Microsoft’s 3rd pass at a modern tablet is definitely a winner
By Stephen Pate – With the larger hi-res screen, sleek low weight design and improved features, the Surface Pro 3 is going to hit the right spot for corporate and power users.
The Microsoft Store is taking pre-orders for the new 12″ Surface Pro 3 starting at $799, and $849 in Canada, although the only model shipping in June is the i5 version. We also have all the models priced and the staggered delivery dates announced.
Microsoft must believe the Intel i5 powered Surface Pro 3’s will be the most popular. They ship on June 20th. The rest will be available by August 31, 2014.
| Surface Pro 3 Pricing and Availability | |||||
| Model | RAM | Storage | Avail | US Price | Available by |
| Intel i3 | 4GB | 64GB | 36GB | $ 799 | Aug. 31, 2014 |
| Intel i5 | 4GB | 128GB | 96GB | $ 999 | Jun. 20, 2014 |
| Intel i5 | 8GB | 256GB | 211GB | $ 1,299 | Jun. 20, 2014 |
| Intel i7 | 8GB | 256GB | 211GB | $ 1,549 | Aug. 31, 2014 |
| Intel i7 | 8GB | 512GB | 450GB | $ 1,949 | Aug. 31, 2014 |
The Surface Pro 3 is aimed at the professional and business market which is just fine. The iPad Air is a fun tablet for viewing content or single purpose apps. Even the Surface 2 works well for that purpose. But when you want to edit video or photographs or create complex Office documents, there is a need for memory, processor power and storage.
Surface Pro 3 (photo Digital Trends)
Looking at the product lineup by specs, I would venture the first two models would work well for Office and productivity users. There is enough power in the i3 and i5 chips plus 4GB of RAM is more than enough for Office 365 and Windows 8.1.
The next three models all have 8GB of RAM which is my choice for a power user or anyone trying to work with Adobe Photoshop. With Microsoft OneDrive cloud storage, the need for device storage goes down and users can always add 128 GB of SD storage to increase local device storage.
RAM can’t be increased so that’s the decision point for which model to pick – 4 GB or 8GB. Personally, I would pick the 8GB models although I’d bet the lower priced 4GB models outsell them, based on price.
The weight game
You can’t believe the published specifications on tablets since they play the weight game. When I picked up an iPad Air in the store, it seemed so sleek and light. Then you add a case and a keyboard and the game changes. The same iPad Air now weighs 1.9 lbs and with a keyboard case 2.2 lbs. The “Air” part got lost in adding useful accessories.
Surface Pro 3 – with kickstand and keyboard (photo Slash Gear)
The Surface Pro 3 with a keyboard and built-in kickstand weighs just slightly more at 2.4 lbs. The kickstand is not a choice you get with the iPad Air if you want a keyboard. Most of us can’t tell the difference. The Surface 2 with a 10.6″ screen and keyboard weighs just slightly less at 2 lbs.
Surface Pro 3 as tablet and laptop replacement
The Surface Pro 3 is aimed directly as a replacement for the MacBook Air and iPad Air combination.The pitch from Microsoft is why buy and carry two devices when one will do the job better. That’s true. It’s a pain to take both an iPad and laptop around but if you are doing work, you will need the laptop as well as the tablet.
The Apple combo will cost about $2,000 for the 13″ MacBook Air and iPad Air. Total weight about 5 lbs.
The same configuration in a 12″ Surface Pro 3 and keyboard will cost $1,130 and weigh 2.4 lbs. The Surface also is also a touch device, which the MacBook Air is not, had better cameras, faster processor, runs the suite of Microsoft Office and Windows programs, connects to the cloud with OneDrive automatically and has better network security.
Mashable – Can the Surface Pro 3 Crush the MacBook Air?
The early reviews are praising the Surface Pro 2 with a complaint they don’t think the keyboard is exactly up to snuff with laptops. The Surface Pro 3 keyboard has a little flex. That makes sense but it is considerably lighter and more portable than laptops and more powerful than competitive ultrabooks. Check out the reviews in Engadget and ArsTechnica which generally like the Pro 3.
Unfortunately like most of the tech media writers, they have ABM bias – Anybody But Microsoft. If I had relied on reviews, I would have passed on the Surface 2 which is an awesome tablet for the price. Of course, I am in the Microsoft world, like Windows 8.1 and rely on Office and other Microsoft products to get my job done.
