Why should I buy the Surface 3 over a more powerful laptop for the same price?

Tsang Fai

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You shouldn't.

The Surface line isn't meant to be a mass consumer product. Microsoft created it as a reference for other OEMs to see where they wanted the hardware to go along with Windows.
They are reference devices and hence overpriced. You only buy a Surface if you really want Microsoft hardware. There's absolutely no other reason to buy one.

The fact that you can buy a better ASUS laptop for the same price is a result of that strategy of having reference devices. OEMs looked at the Surface and got challenged to make something alike but either cheaper or better when not cheaper AND better. ;)

I don't agree Surface is a "reference" device and that it is over-priced.

Both Surface Pro and Surface already have 3 generations. The Surface 3 LTE will be released soon, too. Surface and Surface Pro are the most popular 2-in-1 Windows tablets that you can see people using in the public. Surface is also a popular topic discussed among users (at least Windows users).

Maybe it was designed as a reference device at the very beginning (first generation). But the situation has changed. Surface Pro 3 is more successful than expected. And the Surface 3 has allowed many people to purchase a much more "affordable Surface Pro". I believe Microsoft will even put more resources on developing Surface devices in the future.

For users who care build quality, pen support and flexibility of usage (aka kickstand), Surface 3 is not an expensive choice. Other cheaper Windows tablets may not have all the good features of Surface 3, not to mention the unbeatable build quality.
 

seremify

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Op, the Surface 3 is dare I say a slightly niche product which has some great use case examples (no doubt prepared by marketing folk). That being said, if none of the scenarios connects with you as something you would either use the device for or foresee yourself using, then the Surface 3 probably isn't for you. If you don't need the kickstand, the pen, the touch (and beautiful) screen, the thin Type Cover for portability, Windows in a tablet, etc... then maybe a traditional laptop might be more suited for you especially dollar for dollar, like you've pointed out, you'll get a better spec'd machine without the compromises.

That all being said, the fact that you are asking this implies to me there is at least one feature which you'd be able to take advantage of and would differentiate the experience for you... so what you need to do is figure out if that differentiation is worth the premium both in terms of dollars and what compromises you have to accept (e.g. you may need to BYO bluetooth keyboard to save the one USB port or budget for the Type Cover, you also need to consider limitations in the speed of the charging, etc).

For some of us, myself included, I was happy to pay the premium and knowingly accept the compromises because I wanted the package and no regrets so far (unlike when I bought the Asus T100).

Edit: not sure if you have read this but it is a balanced summary of 3 key strengths (or compromises) for surface 3: http://www.zdnet.com/article/three-questions-to-ask-before-buying-a-surface-3/
 
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DJCBS

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I don't agree Surface is a "reference" device and that it is over-priced.

You may not agree, but that's still Microsoft's official position on the matter, not mine. It also applies to things like the Microsoft Band ;) And I don't see them changing course. On the contrary, if anything, they'll end up shifting their money-losing phone business towards the Surface model instead of the other way around.

The overpriced is my opinion. Because it is. Specially outside the US. Your US$499 Surface 3 costs us 610€ (US$687) in Europe for example. And this isn't VAT's fault.

As for the build quality, it's not bad, but I've been through - and seen people go through - hell (including our own Richard Devine) on account of the Surface's "build quality" (or lack thereof). So that's very subjective.
 

Wildo6882

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I'm currently fighting between the Surface 3 and the T300 Chi. The Chi is $599 right now on the MS store. Which is $100 less than the Surface 3 bundle at Costco. It has a better processor and SSD storage. So it's a tough call. But the Surface was pretty much what I was looking for until I noticed the price difference.
 

gtbbong89

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If you care more about quality, and pen support go for surface 3. If younjust want a laptop go for thr Dell 13.3 899 version. I personally dislike the asus 305. The quality is questionable.

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
 

Geodude074

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If you're seriously in the market for a 2in1 device with digitizer support, I HIGHLY recommend the Surface Pro 2. The i5 8 GB RAM 256 GB SSD version is $750 on Amazon right now.

Amazon.com: Microsoft - Surface Pro 2 with 256GB - Dark Titanium: Computers & Accessories

Type Covers are $60 each too, which is less than half the price of the Surface 3's Type Cover.

So the way I see it, you can get a Surface 3 Atom x7 4 GB RAM 128 GB eMMC with a Type Cover and Pen for $780.

Or you can get a Surface Pro 2 i5 8 GB RAM 256 GB SSD with a Type Cover and Pen for $810.
 
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seremify

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If you care more about quality, and pen support go for surface 3. If younjust want a laptop go for thr Dell 13.3 899 version. I personally dislike the asus 305. The quality is questionable.

Agreed re ASUS. I went from my Apple Macbook to an Asus Transformer and I know there is a huge price difference but the quality drop was more significant! Glad I went with a Surface 3 afterwards though as I can feel the premium build quality and just, stuff working well.

