Microsoft just released the Surface 3 LTE version with 128GB and 4GB RAM. It is on their store for $699. JB Hifi and Harvey Norman are both selling the same device for $950+
The standard Surface 3 with 128GB and 4GB RAM is selling for $739…. go figure.
Free standard shipping.
Possible price error
Check the LTE version jv
It shows $739 for me for the 128GB and 4GB RAM. If you click on the LTE version, it drops to $699
You can use the LTE version like an iPad LTE - with a SIM card. It also includes a GPS chip.
The LTE one has LTE. (As in Telstra/Optus 4G).
@jv:
Here's a LITE one to support your conundrum (FULL CAPS too)
http://www.dicksmith.com.au/tablets-accessories/samsung-gala…
NB. It doesn't come with LTE though ;)
It means you can put in a sim card and get data instead of relying on WiFi only.
(removed - incorrect)
Limited time only: Save $100
Surface 3 – 64GB
★★★★★
★★★★★ 4.3 out of 5 stars. Read reviews. (15) Read reviews
AU$599.00 incl. GST
(was AU$699.00) save : AU$100.00
LTE hit LTE!
Darn you! Tried to remove the post!
It's the Atom model, so don't get too carried away..
ewww…poor performance and value for $… Thanks loopylou
So what if it has say an i3? You still can't play games on them…
Truth is these machines are for general use - watching video, browsing the net, office apps, and it's more than capable to handle the task.
I'd bite if it comes with the keyboard cover….
@Diji1:
Because he's saying the sp4 i3 model is the same, u can't do shit on it besides movies/internet/office. May as well get this with the Atom if that is what you are looking for.
@mg_k: the pro 1 was selling for $550 on clearance for the i5 model. You can probably find sp2 brand new at this price
If you'd said it has an i3, than I'd say it would do all those things you mentioned faster, it would be less frustrating to use, and also have a longer useful life before needing replacement…
Um captain obvious ofc it will be 10% faster max.
But then you'll complain about the price won't you?
If it was i3, it would also either have a fan, meaning more weight and noise, or have more issues with heat throttling, or run at a lower speed than what you would expect from an i3.
You can't just ramp up processing power without considering heat issues.
ironically my dell venue pro 11 plays 3d games perfectly fine
not really an issue with throttling but it does have a fan
i5 processor vpro
4gb ddr3 ram
128gb ssd
intel graphics
plays killing floor fine counterstrike and a few lighter games
i was impressed for the size of the system how well it pumped games out
even at 1920x1080 was getting over 30fps in most games
@shawncro 222: glad to hear that. The Intel gpus are getting pretty decent nowadays.
The closer comparison to your Dell would be the surface pro though (also i3/5/7, ssd and fan), not this device.
A reasonable comparison is a 4th gen, ultra low power i3 (Q4 2014) and it's still 25% faster than this Atom (Q2 2015):
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=2434&cmp[]=2506
This is a dog of a processor and not worth buying even at this price. If it had an i3 and it was significantly more expensive, that would not be worth buying either. It's really quite simple.
we skipped the surface 3 at work and handed out ultra books ….. with surface 4 it's useable so is now on our soe.
atom is ok for tv boxes and browser but not a replacement for even a gen2 i5 laptop especially for business use and content creation rather than content consumption ( email doesn't count as content creation)
I presume they stopped making surface 3 ?
Still better than Samdung and Crapple. This is a Full PC…that doesn't have some cheap phone OS.
Samsung have always made Windows tablets too and have another one coming out, the Galaxy TabPro S.
You realise it runs full Windows 10 right..?
Oh you didn't realise you say?
@jesho: Does ozbargain eventually cause people to hear voices in their heads? No I hear you say? Well thats a relief….
Sure. Enjoy your 700 dollar device that has almost no apps for touchscreen and can't play games.
Seems totally worth it next to a Samsung that's faster, has about a million apps, is supported by all major services and can play games.
Didn't realise everybody needed all of the million apps on their device and played games.
People have different needs for their device than you. Works perfectly for students, travellers and light users who need a device which is portable and runs all the apps/programs THEY need. Could run an android emulator if needed. Personally know more than half a dozen people who have purchased the Surface 3 and are more than satisfied with it.
Additionally, the 3:2 aspect ratio is the one of the big advantages (imo) of the surface line over laptops.
You know that Windows 10 will be able to run Android and iOS right? There's some things developers need to do but apparently it's straightforward to implement so more and more apps should be appearing. It was one of the major new features announced for Windows 10.
