So, who's gonna get a Surface Pro 3?

[Wevenhuis]

9 hours battery life for ALL the tablet models? This will be the major factor. The proof will be in the pudding.


One key essential thing I'm missing in the whole presentation is tailored software for the the surface 3 and pen support. Simply these specs will not be enough and, I believe, a tough sell. So far in the presentation there is not one software demo with the stylus and surface I've seen that got me exited, compared to my current surface pro one. Microsoft does seem to sell this as a notetaking device, but what is shown can also be done with my stylus on the surface one. Thus,it leaves only the price and battery life as the remaining selling point.


I would go for an upgrade from my surface pro 1 to a surface pro 3 if:


1. windows 8 gets a serious tailored upgrade and user experience overhaul for proper notetaking support for a stylus. Currently the notetaking apps are still too tailored for a mouse and keyboard input.


2. The battery life actually needs to be 8-10 hours use in real world scenarios. I don't care if this means the surface will get a bit thicker.


3. a power cover is included in the package. I could live with a surface 3 with 8 hours optimal use and a power cover extending its range to 10-14 hours.


That would make me upgrade my surface pro to a surface pro 3.

 

[rQvsnaps]

Nah, looks quite nice but dont really see the point. Was hoping they would announce surface 3 also with some updated hardware, guess I'll be heading out for a surface 2 tomorrow (was only holding out for this announcement)

Office, remote desktop, vpn
If I want to do more than that I'll turn on my desktop

So no more reveals today?

 

[drbanks]

I'm a definite maybe. Probably i5/256GB. If there were an i5/512GB, even better. The i7 sounds good, but I'm not sure whether the increase in price and decrease in battery life is really worth the speedup. After all, most of the i5 portables I've used (MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Surface Pro Classic) have been just fine for everything I need to do, from software development (Visual Studio, native or in a VM), desktop publishing (inDesign) and photography (Lightroom/Photoshop). In every case, the CPU is never the bottleneck: it's always RAM and the size of the SSD.

 

[Narr]

UK availability on the MS Store is stating 31st August.... I sure hope that is just a holding page. If that is the correct date then I won't be buying it.

 

[Narr]

9 hours battery life for ALL the tablet models? This will be the major factor. The proof will be in the pudding.


One key essential thing I'm missing in the whole presentation is tailored software for the the surface 3 and pen support. Simply these specs will not be enough and, I believe, a tough sell. So far in the presentation there is not one software demo with the stylus and surface I've seen that got me exited, compared to my current surface pro one. Microsoft does seem to sell this as a notetaking device, but what is shown can also be done with my stylus on the surface one. Thus,it leaves only the price and battery life as the remaining selling point.


I would go for an upgrade from my surface pro 1 to a surface pro 3 if:


1. windows 8 gets a serious tailored upgrade and user experience overhaul for proper notetaking support for a stylus. Currently the notetaking apps are still too tailored for a mouse and keyboard input.


2. The battery life actually needs to be 8-10 hours use in real world scenarios. I don't care if this means the surface will get a bit thicker.


3. a power cover is included in the package. I could live with a surface 3 with 8 hours optimal use and a power cover extending its range to 10-14 hours.


That would make me upgrade my surface pro to a surface pro 3.

Pro 3, OneNote and the N-Trig pen have been tailored for note taking. Clicking the pen to open the device and open OneNote and then opening those APIs to other developers would seem to be exactly what you are asking for.

Pony up another $200 and the power cover is included in the price

 

[anon(7817172)]

I would love to get the i7 one before I go university this September. Assassin's Creed on that thing - awesome.

I think I know where my university allowance and bursary will be used for hahah jkk

 

[anon(5445874)]

I will be getting one ASAP. Those extra pixels will be great for my Fresh Paint paintings.

 

[omegafiler]

I've been waiting for a 12" Windows 8 Tablet just like this. I mean, seriously... exactly like this. I've had dozens of Android and Win8 tablets and always found them too small or limited in functionality to really be of any use. I'd end up using another 12" or 13" ultrabook or my GN3, which was already on my belt holster.