I'm currently fighting between the Surface 3 and the T300 Chi. The Chi is $599 right now on the MS store. Which is $100 less than the Surface 3 bundle at Costco. It has a better processor and SSD storage. So it's a tough call. But the Surface was pretty much what I was looking for until I noticed the price difference.

Go play with both devices in a store and see which one you feel more comfortable using/holding/etc.

If you're able to take advantage of the Surface 3 features (e.g. pen) and value it's differentiators, then go for it. The Asus products typically are more value focussed but you sacrifice some of the (perceived) quality/reliability.

Don't tell that to the people at my University. It's hard to go a day without seeing a Surface.

Students are a niche market right (sortof)? Although if I was back in uni I'd probably want a Surface over my damn netbook from that era.

The only thing which really annoys me about Surface 3 isn't directly because of Surface 3 but rather because my company doesn't support it as a second/companion device to my work laptop (Windows).
 

Wildo6882

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Agreed re ASUS. I went from my Apple Macbook to an Asus Transformer and I know there is a huge price difference but the quality drop was more significant! Glad I went with a Surface 3 afterwards though as I can feel the premium build quality and just, stuff working well.



Go play with both devices in a store and see which one you feel more comfortable using/holding/etc.

If you're able to take advantage of the Surface 3 features (e.g. pen) and value it's differentiators, then go for it. The Asus products typically are more value focussed but you sacrifice some of the (perceived) quality/reliability.



Students are a niche market right (sortof)? Although if I was back in uni I'd probably want a Surface over my damn netbook from that era.

The only thing which really annoys me about Surface 3 isn't directly because of Surface 3 but rather because my company doesn't support it as a second/companion device to my work laptop (Windows).
Problem for me is that I can only go play with the Surface 3. I don't have an MS store close, so I have to test things out by buying and sending back if I can't find one in person. I have played with a Surface 3 at Sam's and loved it. Just didn't know if the price savings of the T300 would be worth it (plus the better processor and faster storage).
 

Angry_Mushroom

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If you care more about quality, and pen support go for surface 3. If younjust want a laptop go for thr Dell 13.3 899 version. I personally dislike the asus 305. The quality is questionable.

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

I'm curious. What exactly do you find lacking in the quality? I have a 302 with a few... uhh... issues, and I'm wondering if Asus has found new ways to mess up a simple design.
 

seremify

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Problem for me is that I can only go play with the Surface 3. I don't have an MS store close, so I have to test things out by buying and sending back if I can't find one in person. I have played with a Surface 3 at Sam's and loved it. Just didn't know if the price savings of the T300 would be worth it (plus the better processor and faster storage).

No other electronics stores sell new laptops near you? I'm sure it's available elsewhere - but I can't comment as I don't really know where you live or what stores are like in the US.

In my opinion though regarding ASUS quality, I'd say it does the job but you'll never feel special using it. If you pick up a Surface 3, it's a bit like picking up an iPad or one of the newer Macbooks- the chassis feels robust and strong, there is no flex, and you get the sense you're holding something special/premium. Down the track, you may find some surprises like a key gets sticky, the system crashes unexpectedly, etc... but you can never really explain why and for the most part, it works. But it's those few moments where it does crash that it will frustrate you and you'll wonder if it's worth sending back for repair/service and being without a device, etc...

For me, that's exactly how I felt about ASUS before when I owned one. It crashed every now and then and I could never really explain why given I didn't install much, and the build quality felt a bit flimsy and flexed, and the keyboard wasn't nice, the thing toppled over due to poor design/planning of the weighting, the screen looked rubbish, etc... In other words, on paper it sounded fine and like a good deal, but using it just was a chore. I actually look forward to using the Surface and it reminded me of when I first bought an iPad 3 a few years ago where every interaction felt special/different and not like work.

This is just my own personal opinion and obviously some people have ASUS devices and never have an issue/love them, etc... but at least in my experience, I don't like having to second guess whether something is wrong and needs fixing/etc... (also note, some people appear to have bought Surface 3s and have had issues but it doesn't seem anywhere near as common as ASUS based on my forum reading).
 

ng4ever

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I am wondering is the Surface 3 and Surface 3 Pro built well enough to not use it with a case ? I hate how cases block the kickstand in the back and being able to flip the keyboard back.

You have to take the case off every time to do this.
 

seremify

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I am wondering is the Surface 3 and Surface 3 Pro built well enough to not use it with a case ? I hate how cases block the kickstand in the back and being able to flip the keyboard back.

You have to take the case off every time to do this.

I'm under the impression most people don't use a full on case but instead just keep it in a sleeve/pouch/bag when transporting it.
 

LibbyLA

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I "skinned" mine to protect it from scratches and keep the keyboard clean and I carry it in a neoprene case (basically a well-padded sleeve) with a shoulder strap.
 

realwarder

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I used a Surface 3 in store the other day and it locked up solid. Had to hard reset. Didn't inspire me from a first use perspective.

Felt solid though. And my RT is still going strong so they know how to make them... you just have to wait a year or two for the firmware and OS updates to iron out the bugs like Wi-Fi issues.

