Microsoft Surface Pro 3 announcement

So, who watched the event today and what do you think?

It will be available for sale tomorrow. The starting price is $799. Microsoft deems this device as the tablet that can replace your laptop.

It’s a 12.1-inch tablet, utilizing a 3:2 aspect ratio at 2160x1440 resolution screen, using 4[SUP]th[/SUP] Generation Intel Core CPU’s (i3, i5 and i7). Web browsing battery life is around 9 hours. It’s around 30% thinner than an 11-inch MacBook Air. The new kickstand is continuously adjustable. The device comes in at 1.7lbs. The stylus has been replaced now with a pen which provides a much improved drawing, writing and note-taking experience. If you have your device with you, and it’s off, a simple click on the end of the pen fires up the device into OneNote where you can jot down the thought that you just had.

The new type cover keyboard has a significantly larger and improved touchpad. The way the device clicks in and the new fold up edge hinge should alleviate a big problem I’ve always had with the Surface Pro and that’s the fact that it’s very hard to sit on your lap and work with. In the past, you really needed a flat table space area to use the device with.

The new pen and the extremely thin glass on the device should help greatly with writing. However, I’m still really bothered by the fact that the pen doesn’t seem to have a holder built into the surface pro itself…meaning it will be quite easy to set down somewhere and lose.

The device will have a microSD card reader and a USB 3.0 port.

A docking station will be available ($199) that includes the following
· 3 USB 3.0 ports
· 2 USB 2.0 ports
· Ethernet jack
· Audio outputs
· Mini Display port supporting 4k
· Charges the tablet.

Here is a link with a 5 minute video: Microsoft's Surface Pro 3 is designed to destroy the laptop | The Verge



So, pricing looks like the following;
Core i3, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage - $799
Core i5, 4GB RAM, 128GB storage - $999
Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage - $1,299
Core i7, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage - $1,549
Core i7, 8GB RAM, 512GB storage - $1,949

The pen is $49, the type cover keyboard is $130 and the docking station is $199. So a full loaded model is $2,128.
 
3:2 ratio seems a bit stupid.

I was never a fan of 16:9 as I always thought a more square format such as 3:2 would have been about right (and don't even get me started on broadcasters transmitting movies in even wider aspect ratios than 16:9). However, 16:9 was pretty much the chosen ratio and therefore became the most widely used aspect ratio in part because of full screen video. So now Microsoft decide to change to 3:2?

They should just stick to 16:9, so people can watch fullscreen video without black bars, especially as some people will be using it as both a tablet and connecting it to a larger monitor on their desk. Most monitors are usually 16:9 or 16:1, whereas 3:2 sits in no-mans land. I also don't get the point of the high resolution on such a small screen.
 

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I don't understand why MS keeps trying to fuse different devices together. It keeps failing for them and I don't even agree with the desired goal....

different horses for different courses.
 

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$2129 ? Can get a fine macbook for less.
 

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The pen is $49, the type cover keyboard is $130 and the docking station is $199. So a full loaded model is $2,128.

Plus tax.....

Nope, not in this lifetime. But then again, I personally would have zero use for it, so ya can't really go by me.
 

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Mary Jo Foley @maryjofoley · 6h For those asking, the pen is "in the box" with the Surface Pro 3. It's not an additional charge (unless you buy a 2nd pen). #SurfaceNYC
 

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Doesn't Microsoft realize their late to the party & a $ 800.00 laptop won't cut it :mad:
 

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When that Adobe guy came up and was demoing Photoshop on it, I saw that the Surface Pro 3 was already lagging. He zoomed in, it lagged. He moved the image around, it lagged. Shouldn't it run smoothly with today's hardware by now? I guess the blame could be Intel since Haswell barely improves graphics performance anyways.
 

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Man, I love how it just keeps getting better and better and cheaper!

Awesome device at an awesome price. No laptop can touch this versatility at that starting price. It's simply amazing how they engineered this so thin.

Buying for sure!
 

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Hi there

Marketing 101 -- SAME BASIC ERROR Ms -To all intents and purposes this is NOTHING more than a "Convertible PC" - and you can get very good Ultra books for less than HALF the price of this tablet plus docking station.