So yeah, while an Atom processor isn't that good, your other points aren't valid, or soon won't be
haha I just wrote an essay in response to all of the rubbish words you just scrambled together, and then deleted it because I realised you weren't worth the effort.
Surface ftw.
No it is not. This is a surface; not a surface pro
HELLO! the Surface 3 has FULL WINDOWS. IT DOES NOT HAVE WINDOWS RT. Let me guess you own an apple iPaid?
so, not recommended because atom? will lag if opening like 10 tabs chrome for example? or running lightroom?
Do you really need/want to do your photo processing on a 10" screen?
just organising or management photos, and just as example to find out if processor is good or not…
Probs not for running lightroom, the sp4 m3 struggles with that.
Maybe think of this as equivalent to an iPad i.e. run apps, browse web, consume content etc. Plus the bonus ABILITY to run full Windows programmes, just not so fast as you would hope.
with the mindset of use as just a tablet …. they are ideal and better than an iPad (i have an iPad and android so no bias)
the benefit of the windows 10 tablets is that run a FULL browser not a mobile browser, so when you go to web sites you get access to content that e.g iPad users need to pay for because the web sites detects if you are on an mobile. Most web sites still like IE, you can also load full firefox on this
There are a lot of cheaper chinese 10" tablets that come with windows 10 if you just want a tablet and aren't also getting the keyboard.
Windows on tablets is great ….. if the apps you want are on windows.
I have a slower Atom tablet with 2GB of RAM and I can open 7-8 tabs in Chrome without slowdowns.
This tablet has 4GB of RAM and the Atom X7 processor, which I haven't used.
It can run lightroom though it won't be the same as full CPUs (generating the preview seems to be the bottleneck from what I can read)
My SP3 i5 runs Lightroom OKAY at best. But that's with Fujifilm X-Trans RAW files which are notorious for requiring heavier processing in comparison to pef/dng etc
Grabbed one, let's see if they honor that price. :D
Cash rewards guys?
heheheh still too expensive for with the the possible price error, old tech, small screen compared tot he 4, and only 4gb ram,.. sorry ill have to wait.
ATOM no thanks.
Not sure why people get excited for overpriced atom tablets
Maybe if it was a i3 I would jump on it.
People still confused with the name ATOM …. they are not those ATOM long time ago anymore.
People still confused with the name ATOM …. they are not those ATOM long time ago anymore.
And that's what we said 8 years ago when ATOM replaced A100/VIA CPU's
With today's tech, yesterday's ATOM to a C2D/Q is comparable with today's ATOM to an i3/i5/i7
So technology is better but when comparing performance its on par
To put it in perhaps a clearer perspective, the performance is similar to the earliest i3 processors from six years ago.
This chip is faster in single and substantially faster in multi thread processing than the first gen Macbook Air, which if you recall Jobs banged on about being a 'proper desktop class processor'. I know I know, times have changed, but:
Strictly comparing the performance differential of the CPU may show similarities, but original Atom devices were hamstrung to maximum 2GB RAM (Microsoft requirement) and had 2.5" platter hard disks. The Surface has a 300+mb read/write SSD and 4GB RAM.
There's significant merit in reminding people that this 'Atom' processor is not the same beast that gained a reputation years ago, despite it being a significant step down from an i5 in a SP3/4.
And it's now perfectly capable of everyday tasks. Not great, but capable. I have a Baytrail with 1 GB of RAM (previous gen and less ram) and its pretty capable for the basic stuff. Browsing, word processing etc.
Of course but we have to compare how they run Windows at that time and how the current gen run at present.
The old ATOM are not quite usable under Windows 7 but the new one are perfectly fine on general tasks.
But anyway I agreed I will not pay that price for ATOM as others said.
I think it's more because the price is too high if it's just an atom.
Atom processors and still slow when compared to any of the iX processors. Sure, the current day ones are better than the Atoms of old but the iX series are faster than the old Pentiums as well
Yea. Getting something with an Atom.. I wont be spending that much.
Their customer service sucks… Shipping and returning process took me 24 days in my case
If you're a student you can get it for $629.10 through their education store.
Thanks! Just ordered one!
No more having to worry about phone battery while hotspotting…
Cos it was useful. No wait I have nfi.
I understand both sides - a useful comment however ozbargain code of conduct says they should not have alerted the store to the possible price error, particularly when they were
Not interested myself but was curious.
Because the MS army, which I thought died with Vista, can't contemplate that someone wouldn't want to rush out & buy one of their toys
Not interested myself but was curious so chatted to Live support, she said it is a price error but they will honor the price so get in quick before it changes.
