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First Look: Microsoft Surface 3
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NewsPoster
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May 12, 2015, 06:23 AM
 
Perhaps the most notable aspect of the launch of the Microsoft Surface 3 is the apparent death of Microsoft's Windows on ARM for tablets experiment, otherwise known as Windows RT. Instead of being powered by an ARM-based chip design like the iPad and most Android tablets, the Surface 3 is now powered by an Intel x86-based Atom chip. The main benefit of this change in approach is that, unlike the original Surface and Surface 2, the Surface 3 runs the standard and full version of Windows 8.1. This means that desktop applications like Apple's own iTunes for Windows PCs can be installed on the Surface 3, along with any other applications compatible with Windows 8.1 and the specifications of the machine. So does this finally make the Surface 3 seriously warrant your attention?

The Surface 3 runs one of Intel's very latest "Cherry Trail" Atom chips fabricated on the latest 14nm process. The new x7-Z8700 Atom processor runs at 1.6GHz and is matched with either 2GB of DDR3 RAM or 4GB of DDR3 RAM depending on whether you opt for the 64GB model or the more expensive 128GB variant. It also features a 2MB cache and with Intel's Burst technology is capable of ramping up to a speed of 2.4GHz for a short burst when intensive processing is required.



While all of that sounds good on paper, our early testing suggests that those hoping Intel would make a large performance leap over its previous "Bay Trail" Atom designs will be disappointed. The main improvements come in terms of battery performance, and boosts to the performance of the integrated GPU. We will examine the performance of the Surface 3 in our upcoming review more closely, but suffice to say that it is clearly geared towards those users primarily interested in light weight productivity and general purpose use.



Although the case of the Surface 3 looks almost identical to the Surface 2, Microsoft has made some tweaks to design that amount to some useful changes. Firstly, it has dispensed with its proprietary magnetic charging port in favor of a standard micro USB 2.0 charging port, which is a welcome move. Secondly, the kickstand is now three way adjustable, giving users more options for positioning it and getting things done more comfortably.



The Surface 3 now also supports the Surface Pen, included with the Surface Pro model, but offered as an optional extra here. It is a useful input tool, and ideal for students looking to make quick notes or mark up documents. The ClearType display has also been tweaked and is now offers a better than 1080p resolution of 1920x1280 at a ratio of 3:2, which is a better overall size for productivity and placing two documents or windows side-by-side.



One of the only major benefits of the Surface 2 with Windows RT is that Microsoft gave away its basic Office productivity suite of applications including OneNote, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook for free. This is no longer the case with the Surface 3, however Microsoft is offering users a free one-year subscription (normally $69) to Office 365 for personal use to customers to get you started out of the box. To really get maximum mileage out of this suite of applications, however, you will need to plunk down an additional $130 on top of the $499 starting price for the backlit TypeCover.



An improvement over previous models, the new TypeCover also features the same magnet-based two position design of the Surface Pro 3, which offers you a more ergonomically positioned typing angle, as well as a flat position. As we have said previously, Windows 8.1 works best when it is accompanied by a Surface device with keyboard. The free upgrade to Windows 10 later this year will also give customers confidence they can purchase now and get a much improved version of Windows later this year.



As far as hybrid PCs go, the fundamental Surface design is about as good as it gets. The Surface 3 is no exception, although we are still yet to be convinced by Microsoft's proposition that it offers the "best of a tablet and the best of a notebook," which we will again re-examine in our full review. If there is one early disappointment with the Surface 3 is that it is not any thinner than its predecessor and it weighs in at a hefty 1.37 pounds (622 grams).



Admittedly the display is now larger, which accounts for some of its weight, but the iPad Air 2 is much thinner and weighs in at just 0.96 pounds (437 grams), making it more comfortable to hold and use as a tablet. Given that Microsoft is comparing the Air to the Surface 3 in its marketing, that is one aspect of the device that it is hoping customers overlook in favor of the additional functionality it potentially offers, especially when paired to the optional TypeCover.

