitimate Australian stock, rather than imported with your own warranty?
There is some form of global warranty with Surfaces. Maybe it's up to their discretion.
A while back I bought a Surface 2 in Australia. It developed a stability problem shortly after when I was in the US. MS mailed me a new American replacement unit to me in the US.
A year and a bit later I was back in Australia. The paint finish had worn off in some corners so I contacted MS Australia. They sent me a replacement Australian unit to replace my American unit.
@AznMitch: Well I got a US charger along with my replacement. I returned the Australian charger to Microsoft USA.
Did the same when I was back here. I returned the US charger to MS Australia and got an Australian charger.
@eug: So, as far as you are aware, there are no barriers Microsoft puts in place to prevent grey market warranty follow-up?
@AlexD: I didn't encounter any. That doesn't mean you won't either, though. :)
It must be up to the rep's discretion.
Mine had a 2-year warranty too. Everything online says 1 year, but when I registered it on the surface website, the warranty expiry date was 2 years.
BTW this thread might be helpful. It looks like there is a global warranty for some sort. Not sure why it's not clearly stated on their website.
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/forum/surfpro-sur…
@eug: Serious? Huh, I swear I read "accessories are excluded from global warranty", must've misread something or something like that.
@eug: Possibly, I found their service team to be really eager to "help" me. They've sent me fair bit of emails for 2 weeks, when I've informed them that my SP1 was not working properly, until I've sent mine to receive a replacement unit. I actually felt bad because I felt like it was nothing too severe (it was slight overheating issues with random BSOD from overheating sometimes, nothing majorly faulty).
Still find the Surface pro 3 too expensive, I really think the $1,479 version should have at least i7…
Many ultrabooks (and 2in1s) have better specs and better prices, just wish they'd come with a proper stylus too.
And wish they had the same weight ,screen resolution and portability
Honestly I said ultrabook and 2in1s because they aren't far off in those areas. (plus they actually sit on your lap nicely, my surface pro can't really be used on my lap and that really annoys me)
1.5kg is a big differenxe to 0.7kg
@astarman:
Don't forget the typecover… The difference becomes small unless you can't carry that extra 200-300g.
@astarman:
It's actually 1.1kg, and as an example my very own ultrabook (Acer S7) is 1.25kg. The difference is literally 150g..
@clse945111: I was interested in the S7 till I read the poor reviews. You cannot compare an SP3 to an S7.
@eug:
I only used that as an example because I own one… There's plenty of ultrabooks under or about 1.5kg.
And the reviews of S7 looked good to me, what's your bad review?
@clse945111: Battery life was the biggest complaint when I looked at it. This year's model looks good, but it's not cheap either.
I haven't used Acer's warranty service. It'd be hard to beat MS's excellent warranty service though.
@eug:
Can't really comment on warranty either seeing as I haven't used it.
Microsoft though… I was trying to buy the SP1 on their website a long while ago, the payment couldn't go through for some unknown reasons, contacted them and they got back to me a month later… By then I already purchased through HN so I said don't bother. Maybe warranty is different, but that was certainly a bad experience.
@clse945111: I had to ring them up to get my academic pricing during the SP1 days. I couldn't buy it on their website. The call went to an MS operator in New York. She processed my payment over the phone. No hassles - it was a good experience.
More recently - a month ago I filled in a contact form on the Surface website about my charger's mains power cable being loose. They called me right away, barely asked any questions, and shipped me an entire new charger. I just swapped the original fig-8 power cable with my own and now have two chargers.
@PVA: Which model? The one I read was for the S7-391 model. I ended up getting the Vaio Pro 11 instead. Now that's what you call a super-light laptop.
Engadget were mostly quite impressed by the S7-391, but these points stood out to me:
excerpts:
When it comes to dragging the cursor around the screen, though, the arrow often stops before you get to whatever you meant to click on. Other times, the touchpad registered a left click, when all we were doing was moving the cursor around the screen. We had a similar issue when doing pinch-to-zoom (though the zooming itself was otherwise smooth). So, if we weren't careful, we'd accidentally open apps when we didn't mean to.
"LOUD NOISES." That's the note I wrote to myself in the performance section of this review, back when I was still gathering my impressions and felt the need to leave a placeholder.
That fan noise, though — that will follow you everywhere. It would be an understatement to say the machine pipes up during gaming, and other graphics-intensive tasks; it gets loud even when it's mostly idle, or when you open a single app, like Maps.
It's too bad the machine gets so distractingly loud, because underneath all the noise it's an impressively fast, capable system.Even after running the test several times, the best we could muster was four hours and 18 minutes.
So, the runtime here really is pretty bad, a large step below mediocre.
All those points meant a definite 'no' for me. I just glanced through the review of the model that came after that though, and it looks like it has improved by quite a bit. If only it came in black.
@eug:
No idea of the model, just know S7, i7 CPU. 13inch.
The friends is a white one - from Dick Smith 6 month or so ago.
I didnt like the look of glass backed screen but the rest looks (and seems to go ) fine.
@clse945111:
No idea, it was almost $2000 though.
looks exactly like this http://www.dicksmith.com.au/acer-aspire-s7-392-i7-ultrabook-…
Many ultrabooks (and 2in1s) have better specs and better prices,
You need to compare it to ultrabooks with the same build quality and good support, e.g. Dell's XPS13 or a ThinkPad Yoga. The SP3's pricing looks well-aligned with that.
Too bad compnow doesn't sell the bundles anymore. I got an i5 128GB one with typecover, pen, and docking station all for $1350 after claiming back GST. Regardless, best tech purchase I've ever made.
Where from?
Where from?
Looks like SE bought up a whole of of Surface products before the recent big price increase.
every time see deal on surface i hesitated (because of the price) then miss out.
i say "next deal will surely get one!"
next deal comes up, hesitated again…
I would wait for Skylake processor for longer battery and wireless charging. Once launched, get it quickly since Surface prices hardly get huge discounted.
wireless charging? same thing like mobile phone Q system? means we need to place that surface ontop of "charging pad".
not so nice.
and this skylake, you think they will be inside surface 4? or still like 3 generation away?
Hmm, I doubt wireless charging would come to Surfaces unless they stop being made of metal.
funny you say that, just saw this today!
https://www.qualcomm.com/news/releases/2015/07/28/qualcomm-b…
but yeh I can't really see the benefits of wireless charging for laptops, I mean it is cool to have the option though but it just seems less intuitive compared to mobile devices.
@Astro551: Awesome.. good timing!
It'd be handy if our desks had the charging coils built in to the whole surface. One day… one day!
Running and charging a laptop on 22W would be a little painful though. :)
![Microsoft Surface Pro3 [3 Models] (20% off) @ Shopping Express](https://files.ozbargain.com.au/n/75/204875.jpg?h=b9771aa6)
Decent discount… But still waiting for the LTE version