Surface Pro 3 Has 12" Screen, Intel Inside

crookedvulture (1866146) writes "Microsoft unveiled its Surface Pro 3 tablet at a press event in New York this morning. The device has a larger 12" screen with a 2160x1440 display resolution and a novel 3:2 aspect ratio. Intel Core processors provide the horsepower, starting with the Core i3 in the base model and extending all the way up to Core i7 in pricier variants. The tablet is just 9.1 mm thick, which Microsoft claims is the thinnest ever for a Core-based device. Microsoft developed a new radial fan that's suppose to distribute airflow evenly inside the chassis without generating audible noise. The tablet weights 800 g, shaving 100 g off the Surface Pro 2, and it's supposed to have longer battery life, as well. Microsoft has also rolled out new keyboard accessories, a pressure-sensitive stylus, and a docking station that supports 4K video output. The Surface Pro 3 is scheduled to be available tomorrow with prices starting at $799." Update: 05/20 17:12 GMT by T : Mary Jo Foley points out at ZDNet that one thing not announced today is an ARM-powered Mini version.

Re:Resolution

[Penguinisto]

Damn it, how is it phones and tablets keep getting these awesome high-rez screens, yet it's impossible to buy a laptop with anything better than 1366 x 768 for less than 1K?

You get what you pay for, and when a laptop OEM goes cheap, the first thing to go is screen resolution. Bite the bullet and spend a the extra dosh for a good laptop. As a bonus, it'll last a lot longer - often long enough to give you a better ROI than the 2-3 cheaper laptops you'd be buying during the same time period.

Re:interesting....

[smash]

After using a surface pro 2 for a week, i reckon Windows 8 actually works better with mouse and keyboard than touch by a long shot. The problem is the apps. There aren't any for touch that actually do anything productive. Shitty little app store type stuff isn't the reason I'm going to buy a Windows tablet. I'm going to buy a windows tablet because i want to do business stuff on an AD domain. If i wanted to run mobile app type stuff i'd just buy an iPad or Android tablet for half the price.

Re:Or...

[smash]

Surfing the web, watching videos, listening to music: you can do all of that on an iPad 1. How is this a selling point for an $800 tablet again? The whole point of a Windows tablet (@ $800 price point) for most people is that you can use it to do actual work. If you're needing to pull out your laptop or go to your desktop for that, the device is missing the mark.

Re:interesting....

[Overzeetop]

The problem with touch is that it's not really thought out by the software makers. There are exceptions. Bluebeam makes a PDF program for professionals that lets you edit and annotate. On a digitizer Win8 tablet, like this or my Sony Flip, fingers are used to zoom and pan, while the digitizer is used for writing on the screen. There's never a mixup between the two like occurs with an iPad, where even the best BT-linked styli are hit and miss (and still only work properly in special "aware" apps).

The biggest downside to W8 is the lack of ability to go all-fingers when you want to, but that would require touch-optimized apps for nearly everything, and the vendors just aren't feeling the need to go there.

Re:Drat! Still only 8GB RAM max.

[Jeff Flanagan]

A tablet may not be the best place to run virtual machines or servers, and nothing else really requires more than 8GB of RAM. Win 8 will run very well with 8GB.

Re:interesting....

[ai4px]

I used a surface pro for all of about 2 hours and returned it to the store. I was lined up to pay >$900 for a surface pro that didn't come with a keyboard. The touch screen in win8 isn't even smart enough to pop up an on screen keyboard when I touch a blank to type. I have to make the keyboard pop up, then move the screen around to see what I'm typing if the kb covers it up. Amazingly unintuitive. Couple this with a GUI that keeps funneling me into the puzzle pieces view... and trying to find apps that are not organized in alphabetical order..... again, amazingly unintuitive. Now they tell us it has a 3:2 aspect ratio? WhoTF is making these decisions?

Re:Resolution

[jkrise]

Microsoft seems a totally confused company at the moment. I bet more than 50% of all tablets are 7" screen size or less. The reason the iPad at about 10" is good is bcos of touch based apps for that platform.

12" is way too big for a tablet and $700 is about 3 times the ideal price point. This device will get hammered by Android tablets by the low-price customers; and anybody who can afford $700 for a tablet would close their eyes and buy the iPad which has 100 times more useful touch based apps than the Surface Pro.

The desktop OS is best navigated with a keyboard in Microsoft's opinion. The best Surface Pro apps are those designed for the desktop, such as Excel and Word.

Looks like a very confused company determined to throw another $1bn in a vain effort to get 2% marketshare in tablets. Gates or Ballmer or Nadella, nobody seems to have any clue about desktops, tablets or smartphones.

Re:interesting....

[Missing.Matter]

More like...

SurfacePro3 - Intel® Core i5, 128 GB and 4 GB of RAM - $999
Extra - Surface Pro Type Cover $129.99
Touch Screen included
Digitizer included
Pen included
2160 x 1440 resolution display included
Total - $1128

MacBook Air - Intel® Core i5, 128 GB and 4 GB of RAM - $899
Keyboard included
Touch screen not available
Digitizer not available
Pen not available
1366 x 768 included. Hi-res display not available
Total - $899

It's 2014. A computer is not just CPU + RAM + HDD anymore. For instance, part of Apple's marketing of the MacBook air was how thin and light it is. Surface Pro 3 is even *thinner and ligher* than the Air. For someone looking for a thin and light device, thinness and lightness is part of the value proposition, and they might be willing to pay more for that.

Re:interesting....

[Anonymous Coward]

One is a laptop, and the other a tablet with a bunch of awkward doo-dads attached, right?