When I was playing with it I wanted to try out the pen and notes function which worked ok ish. Worst thing was the touch OneNote has no way to convert the notes to text. I had to go back to the desktop and use the desktop OneNote to open the same note and convert there. The pen appears a great idea in its infancy that needs integration refinement. At the moment Microsoft are very much at risk of Apple coming along with a 'it just works' implementation of using a pen with the OS and everyone thinking they invented the whole thing.

I was tempted to buy a Surface 3 though... and I would consider it if I needed a new very mobile laptop.
 

InspectHerGadget

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I think that the Surface 3 is a lovely product. I have had every Surface so far and currently have the Surface 2 (my wife has used this since it came out and really likes it). I have the SP3 and again it is an excellent product.

I bought the Surface 3 for my own reasons for my wife. She liked it but compared to the Surface 2, for her it was much of a muchness, except she thought it was a bit faster. Unfortunately we had some real issues with it which I think were hardware issues. I refreshed it once, still had issues and returned it for a refund. I have a low threshold of patience for devices new on the market and will assume the worst when something has an issue.

My opinion on the S3, definitely expensive but you do get what you pay for if you value a truly gorgeous and premium build and make light use of it and don't expect much in terms of performance.

I still think though it is a hard sell. The Surface 2 is very robust as malware simply doesn't run on it and it works just as well as a Surface 3 but will only be supported for the next two years and won't be upgradeable to Windows 10. Now this would bother me but my wife will just keep using it till the day it dies I think.

The problem is the Surface 3 now only has the advantage of being fanless and light weight. The cost is eMMC storage which is very slow and the Atom processor which is uber slow also. It is hard to be enthusiastic about such slow hardware and yet some people such as my wife really couldn't care less if it slows down and even less about benchmarks. They also only make very light use of it for emails and browsing and a few photos for viewing etc. Exactly what it is designed for. I wonder how many gadget enthusiasts on this forum truly just want it for light use? And wouldn't get tired of slow performance?

I personally would find it painful and would want more. The Surface 3 is in an awkward place and it will only appeal to and keep a certain type of user happy. My wife is one of them but then that person is equally happy with the Surface 2.

The Surface 3 is simply an appetiser for the SP4 when it comes out. Maybe by the time you get sick of it and give it to your wife/partner, the SP4 will have hit the shelves.
 

LibbyLA

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I don't find the S3 at all slow. I was using Camtasia Studio to record a Q&A session with my students in which I was writing in the OneNote app while talking. Wasn't slow at all. I run simple statistical programs in SAS and they run fine. I do a lot of different things with my various computers, but seldom is what I do really hardware intensive. When I need to do something like that, I do it on my Dell workstation.

For web surfing, basic word processing, this and that, the S3 works faster than I can type and that's all that matters. A car that goes 200 MPH doesn't get you somewhere any faster than one that tops out at 90 MPH if the speed limit is 70 and you obey the law.

Edited to add: my first Surface was the SP3. The earlier ones looked interesting, but were a no-go because they couldn't run SAS, the statistical software that I teach, which only runs on full Windows.
 

WillysJeepMan

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I been thinking and keep wondering about this question myself. Why should I buy the Surface 3 over a more powerful laptop for the same price?

Like this laptop for example:

Amazon.com : ASUS Zenbook UX305FA-ASM1 13.3-Inch Ultraslim Aluminum Laptop (256 GB SSD, 8 GB RAM) : Computers & Accessories

I would get the Surface 3 4 GB/128 GB one with the keyboard. Which would be $730 more than this laptop.
Nice choice of a notebook.

As for whether this will be better for you than a Surface 3, that greatly depends upon whether or not you currently use a tablet or what you would use a tablet for.

Depending upon your use cases, the Surface 3 could make an adequate tablet or a poor tablet.

For my uses, I find the Surface family (and all Windows tablets/hybrids) to make poor tablets. Not necessarily because of the hardware and OS (though there are some issues in those areas) but primarily because of the continued lack of quantity of quality touch-optimized Modern UI apps.

If you have access to a Windows 8.x notebook, I recommend visiting the Windows app store and look for the apps that you would use on a hybrid device in tablet mode. Get an idea of what is available and the functionality that they provide. Compare what you have found with what you would like to do with a tablet to see if it will be able to meet your needs/expectations.

If the touch apps meet your needs or "come close enough", then a Surface would make a fine device for your needs.

 

akin_t

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If you don't want a Surface 3 then get something else. It's that simple.

It really is that simple. I mean, you either need the tablet form factor or you don't. Nobody knows how you actually use your computer so our input is pretty much moot.

What do you typically do on your computer? What do you wish your current computer could do? Make that choice accordingly.
 

gtbbong89

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Asus is leaning towards this idea of cheaper price with same spec BUT this comes with a price. Cheaper parts. And unlike microsoft with a store available in the u.s. there is no asus store. You have a better chance of gettinh a more satisfying help with microsoft.

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
 

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