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Surface 3 announced

zerogear

zerogear

Diamond Member
http://www.microsoftstore.com/store...&ClickID=araaystk50np5o5wns5t9rzp9asassol9llr

Seems like this is what people were asking for, at least in terms of 10" Atom Tablets.

specs.PNG
 
The 128GB model with 4GB of RAM is a good deal at $600. If I was going to college this would be perfect.

I guess it means ARM Windows is dead.
 
This really seems like the perfect college notebook/tablet.

Good size and weight, decent power with new atom, real x86 windows and a good pen input?

College kids are so spoiled these days.
 
Now I just have to figure out the right blackmail to convince "santa" (aka my wife) that this needs to be my christmas gift.
 
Cali3350 said:
This really seems like the perfect college notebook/tablet.

Good size and weight, decent power with new atom, real x86 windows and a good pen input?

College kids are so spoiled these days.
Click to expand...

it would be nicer if there was an actual keyboard dock (that clicks on).. try typing on a tablet+cover keyboard in a crammed lecture hall with a tiny tray


but yeah, this is almost an ideal device for a college student
 
Anybody else notice that the pen is NOT included with this one, even though it's always been included with the Pro version? Also only has a 3 position kickstand instead of the multi-pos one found on the Pro. Seems like a couple things they took out that IMO really didn't need to change.
 
I'm very interested in selling my ipad Air for one of these. I would really like to have an ipad-sized and battery life device which can play real (older) PC games instead of app store crap, and which I can use firefox with adblock on.
 
Very awesome. A bit slow in the coming, but glad Microsoft finally came around.

I just preordered the 4GB/128GB model. Can't wait for it.

I wish Microsoft could do better on the keyboard pricing. $130 is still painful for what really isn't that good of a keyboard cover. I have a Logitech K480, which I assume should fit the Surface 3, so I'll try that at first. But I imagine I'll break down and get that stupid keyboard cover for the convenience eventually.

We have to buy the pen separately too. I wish they had a bright blue pen that would match the bright blue keyboard I'll inevitably end up buying.
 
Ravynmagi said:
Very awesome. A bit slow in the coming, but glad Microsoft finally came around.

I just preordered the 4GB/128GB model. Can't wait for it.

I wish Microsoft could do better on the keyboard pricing. $130 is still painful for what really isn't that good of a keyboard cover. I have a Logitech K480, which I assume should fit the Surface 3, so I'll try that at first. But I imagine I'll break down and get that stupid keyboard cover for the convenience eventually.

We have to buy the pen separately too. I wish they had a bright blue pen that would match the bright blue keyboard I'll inevitably end up buying.
Click to expand...

Yeah seems like it could add up pretty quick...128gb + pen + keyboard + dock + LTE version if you want that.
 
This looks like a winner. I am almost surprised they didn't wait for Windows 10. Glad they didn't. Pricing looks decent, though the accessories can add up.

I didn't see any information on the OS bitness? Are they going with 32bit?
 
quikah said:
This looks like a winner. I am almost surprised they didn't wait for Windows 10. Glad they didn't. Pricing looks decent, though the accessories can add up.

I didn't see any information on the OS bitness? Are they going with 32bit?
Click to expand...

The 32-bit was a UEFI glitch in Windows...the current crop of 22nm Baytrail-T quad-core Atom chips (Z3735 SoC's) all shipped with a 32-bit UEFI & manufacturers just never bothered to update anything, even though Microsoft fixed the bug. This new Surface is based on the next-gen 14nm Cherrytrail Atom X7 chips, which is shipping as 64-bit:

http://venturebeat.com/2015/03/31/m...reorder-today-in-26-countries-ships-on-may-5/

The biggest hassle with installing anything was the 32-bit UEFI...no Windows 7, limited Linux support, etc. The Cherrytrail line not only fixes that, but also supports 64-bit Android, ChromeOS, etc., so we're going to see a truckload of devices with this chipset, especially the neat 2-in-1 segment of tablet-laptops.
 
QuantumPion said:
I'm very interested in selling my ipad Air for one of these. I would really like to have an ipad-sized and battery life device which can play real (older) PC games instead of app store crap, and which I can use firefox with adblock on.
Click to expand...

Should have no issue. Even the current crop of Baytrail SOC's do pretty good with older games. I can play Portal 2 @ 720P with no issues, and that's on a 7th GEN (Ivy Bridge) GPU with 4 EUs.

Just some games - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TvIEVoykEo


As Kaido posted in the other thread-

http://ark.intel.com/products/85475/...up-to-2_40-GHz

* 1.6ghz base
* 2.4ghz Turbo
* 16 EU's
Click to expand...

16 EU's on the GEN 8 series (Broadwell GPU) should be a solid performer, much faster than Baytrail on the GPU side.
 
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Am I missing something? It seems to offer a terrible value. $599 for 128GB SSD/4GB RAM, and an Atom CPU, without keyboard ($129) or pen ($49)? All said and done ($778), you're better off getting a (used) SP2 which has better specs, and a pen at least.
 
tsupersonic said:
Am I missing something? It seems to offer a terrible value. $599 for 128GB SSD/4GB RAM, and an Atom CPU, without keyboard ($129) or pen ($49)? All said and done ($778), you're better off getting a (used) SP2 which has better specs, and a pen at least.
Click to expand...

And is thicker and heavier with worse battery life. It's a trade off, sure, but how many people really need an i5 or even an i3 processor.

I'm still using a Surface Pro 1 and I have been chomping at the bit for this thing. Definite purchase for me. The one thing I won't be "upgrading" is my keyboard. I'm totally keeping my Touch Cover 2. It may not fully cover the Surface 3, but it will be good enough. I <3 my Touch Cover.
 
bearxor said:
And is thicker and heavier with worse battery life. It's a trade off, sure, but how many people really need an i5 or even an i3 processor.

I'm still using a Surface Pro 1 and I have been chomping at the bit for this thing. Definite purchase for me. The one thing I won't be "upgrading" is my keyboard. I'm totally keeping my Touch Cover 2. It may not fully cover the Surface 3, but it will be good enough. I <3 my Touch Cover.
Click to expand...
Yes, the SP2 is thicker and heavier, but none of the Surface devices (pro or non-pro) are tablets. That is a bold faced lie from Microsoft imo. You absolutely need to use a keyboard with this device, for productivity. I don't know how you survive with the touch cover...I dread using my type cover for extended periods of time. Since these devices are non-upgradable, I'd rather have the CPU/RAM combo I want up-front, rather than making a regretful decision. For power users like me, the Atom is not an option.
 
I had an ASUS X205 which has a 1.33 GHz quad-core Atom. It was a lag fest, and all I tried to do was MS Office work while playing YouTube in the background.

Not very optimistic about the Surface 3's 1.6 GHz Atom, and I hope you guys know what you're getting into.
 
tsupersonic said:
none of the Surface devices (pro or non-pro) are tablets. That is a bold faced lie from Microsoft imo. You absolutely need to use a keyboard with this device, for productivity.
Click to expand...

Or you could forgo the cover and just consume content. Kind of like every other tablet in the world...
 
I'm interested. I've been looking for a larger tablet for note taking and I really want the full version of OneNote. The Pro 3 is overkill and too big since I'll still have to carry my work laptop. I do agree with others that the price is a bit high for the specs but I expect there will be some discounting.
 
I bought a S3 pro for my wife for Bd present.
I have to say the worst part of using that is the keyboard by far.
The thing is atrocious to use.
 
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