Follow me on Twitter at @sdpate or on Facebook at NJN Network, OyeTimes and IMA News Buzz.
moishela
BS”D
Discussion with Moishela (with his family)
A Handicapped child
1 Iyar 5774 (April 30, ’14)
“L’Shanah Haba’ah B’Yerushalayim”
Time is moving on and speeding up. I can’t say that we’re moving at the speed of light, but we’re moving on. It’s like a tank, a large tank that moves slowly but is very deadly and we are moving onwards forwards into the Nevuas of Hashem. Now we can see much more clearly what is on the horizon and if we look closely through our binoculars we can see clearly destruction and death, Shelo Naida.
We can see clearly how every single prophecy is coming true. On one hand it’s very frightening. On the other hand it gives us hope. It gives us hope that finally, finally we’re coming to the end of this terrible Golus; this most difficult time in all of our history, running from country to country every time the Goyim started killing us, trying to find a place where we could live in peace and worship Hakodosh Boruch Hu in every way without being attacked. We had to move from place to place and we had to reestablish ourselves financially so that we would have bread to give our children, our families. We suffered the fear of going upwards and then falling downwards in our spirituality. All of this will soon be over and it can be seen already with the naked eye, so-to-speak. Maybe we need the help of the binoculars, but we can see it already. We can smell the smoke of war and we can taste it as well.
We can understand now in our minds how two thirds of the world can be destroyed and we can be so depressed with this thought that we hopefully can forget our extreme Gashmiusdik world and decide finally to do true Teshuva. So I think my fellow Jews that it is time. It is time right now before the real troubles start. It is time to do Teshuva and to learn to depend only on Hakodosh Boruch Hu. Hashem is giving us many incentives for this, and many ways to learn to come so close to Him, so that you will fear nothing but Him. It’s our job to start to learn, how to be true Avdai Hashem and Ovdai Hashem. I hope and I pray that all Am Yisroel, every single one of Am Yisroel, will take my message seriously and stop with all the nonsense that most of you are occupied with. Push it all aside. See it for what it is – emptiness, and come closer to Hashem which is everything, all-encompassing, which is totally spiritual in nature and come close to the only Truth which is so absolutely Divine, so absolutely beautiful and pleasant and wonderful and all-encompassing that you will soon forget the hard grimy materialistic world and be swept up in the beauty and the holiness of the spiritual world of Hakodosh Boruch Hu, Hakol Yachol, the Creator of all existence.
Can you just imagine looking up and seeing the third Bais Hamikdosh looming above us, inviting us to come and bring Karbonos, finally after so many years? Can you imagine that? It will turn from a dream to reality, but we have to really desire this. We have to really long for it in order that we will also be Zoche to be part of it. L’shana Haba’ah B’yerushalayim, Yerushalayim Habenuyah!
Sefiras Haomer this year, is part of the countdown. We are going now from slavery to freedom and we are going to see many miracles on the way so between when we began counting until Shavuos there will be many changes in this world, difficult changes. It will be hard to understand maybe for many, but in the end all of the pieces of the puzzle will be put together and we’ll see a clear vision of what Hashem wants from us. We will also be aware of what this distorted world has taken away from us. Everything will be clear, pristine clear, clear as can be. We will have no doubts. We will trust Hashem completely.
I feel that Lag Baomer this year is going to symbolize the end of a certain way of doing things. I feel that things are going to change drastically after Lag Baomer, in Eretz Yisroel and generally in the world. We are looking for tremendous changes after Lag Baomer, and by Shavuos and after Shavuos, tremendous changes.
Q: How are these changes different then the last 13 years?
A: Well in the last 13 years the world has changed completely. It has become a world that once was frivolous and on the surface happy. Everybody running off to Europe or Israel from Brazil to Africa to Thailand and every place in the world. It was a time of Gashmius above and beyond anything we could dream of. Now things have gone down in the Gashmius very much. People are confused because the world has become threatening and dark. People are afraid to fly. People don’t have the money to go on vacations and never mind vacations, people don’t even have money for food. Fear hovers over the world. People are afraid because it has become a harsh and very difficult world and most people are living with a tremendous fear and rightfully so.