No Surface 3 (RT)?

[slysy]

Anyone else dissapointed that a Surface3 with WinRT was not announced along with the pro? I wonder if it will come at a later time, or whether it can now be considered discontinued.

For me there is still value in the RT model - cheaper, light, better battery and a good companion device if you already own a modern laptop.

 

[Paul Nicholas]

I'll be honest I have a Surface 2 and I can't wait to change to an intel cherry trail tablet at Christmas, I thought a Surface 2 would fill all of my needs but I do miss the power of full windows sometimes.
I'm really hoping the Surface 3 is intel powered or I'll be looking at lenovo, asus or dell.

 

[Ryan ODonnell]

Anyone else dissapointed that a Surface3 with WinRT was not announced along with the pro? I wonder if it will come at a later time, or whether it can now be considered discontinued.

For me there is still value in the RT model - cheaper, light, better battery and a good companion device if you already own a modern laptop.

I agree, I would actually love this with the screen size and the pen and everything!
Shame they did not announce it, alongside with a Surface Mini!
Microsoft would have had my money if they released that, as I've previously owned a Surface RT (Original) and was very satisfied with it :grin:

 

[Cruncher04]

They cannot announce, what's not available. Both the snapdragon 805 and the Tegra K1 will be only available in the second half of the year. If Microsoft is shooting for the 64 bit version of the Tegra K1, it will be closer to holidays.
From early benchmarks, Tegra K1 seems to be the SoC to own this holiday season.

I'm really hoping the Surface 3 is intel powered or I'll be looking at lenovo, asus or dell.

You give the perfect reason(among others), why Microsoft should stay with ARM. While you can easily chose an Asus device with Windows while anyone preferring ARM would need to go Android or Apple.

 

[benrp]

Because the RT line had a major refresh, while the Pro lines 2013 refresh was more minor. My guess is Microsoft has staggered the releases to ensure each release is substantial.

 

[kristalsoldier]

Whatever be the reason, if MS does release a revamped Surface 3, I hope they have the sense to include the Pen with it - though I am not holding my breath. The only worrying thing is that now the profile of the Surface Pro 3 and the Surface 3 (except for the weight, possibly) has considerably narrowed. If MS is going to keep the RT alive then I think they will go for a smaller device (with a Pen). But for that to happen, they will have to wait till the Modern UI version of Office is ready.

 

[Cruncher04]

The only worrying thing is that now the profile of the Surface Pro 3 and the Surface 3 (except for the weight, possibly) has considerably narrowed

Do you know anything about the Surface 3, no one else knows? Mind sharing?

 

[ygtgngr]

I don't think they can sell RT devices any more, full Windows tablets are now down to ~249, no one will pay more than that for a less functioning OS

 

[kristalsoldier]

Do you know anything about the Surface 3, no one else knows? Mind sharing?

I know nothing other than what I have been reading (and seeing on Youtube) about speculations about a RT device in light of the release of the SP3. All just speculation - some more sensible than others. Personally, I have no original inputs.

My personal preference, however, would have been a Surface 3 in exactly the same dimensions as the SP3 with the N-Trig Pen capability. But that is purely based on my use-case. I don't think that is going to happen though.

 

[WillysJeepMan]

I don't think they can sell RT devices any more, full Windows tablets are now down to ~249, no one will pay more than that for a less functioning OS

Microsoft also announced that "Windows with Bing" would be $15 per license for hardware manufacturers (down from $50). That will probably bring 8" Windows 8.1 x86 tablets below $200. With that news, I would be quite surprised if there were any more Windows RT equipped Surface devices.

 

[slysy]

I don't think they can sell RT devices any more, full Windows tablets are now down to ~249, no one will pay more than that for a less functioning OS

But full Windows tablets are usually heavier and require a fan etc. If they could make a Surface 3 (RT) that weighed about the same as an iPad Air, for me it would be very appealing.

