When Microsoft announced the first generation of Surface tablets, there was a Surface RT which ran Windows RT did not have the option to install traditional desktop apps and only Windows Store apps were compatible. This version was not really popular and Microsoft has decided to kill Windows RT with Windows 10. Now the company has announced the new Surface 3 Tablet which comes with a 10.8 inch display with an aspect ratio of 3:2. Compared to the 12-inch Surface Pro 3 it is slightly smaller and it feels great when you’re using it as a tablet.
It is thin (just 8.7 mm) and light (1.37 pounds or 622 grams) and offers a Full HD (1920 X 1080p) display.
Surface 3 also has front- (3.5MP) and rear-facing (8MP) cameras that both capture 1080p video. The rear-facing camera now features autofocus to take better photos but is also particularly useful for capturing images of documents, barcodes.
Surface 3 is powered by Intel’s newest system-on-a-chip, the Quad-core Intel Atom x7 processor and comes in 2GB and 4GB configuration. The internal storage is at 64GB and 128GB variants. The battery will last up to 10 hours on the tablet.
The tablet comes with also support for 4G LTE which is optional. The phone has full-size USB 3.0, mini display port, microSD card reader, charging port (microUSB) and headset port.
The tablet is just 8.7mm thin and runs Windows 8.1 which can all traditional desktop apps. Surface 3 will also include a free one-year subscription to Office 365 Personal, including full versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote as well as 1 TB of OneDrive storage.
Detailed Specs of Surface 3:
- Size: 10.52″ x 7.36″ x 0.34″ (267mm x 187mm x 8.7mm)
- Weight: 1.37 lbs (622g)
- Display: 10.8” ClearType Full HD Plus Display with 1920 x 1280 resolution and aspect ratio: 3:2 and 10 point multi touch
- Surface Pen support
- Battery Life: Up to 10 hours of video playback
- RAM/Storage:
- 2GB RAM with 64GB storage
- 4GB RAM with 128GB storage
- Processor: Quad Core Intel® Atom™ x7-Z8700 processor (2MB Cache, 1.6GHz with Intel Burst™ technology up to 2.4GHz)
- Network (Wireless): Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac), Bluetooth 4.0
- Ports:
- Full-size USB 3.0
- Mini DisplayPort
- microSD card reader
- Micro USB charging port
- Headset jack
- Cover port
- Software: Windows 8.1
- Cameras:
- 3.5 megapixel front-facing camera
- 8.0 megapixel rear-facing camera with autofocus
- Microphone:
- Stereo speakers with Dolby® audio
- Sensors:
- Ambient light sensor
- Proximity sensor
- Accelerometer
- Gyroscope
- Magnetometer
Price and Availability:
- 2GB RAM and 64GB storage, Wi-Fi- $499
- 4GB RAM and 128GB Storage, Wi-Fi- $599
- 2GB RAM and 64GB storage, Wi-Fi + 4G LTE- $599
- 4GB RAM and 128GB Storage, Wi-Fi + 4G LTE – $699
Pre-order is available starting today through Microsoft Stores, microsoftstore.com and select retailers, and it will be on sale beginning May 5th with availability in 26 markets by May 7. Before then, you can experience Surface 3 starting April 1, every Microsoft store will have devices on hand to try.
The Type Cover is priced $129.99 and the Pen is priced $49.99.
The pricing is very aggressive and the increments over the years suggest that the device now means business than a novelty to consumers. The indian price however will still compete with the macbook pro I guess.
Surface 3 will compete with iPad and not Macbook Pro. The other one is Surface pro 3 which is priced higher.