Why not just drop the name Surface, package it up as a well equipped convertible (with keyboard included) and then see how it goes. The major selling point (if it were not the cost -- a huge NO at the current time) would be the really good screen resolution -- a lot of laptops are still ostrich like sticking to 768 X 1366 resolution on their native screens (although they can display better on to externals).

Some of the marketing people at Ms definitely IMO need "Their Pink Slips".

@arc1020 - decent resolution is worth it even on a smaller screen -- I can EASILY tell the difference - especially for text - between a Samsung S4 and a Samsung S5 (the latter having full 1080p HD output) even though the screen size is just under 5 ins.

For compressed video - like standard DVD's it doesn't matter -- but try watching even BLU RAY on a standard laptop (1366 X 768 resolution) or a standard 1080p HD TV - quality difference is obvious.

If you work with a lot of TEXT the higher resolution you can get the better. It makes text a lot easier to work with - especially if you increase the text size view - blurry / small text is VERY BAD for your eyes !! - very important.

If you use things like photoshop -- very difficult on a low resolution screen -- try and do for instance some decent professional quality image sharpening : use Filter ==>Sharpen==>Unsharp mask -- with poor screen resolution you won't cut it. !!!

I suppose though people used to listening to highly compressed mp3 music on hideous low quality bud earphones or watching badly made You Tube videos on small cheap mobile devices probably haven't an inkling of what I'm saying here though (sometimes you have to do some Photoshop away from home - you don't always have access to a nice HUGE external monitor). :mad:

That said I DO like the spec and the 12 inch size is also "laptop busting" for portability -- I've long since argued that typical 16 - 17 inch laptops aren't really viable devices any more -- far too big for portability - and these days nearly everybody at home will use at lest a 24 inch decent full HD external monitor too. Other than the price I *Could* see myself getting one of these -- although the i7 in such a small device might be either a huge battery eater or get really hot. I'd look probably at the i5 models although for small laptop replacement an i3 might cut it.

The docking station is a must - and the USB3 ports --finally BRAVO Ms.

But all and said - you can't really call this device a "Tablet" any more !!!! It is a PC however you look at it PC !!!!.

On the right track though -- why doesn't Ms call it a "PROTAB" or any decent name to distinguish it away from the Herd and target Professionals. (MS have a NAME competition with one of these as a prize for the winner).

Consumers will buy if they feel the price is right but market it to PRO's at the start and then you've got it into the corporate area --then BANG your in BIG business big time.


Cheers
jimbo
 
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@arc1020 - decent resolution is worth it even on a smaller screen -- I can EASILY tell the difference - especially for text - between a Samsung S4 and a Samsung S5 (the latter having full 1080p HD output) even though the screen size is just under 5 ins.

For compressed video - like standard DVD's it doesn't matter -- but try watching even BLU RAY on a standard laptop (1366 X 768 resolution) or a standard 1080p HD TV - quality difference is obvious.

If you work with a lot of TEXT the higher resolution you can get the better. It makes text a lot easier to work with - especially if you increase the text size view - blurry / small text is VERY BAD for your eyes !! - very important.

If you use things like photoshop -- very difficult on a low resolution screen -- try and do for instance some decent professional quality image sharpening : use Filter ==>Sharpen==>Unsharp mask -- with poor screen resolution you won't cut it. !!!

I suppose though people used to listening to highly compressed mp3 music on hideous low quality bud earphones or watching badly made You Tube videos on small cheap mobile devices probably haven't an inkling of what I'm saying here though (sometimes you have to do some Photoshop away from home - you don't always have access to a nice HUGE external monitor). :mad:

That's the point I'm getting at. Why not stick to 16:9, 1920 X 1080 as it's pretty much standard now. I don't see the point of 3:2, 2160x1440. It will have to upsample 1080 video, and even then it won't be able to use the whole of the screen due to the aspect ratio. 3:2 is what it should have been years ago, but it's too late now as 16:9 has already taken hold in a big way (although not always a bad thing as 16:9 does allow more room for having two windows open side-by-side or having pallets open whilst maintaining a decent work area, you just loose vertical resolution).