And most recently I had the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 tablet. I absolutely loved the size. But Android thrown in with the hardware and software Samsung put together just wasn't ready for I needed out of it. Too slow, buggy, bloat, limited apps, and simply over priced for what it was.

But the Surface Pro 3 looks great on paper (and initial hands-on reviews). I could definitely see this as a perfect replacement for my tablet and ultrabook needs. Everything from surfing the web, doing lots of typing, watching movies, and even playing the occasional light game.

At least that's what I hope. I'm on the fence if I'll pre-order tomorrow and deciding which i5 config I'll go with. Or wait a bit and see how things fall into place. After all, it's still not exactly cheap. And the price difference is a bit exaggerated for the relatively modest spec increases. Oh, and let's not forget Broadwell around the corner. We'll see!

 

[Guzzler3]

I can't afford one

Yep. I'm in the same boat. But this is the tablet I've been waiting for since the early 90's. I've had this design in my head for years, talked to many Intel and Microsoft people that would listen me about this as I could. Everyone was, "Yea!!! That would be cool!!" But the tech just wasn't available at the time.

The one thing I would have done different would be to use a PCIe SSD instead of SATA. I have an Asus i7 laptop that uses PCIe SSD, and it is the fastest thing I have ever used, so far.

 

[dkediger]

I'm thinking of getting two pretty quickly at work. One for our CFO to replace an aging notebook, and one for myself to replace my desktop. We both use multiple monitors, so would get the docking station as well.

Will have to decide been the 256 GB i5 model versus the 256 GB i7.

 

[McHendry]

Me.. Surface3 core i3 4GB Ram.
But.. Is it will be relase in Indonesia?.
I guess No. Last Years Lumia 2520 relased, Indonesia didnt get it.
We(Lumia Comodity) are Expecting that Tablet Surface come to Indonesia

 

[sticitodaman]

Nah, way too expensive even for the "cheapest model". I think the main uses of a tablet is multimedia: music, videos, pictures, web browsing, email, gaming. Thats what most people use tablets for and you dont need expensive hardware to do it. Any flagship cell phone nowadays can do those things for $500 or even less. IDK I think its overkill, its like buying an Aston Martin...to drive to the bus stop.

 

[xboxonthego3]

Err.. I am jealous. I just bought a Yoga 2 Pro two months ago for a decent deal. It is fantastic! I love it. I used to have a Surface RT. Loved it. Now the Surface Pro 3 is what I always wanted in a Surface.... I'm a little jealous. If I would of known two months ago I would have waited. I would of waited Microsoft! Guess ill wait for the Surface Pro 4 with Broadwell chips in 6 months. Lol. . But the Surface Pro 3 will be awesome. I know whoever orders it will enjoy it.

 

[dkediger]

From Gizmodo: "This isn't an iPad you can toss a keyboard onto. This is a MacBook Air you can strip the keyboard from. And that makes all the difference."

I think this is a very good observation. While SP & SP2 were positioned tablet first, SP3 appears to really be a different device.

 

[tumahler]

Pre-ordered the i5 256 gb!

 

[csiguy1]

I am getting this bad boy ASAP.

 

[Cabo Blue]

I'm interested.
Everyone's pointes here validate my next Surface purchase.
However, as I am using my SP2/256 right now, I find it difficult to justify the SP3; at this time.
My SP2 Rocks!
Not a single problem with it.
I get an avg 8 hours or so battery life; depending on what demand I give it.
Lastly, the i7 has caught my eye.

Are all new SP3 Surface tablets using Haswell???

 

[benrp]

Yeah. Its THINNER than my Surface RT. That's remarkable!

 

[houkoholic]

Very tempted. I currently have the Sony Vaio Tap11 in the i5 configuration but the Pro 3 blows it out of the water in every way possible - biggest being battery life as the Tap11 really struggles with getting 4 hours tops, but the Pro3 is gonna get 9! I'm gonna check local store trade-in policy and/or auction the Tap off and see how much I get for it. Now which i5 version I want is the bigger question - I think I can live with the 4G RAM version....

 

[12Danny123]

I wish MS could replace the Surface 2 with a surface with an Atom chip. Would be nice