[ng4ever]

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.

[bo_woods]

Are you saying the surface 3 or the surface pro 3?

[ng4ever]

Surface 3 but you can talk about the Surface Pro 3 too.

[Dadstar0410]

The Surface 3 would NOT be $730 more than the ASUS. The surface pro 3 maybe, but not the surface 3. The S3 comes with add-one, such as an included $50 pen and a free year of office 365, which on the ASUS would mean an extra $80/year to continue the subscription. Plus you get the reliability of Microsoft products and a strong brand name to boot.

[LouCap]

Here are a few thoughts on this... The Surface 3 is NOT only a laptop, it's a tablet too. The ability to switch from one configuration to the other is fantastic. Compared to other tablets, it's FAR more functional, but when you want to kick back and web surf, read or watch a movie without a keyboard, it's ready. The PEN is great. You can draw, take notes, and even sign documents. In fact, in one note you can draw and type in the same document, and then record and add a video, like a lecture you're attending. I bought the 128/4gb Surface 3 bundled with the keyboard and pen from Costco for only $699.

If you just want a laptop buy a laptop. But, if you want a device that can be your laptop AND tablet... buy the Surface.

[ng4ever]

The Surface 3 would NOT be $730 more than the ASUS. The surface pro 3 maybe, but not the surface 3. The S3 comes with add-one, such as an included $50 pen and a free year of office 365, which on the ASUS would mean an extra $80/year to continue the subscription. Plus you get the reliability of Microsoft products and a strong brand name to boot.

Sorry I meant: Which would be $730, more than this laptop.

As it would be more than this laptop by $30.

[bo_woods]

With both the 3 and the pro 3 against this laptop, you'll be getting a laptop experience that doubles a s a tablet.

You'll also be getting a very unique digitizer experience with the special surface pen that is pressure sensitive and can open up OneNote from the click of a button.

And on the pro 3 in specific your getting a smaller but sharper display, at the resolution of 2160x1440 (2k).

Essentially the laptop judging by the amazon overview will give you more power ( but only against the 3's atom, as the pro 3's i5 & i7 chips are arguably better than core m),more storage, ram, and a sturdier laptop experience but that is subjective.

While the surface 3 & pro 3 are giving you a sharper display/higher ppi ( especially the pro 3 ), more portability, guaranteed high build quality ( I'm not fond of Asus so I can't comment on their quality), a tablet experience, a great pressure sensitive digitizer pen, guaranteed support from MS, meaning you'll always be able to walk into an MS store in case of an issue and walk right out with a resolution (easily can be a new Surface)... This Zenbook may not always necessarily always be available at a MS store for replacement in case yours has a defect. You'll most likely have to send it out and wait for it to return from wherever an ASUS repair center may be at.


It all depends on what your needs are
Essentially

Surface
-sharper display
-more portable
-doubles as tablet
-digitizer pen
-direct MS store support

Zenbook
-more storage
-more ram
-better processor (but only against standard smaller surface 3)
-sturdier laptop experience

[illegaloperation]

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

[ng4ever]

I am still undecided sorry.

[tbsteph]

From what I can find, the Asus does not offer a touchscreen (Nor the use of a pen). Otherwise, I would go with the Surface 3 UNLESS, you absolutely need a larger drive, more memory or a marginally faster processor. More memory and faster processor only would be relevant if you were doing intensive tasks such as possibly Photoshop and/or video editing. (The Surface 3 can handle these sort of tasks but not as fast.). Also, I would advise looking at each in a Store and see how they feel to you.

[LibbyLA]

I would not base my decision on $30. If you have to pay tax on the Surface 3, the difference is going to be more than $30, but I still wouldn't base my decision on $75-$100 unless my budget was so tight that I had to. Choose one based on the features that are important to you. A computer that you use and enjoy is more valuable, regardless of price, than one you bought for $x dollars.

[ng4ever]

I been to the store trying out the iPad Air 2, Surface 3 and Surface 3 Pro! They all felt about the same weight at first but then I noticed a difference after a while.

I liked the Surface 3 and Surface 3 Pro but hated the keyboard trackpad.

Still can't decide if I would get the keyboard or pen if I get a Surface 3. I want both but can't afford both right now. (both the keyboard and pen)

[bo_woods]

You can always get a Bluetooth keyboard and or mouse instead of the proprietary Surface Keyboad

Those would be much cheaper also

[Deihmos1]

i would not buy any unless the price comes down. They are both overpriced and do not hold their resale value. i got the surface 1 for just 400 over a year ago. the price use to be 1k

[Guytronic]

Tablets to me are somewhat unusable for long periods.
I've had a few including the original Surface.

The Surface had a great design and feel yet gimmicky in my opinion.
All the tabs I have are unused at the moment.

For me a middle of the road notebook runs fine and is the most comfortable to use.
A 13-14 inch high end i5 or i7 with SSD will be my next notebook.

[DLCPhototography]

For me, the deciding factor was size and weight, along with the ability to just use it as a Tablet. I looked at the Zenbook, the Dell XPS 13, HP Spectre x360, Lenovo Lacie Z, Venue 11 Pro, along with the Surface Pro 3, and the Surface 3 met my needs better than all the others. If size/weight are not significant factors, and if you didn't need a Tablet, or want to use it as one, then the Asus or other choices might be better options.

I got the bundle at Costco for $699 for the 4gb Surface 3, Pen, and Keyboard. I added a Gigabyte Bluetooth Mouse for when I use the S3 as a Laptop. At 10.52" x 7.36", and 1.37 pounds without the keyboard, it functions extremely well as a Tablet. The integral kickstand is just awesome for this. I'll use it for casual websurfing, read books via Kindle, highlighting text with the Pen, texting with the Verizon Message+ App, etc.

For more serious Laptop use, I have Photoshop CS6 on it, and with the Mouse and keyboard, it functions quite well. Not a serious workhorse, but gets the job done.

I also added an additional 128gb of Storage with a Sandisk Ultra MicroSD card. When doing Photography travel trips, a small Transcend USB 3.0 CF Card reader transfers files incredibly fast, the USB port will support my Seagate 500gb External Hard Drive Backup, etc. Gives me the same basic capabilities as a much larger/heavier laptop, at a fraction of the size.

So as others have pointed out, you need to figure out what details and functions are the most important to you, how you're going to use the device, and then pick the one that matches your needs, and your budget, the best.

[Geo Hutchings]

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.

I would get the i3 surface pro, it is the best of both worlds, the surface 3 has trade offs like atom and such, and get a surface pro keyboard of eBay and get a 128gb microsd card which I got in my i5 surface pro 3 8ram, laptops are great and all but far to Heavy at that price

Sent on surface pro 3 using it in tablet mode keyboard round the house somewhere

[ShinraCorp]

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.

Actually I was pondering that question as well last week. And really it comes down to this... Do you absolutely need a tablet? No? Then get a laptop. For the same price of a 2GB/64GB Surface 3 plus a Type Cover I was able to get the Dell XPS 13 which is powered by an i5-5200U 128GB M.2 SSD, 4 GB of RAM and a 13.3 inch screen. For the cost of 900$

Surface 3 with Type Cover? 850$ for 50$ more I get a more powerful laptop, so I went with that instead. Back then it used to be a big no no for me for any Dell computers but ever since they've gone back to being a private company, they've seemed to have improved a lot.

[DJCBS]

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. ;)

[xandros9]

I think its also worth factoring in the price of the iPad here too.

I'd get the Surface 3 only as a secondary device. But not at that price.

[Tsang Fai]

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]

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/

[illegaloperation]

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).

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

[DJCBS]

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]

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.