Stay tuned for our full review of the Surface 3, where we will take a much deeper dive into Microsoft's latest argument for why you should choose one of its tablets over the competition.

-- Sanjiv Sathiah

( Last edited by NewsPoster; May 12, 2015 at 08:08 AM. )
     
Inkling
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May 12, 2015, 09:02 AM
 
I often gripe about Ives, particularly his obsession with thin. But I will give him credit for having good taste. He'd never try to foist on us that dreadful bright-blue Surface Pro 3 keyboard. The failure of the RT isn't surprising. People want products that are fish or fowl and not a strange hybrid of the two. Hybrids are like plane-cars and boat-cars. They end up not playing either role well. Apple knows that and has two quite different operating systems for tablets and laptops.
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Charles Martin
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May 12, 2015, 09:19 AM
 
Although Apple talks a lot about thinness, what they are really referring to is "lightness" -- which, I think, has been clearly proven to be a huge factor with the increasingly large mobile buyer market. The obsession with "thin" also drives greater efficiency and innovation in the engineering space -- look at the new MacBook's logic board compared to the MacBook Pro's as a good example. We wouldn't be getting that kind of frankly stunning engineering feats if there were no impetus to make logic boards more energy efficient/cooler and smaller.
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ElectroTech
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May 12, 2015, 09:30 AM
 
I don't get the sense that there is much support for many traditional 'tablet' apps. No access to Apple's iOS apps, no access to Google's Android apps. It appears like a Frankentop or a Frankenblet. Microsoft expects us to carry a watered down laptop that sort of works as a tablet but is bulky and awkward. Hmmm.
     
prl99
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May 12, 2015, 09:43 AM
 
Listen to their ads. The Surface is the tablet that will get you to replace your laptop (or not!). Aren't the specs of the Retina MacBook better than the Surface and Microsoft thinks it can continue to run Windows on low spec hardware? Weird ads showing a keyboard clipped onto the tablet/laptop is their selling point? I don't get it and no, it doesn't warrant my attention.

@Electro, as for running any app other than Windows apps, why would you even think it could?
     
Mr. Strat
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May 12, 2015, 10:28 AM
 
I recently had to configure three Surface 3 Pros for a special use on campus (iOS or Android wouldn't work).

These things are a pitiful excuse for a computing machine. When at an angle, the keyboard flexes making it a little difficult to type. When it's flat, it's still not really flat. And the styling of the whole unit is reminiscent of something designed in Soviet Russia in the 1950s.

Oh, and then the price...
     
climacs
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May 12, 2015, 10:32 AM
 
or, get a MacBook/MacBook Air, install VirtualBox for free, then Windows 7 (not the Win8 with its UI atrocity). Best of both worlds.
     
neonspark
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May 12, 2015, 06:32 PM
 
Given most people with an ipad carry around a PC, how on earth is this an ipad competitor. This is a PC competitor. The fact it also happens to be a tablet assumes a future where the ipad replaces a PC. That is a fantasy as stats show, ipad has declined quarter after quarter and people still haul around their macs/pcs/linux and their tablets or phones.

So while it is cute to think this can replace an ipad, an ipad doesn't replace it either. In fact, the whole idea is ridiculous. This is a netbook replacement. A full OS with multi-user, multi-tasking, multi-UI capabilities. An ipad is just a slate. nothing else. apples and oranges, or rather, apples and surfaces ;P
     
Sanjiv Sathiah
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May 12, 2015, 08:04 PM
 
The interesting thing about the iPad is how quickly the market for third-party keyboard accessories sprang up. This market continues to do well, even if Apple did not intend the iPad to be used in this way. The Surface, at least on paper, appears to be an ideal solution for people who want the portability of a tablet, but a more integrated keyboard solution for light productivity. I think it's great for students in particular - I would've loved one of these as a uni student. Still, there are a few question marks that linger about the OS and the hardware that I aim to examine in my review.
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