So you had no interest in this product and out of spite you contracted Microsoft to see if it was an error so they could change the price. Talk about a low act that has ruined a good deal for many people.
The only day I wish I hadn't already used my 5 downvotes on jv
Come back today and try again?
Thanks for the reminder :D
Well considering a lot of android/ is tablets are more expensive than this…plus with less function (can't install any programs)…plus no usb (proper) ports…no pen input…lte costs more…
At this price it's quite a good value. It would be better if the keyboard was included but again, the android/ios doesn't even come with anything.
For most basic things,word processing, email, YouTube, this should suffice. Rare lags I'd expect but again, should suffice.
I've still got a surface 2 (got that and the tablet for 350). And you get a usb port too.
It's not good value compared to those not very many alternative devices that cost more for the simple reason that it does not have their applications and desktop applications are terrible on a touchscreen.
and a lot of Android tablets are less.
But if you want MS products, then this seems pretty good if you also want LTE. does it say which LTE networks are covered?
i wouldn't touch cheap andorid tablets. If your argument is atoms are crap, then those 'quad core' tablets are beyond crap tbh. Full office suit, as well as the features i listed above, no question.
Eg,
Samsung Tab 1 9.7inch with s pen 538 at jb
Samsung Tab s 10inch 4g 648 at Jb
Samsung tab s2 9.7 inch 4g 713 at harvey
@diji, then get a laptop without a touchscreen…plenty on ebay selling for cheap pre2010<
No, my counter point to your "Well considering a lot of android/ is tablets are more expensive than this" was "and a lot of Android tablets are less. " it's pretty simple.
My $450 octa-core Samsung Android tablet gets used for 4-10hrs/day, my Win7 laptop gets used about 2hr/mth.
If you want a local MS Office suite, then you probably want one of these MS toys.
Personally I don't think many people need MS Office these days.
As for Atom CPUs, they've always been cheap & cheerful CPUs, that's what they're designed by Intel to be. If you're just browsing, reading emails, typing word docs, they're great. If you're running MS Access, sizable Excel workbooks, games, etc they're not so good.
Builtin LTE IMHO is a waste of money as wifi hotspots are easier & better suited to the network of your choice.
@supabrudda: so your opinion is based on your usage.
Atom CPUs have improved heaps from olden network Era when it got to baytrail. They are a decent substitute if you want to have something to do basic document editing along with basic functionality of a desktop, etc etc. I do remember people opening up relatively large sized document on 1GB Ram Baytrail devices so yeah.
Android unfortunately can't do this very well from my experience. Bluetooth keyboards can be annoying especially when the app you are using crashes like crazy, at least that was my experience with trying to use tabpro 10.1 as a laptop substitute. At least windows tablets can handle those much much better.
Don't get me wrong, I do like the portability/battery life and touch friendliness of an android device, which windows tablets still can't do comparatively well in. I am using a phone for this post and I miss my windows tablet (I miss papyrus, I am scared about accidental refresh causing me to lose all this).
LTE functionality is something that I know some people find as a necessity, though that do not apply to me that much. I do agree with using Hotspot but some people don't like the idea of relying on two devices.
That said if you do compare devices with LTE functionality, this price is ridiculously cheap, I remember some of the older budget devices like tab 4 fetching 400 with LTE function.
Whether you see a value in a product depends on the usage. If you need something light, something portable that can also act as a laptop, Windows tablets are much better in my opinion.
Still, doesn't matter how you use your samsung. 450 for that much it still can't do half of what a surface can do, let alone a surface 2.
I had a note 10.1 (original) got the keyboard dock. Pretty laggy and mediocre office experience. Transferring files via usb? Sure samsung has multi window but on specific apps only.
Games on atom? Wow that's a high expectation. Atom for anything an android/ios does, now that's a fair comparison and actually not even a comparison. General everyday tasks will hands down be better on atom. I have a surface 2 and I can browse huge excel files without issues. Can't say the same with an android.
Public WiFi? No thanks. I prefer to be safe and not get my privacy breached.
You had your 2 c and I had mine. Have a good day.
@mbck: you might want to actually read before you comment.
Or at least clean your glasses after removing it from Bill's bum, it might help being objective.
@Oversimplified: Yep if you re-read what I said, I don't think we disagree (too much at least).
The MS fanboi (I'm not saying you are) seem to be even worse then the Apple ones of old. MS have always had issues - thanks to Bill for that as it's kept me in a job for nearly 30yrs.
my 4g/4G/LTE bulit-in problem is that if the telco specs change (new bands, etc) then your device needs upgrading, but if you have a $50 hotspot, you can just swap it out. But as I said "…this seems pretty good if you also want LTE".