 

[ygtgngr]

But full Windows tablets are usually heavier and require a fan etc. If they could make a Surface 3 (RT) that weighed about the same as an iPad Air, for me it would be very appealing.

iPad 4 was 1.5 pounds, Asus T100 is slightly over 2 pounds. I don't think Windows tablets are massively weighted. Also, tablets with Atom processors are fan-less. Anyway, there is no point in buying a compressed OS like iOS or RT, for the same price that you can buy a fully featured PC.

 

[Ebuka Allison]

Microsoft also announced that "Windows with Bing" would be $15 per license for hardware manufacturers (down from $50). That will probably bring 8" Windows 8.1 x86 tablets below $200. With that news, I would be quite surprised if there were any more Windows RT equipped Surface devices.

Windows below 10 inches is free anyway

 

[FinancialP]

I'm kinda disappointed. I was hoping a RT 3 would drive down the price of the original Surface RT some more.

I'm still considering buying one anyway.

 

[jojoe42]

But full Windows tablets are usually heavier and require a fan etc. If they could make a Surface 3 (RT) that weighed about the same as an iPad Air, for me it would be very appealing.

+1020

If they could make the Surface 3 a must-have product in terms of design (super thin and good specs), and put it at the right price point (if they made it cheaper or bundled it WITH the touch cover) then I can see good reason for my entire school to buy them - some people (including me) have Surface tablets and love them, but considering you can still get an iPad 3 or 4 for less, with a keyboard for slightly more than a Surface 2 by itself it's just getting ignored. Lots of people in my classes get pretty frustrated with their iPads though mainly because the productivity apps are pretty terrible in comparison to Office

 

[Cruncher04]

no one will pay more than that for a less functioning OS

. Anyway, there is no point in buying a compressed OS like iOS or RT

Apparently you have no clue what Windows RT actually is. It is a full featured Windows and matches x86 Windows feature by feature. It is simply the very same Windows compiled for ARM processors. Comparing it to iOS is just stupid. What ARM devices are lacking is the ability to run x86 code. This is not a Windows RT issue.

Having this out of the way I am getting to my real point of this post. Intel processors and in particular Baytrail are far behind, when it comes to multimedia/GPU performance (games etc.). Being mainly for consumption devices, customers will just pick the SoC with best performance, which at the same time minimize power consumption.
Once you are at the point, that you decided to not need legacy desktop programs on your tablet you can make the above choice - getting the best SoC for your needs. We can be lucky, that we still have this choice with Windows RT. It would be terrible for the Windows ecosystem, if the best mobile SoCs are only available for competing ecosystems.

iPad 4 was 1.5 pounds, Asus T100 is slightly over 2 pounds.

iPad air is 1 pound, while having a significantly higher screen resolution. At the same time A7 outclasses Baytrail in performance and power by a significant margin. A7 is a very good showcase of what ARM architecure is capable of. Recently released Tegra K1 seems to be a good match for Apples next iteration, the A8.

 

[ZvjerOPC]

I wouldn't mind killing the desktop legacy completely, for RT devices once Office is ready in store and more apps arrive. Pro devices should keep the desktop.

Sent from my Lumia 1020 using Tapatalk

 

[kristalsoldier]

Ideally, I'd like a Surface 3 too - but in the dimensions of the SP3. And, I'd like it with the same Pen capabilities. But I am not sure MS is going to oblige.

 

[Cruncher04]

Ideally, I'd like a Surface 3 too - but in the dimensions of the SP3. And, I'd like it with the same Pen capabilities. But I am not sure MS is going to oblige.

I'd say they need to widen the choice instead of unify everything. SP3 3:2 12'', S3 16:9 10'' and S mini 4:3 8'' seems like a good idea. Pen capabilities in the S3 would be cool though.

 

[kristalsoldier]

I'd say they need to widen the choice instead of unify everything. SP3 3:2 12'', S3 16:9 10'' and S mini 4:3 8'' seems like a good idea. Pen capabilities in the S3 would be cool though.

Maybe, but I do like - indeed prefer - the 3:2/ 4:3 aspect ratio - this is because of my work-related needs - which is also why I would like a Surface 3 with that format. But I can see how MS may want to differentiate their product lines. Regardless, I will, most likely, be opting for the SP3 shortly.