As for sharpening in Photoshop, that's rather a mute point because you're only sharpening for YOUR screen. Even though you may get the sharpening looking perfect on your high res screen, if you go by eyesight on your monitor rather than numbers, then it will likely end up looking oversharpened/halo'd on other peoples lower res screens. Personally I'd also use Smart Sharpen rather than Filter ==>Sharpen==>Unsharp mask because with the 'Remove' drop down set to lens blur (instead of Gaussian Blur that Unsharp Mask uses), haloing caused by sharpening is less pronounced.
 

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Man, I love how it just keeps getting better and better and cheaper!

Awesome device at an awesome price. No laptop can touch this versatility at that starting price. It's simply amazing how they engineered this so thin.

Buying for sure!

Alright: Keep your hands where I can see them, and step away from the Bong....:D

(I kid, I kid...)
 

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You can. But it doesn't have a touchscreen, you cannot handwrite notes on it. It weighs more. It doesn't run apps from the Windows store, which some people might have a need for. There is no dock for a MacBook. You cannot rotate a MacBook to look at something from a different perspective. You cannot play Windows games on a MacBook. The list goes on and on.
 

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Mary Jo Foley @maryjofoley · 6h For those asking, the pen is "in the box" with the Surface Pro 3. It's not an additional charge (unless you buy a 2nd pen). #SurfaceNYC

Thanks for that info. I found a lot of sites saying something else, but I trust Mary Jo Foley way more.
 

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$2129 ? Can get a fine macbook for less.

I lol'd at all the MacBook Airs in the audience when I watched the live web cast.
 

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The specs look good and the physical device looks good. Still too pricy for me, for what it is though. There are just too many other things that I'd spend that kind of money on first.
 

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The new Furnace Pro (device for burning up MS's money) looks to be better (at burning money? lol) than the previous fiascos, they are at least improving. Now, will people buy it this time? or feel they need it? Will be interesting. Personally, I'll get me some ultrabook.
 

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Ultrabooks are fine, but they are bigger and heavier. If portability is your #1 priority, an ultrabook might not be the ideal solution.

As a recent owner of my first Mac ever, I can understand why the journalists and such are using the mac's. #1) battery life is very very good, so you don't have to keep your charger with you. #2). It goes to sleep and comes out of sleep instantly. #3). Tools like Time Machine make backups a snap. #4). Tools like FindMyMac give you the ability to remotely shut down and wipe a lost computer...which could happen more frequently if you are a constant traveling journalist.
 

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Hi there

Looking again at the specs this actually might be an OK device -- still a bit pricy but I'd have to see the build quality -- and the idea of having an i5 or i7 in it definitely puts it outside the "Toy category".

I'd still LOVE a SCREEN MIRRORING capability though -- that WOULD make it a business tool "par excellence".

Looks like Ms might not be so far off the mark with this one -- adding a decent built in sdHC card reader is also a winner.

Well "Horsey --Horsey -- UK Lingfield 17.00 race or so or so and Betfair" !!!!!! -- I might be able to have a look at one of these if the horse(s) I choose don't all have 3 legs. !!!.

--I really like the screen resolution --I don't care what others say I CAN definitely tell the difference between a decent and poor screen resolution - even on a 12.1 inch screen --actually for me the IDEAL portable screen size -- I used to love an old ACSE netbook with a similar screen size (or very slightly smaller --preferred it over larger screen size laptops any day when portability was a question.

In spite of my earlier agnosticism regarding tablets this one might just fit the bill (if "Horsey Horsey" comes up trumps !!!).

Still a bit expensive though for the average joe.

Cheers
jimbo
 

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I still don't believe on the lap this thing is really going to work. There is a nice picture featured in this story that shows the device sitting on the lap.

Microsoft Surface 3 Pro: Flip me over and fondle me up ? The Register

It's certainly going to be more wobbly than a true laptop. And that's how I use my laptop at home almost exclusively.
 

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