Bluetooth, well I use a MS bluetooth keyboard & it's been flawless. before that I had an Asus transformer (which was just awesome).
If you read my original comment, I didn't diss this at all.
@supabrudda: Eh, as I said, it really depends on your usage pattern. I personally sort of agree with him, if I see it from "I want a device that is portable and can replace my laptop on the go" which he did imply with his reasoning imo. I am taking care of many devices with different OSs (well it's more of people around me know less about these stuff than I do).
Personally, I have a Surface Pro 3, TabPro 10.1 and a S6 (which was a present), my mother owns an iPad Mini 4 and an iPhone 6, my dad owns Tab S 10.5 and a Note 3. Also, I did use my brother's old baytrail tablet for a bit (2GB one). My gf owns a LG G2 and a Surface Pro 1. All of those, I had some saying in for the purchase of those. So I have no idea which fanboy category I will fall into, if you were to call me one.
Android tablets offer awful value if you want it to replace your laptop completely, it simply lacks features as a laptop. Hancom Office and MS Office on Android are crap, to put it lightly, USB OTG has limitations (i.e. it's hard to use your portable hard drive on your tablet), and mouse + keyboard combination on Android feels off (I assume that it's the mouse acceleration). I'd recommend Android tablets over netbooks, if the person asking wants something for media consumption and really basic stuff. Though I see Baytrail and Cherry Trail CPUs to be better than netbooks.
That said, same thing can be said about Windows tablet if I look at it from different perspective. Many apps on Windows Store is worse than the program counterparts and many programs are not exactly built for touchscreen. Programs on touchscreen are crap. Most of them either requires a seperate charging port which is bad (since I have to carry around 2 things most of the times).
All in all, I don't think he's being unreasonable nor being a fan boy. If you want something that can be like a laptop, Android tablets suck and offer half as much as Surface 3 would. If you want something for just basic basic usage, Android tablets would be better option. Atom Baytrail onward are capable CPUs that can do basic laptop stuff (unlike netbooks).
for basic things it's fine …… as long as people don't think of it as a replacement for a notebook or desktop if they are into content creation e.g. load up visio cur and paste into word and import from excel.
but if you have a keyboard with it …. yeah you can write resumes , do your taxes, work out mortgages watch netflix, you tube, etc fine.
it it has HDMI you can drive your TV with it if you load kodi ……. so for some people they will get more enjoyment than from an iPad or phablet.
Been after this for a while and with the student discount it pushed me to get it now and not wait for the next iteration…happy at $629.10 an ok price for the 4gb version imo and with lte on top is a plus :)
Ordered one.
Gonna sell my Surface 3 128GB and keep this one instead
Why the neg? LTE connectivity is genuinely useful to some people, and the convenience of having a SIM slot within the device does away with the hassle of the only USB slot on the tablet being taken up by a modem…or a smartphone's battery being killed by hot-spotting, or the hassle of having to worry about 2 devices to charge with a pocket wifi type device…
LTE is a bonus …… i do data sharing of my optus plan ….. have 10GB per month ….. the SIM to share is $5 one time cost …….. we have 3 sharing sims in out household.
My son has basic sim from aldi for his number, 2nd sim in his phone is a data share and he uses wechat, Skype WhatsApp……so if you are on optus and get a dat share sim, for $5 this surface will become your best friend and make you phone your second best friend.
SIM slots are just unpopular due to cost ….. adds typically $150 to the device price , and cost of the sim monthly …… only optus don't have a monthly charge for data sharing.
Precisely. I'm considering getting the Optus $100/month plan with the iPhone 6S…with data sharing turned on, I wouldn't need to carry a second pocket wifi type device with me…one less device to carry, one less to charge as well.
You're very right on the premium for SIM capabilities as well. MS are asking for a $260 premium for cellular capabilities over the 128GB/4GB Wifi model, which is pretty extortionate…Apple's ipad lineup adds $160 for SIM capabilities, which isn't that bad.
Did anyone's cashrewards register?
I've managed to order the tablet for $629.10 on student discount, but no cash rewards email…
Yes just got the email $22.88
I'll wait for a few hours…last time it took close to 5 hours before I got mine…
![Microsoft Surface 3 LTE 128GB 4GB - $699 Free Shipping MS Store [Possible Price Error]](https://files.ozbargain.com.au/n/51/232551.jpg?h=66d74318)
jv on 30/01/2016 - 10:11 Comment score below threshold.
