Microsoft Haswell Surface Pro 3 Pro is available for pre-order

One of the most violently about (b) contracted families of Microsoft Surface tablets has been enriched with a new model - Surface Pro 3. The tablet's performance is impressive, Microsoft is clearly going all in, trying to capture the maximum market share of high-performance portable PCs with one throw. Will their tricky plan succeed? Under the cut - the characteristics of the tablet, configuration options, cost (so far only in the US), as well as very few arguments, what will come of it all.

Microsoft is positioning Surface Pro 3 as a universal full-fledged computer that can replace not only a laptop, but also a desktop computer, justifying this thesis not only with the traditionally wide range of accessories, but also with impressive performance characteristics. The tablet is assembled based on Intel Haswell i3 / i5 / i7 processors, the amount of memory and internal storage varies depending on the configuration (RAM 4-8 GB, ROM 128-512 GB).

The 12-inch tablet display has a resolution of 2160 x 1440 pixels — the largest and most “multi-point” of all Surfaces. According to the manufacturer, the screen is the most contrast of those currently on the market, and due to the optimized 3: 2 ratio, even more information is removed on it than at 13 inches from competitors. The weight of the tablet is 800 g, which is more or less standard for this class of devices.


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Historically, the Surface family stood out for its stand, which could fix the installed device at different angles. Surface Pro 3 is fixed in any position up to 150 degrees, already suitable for comfortable drawing. For creative needs also serves as a new stylus, with a single movement of which your scribbles can be saved on the OneDrive cloud storage. According to Microsoft, the visualization system (display + sensor) Surface Pro 3 is the most accurate one presented now; its error is not more than 0.7 mm.

Tablet communication capabilities: 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 LE and USB 3.0. The device is equipped with two cameras of 5 megapixels each. The list of sensors includes a light sensor, gyroscope and magnetometer. But what's not in the device is 4G and GPS, which is a bit strange after Surface 2 4G.



Traditionally, Microsoft Surface Pro 3 is accompanied by its micro-universe branded accessories. First of all, it is a modified and enlarged keyboard of different colors. Well, for those who really want to fully replace their desktop with a tablet, a docking station with a lot of connectors and the ability to connect a 4K monitor via DisplayPort is offered.

Now about the cost - let's write it down for the complete sets (all prices are indicated for the American market for the lack of others):

• Intel i3, 4 GB of memory and 128 GB of storage - $ 799;
• Intel i5, 4 GB of memory and 128 GB of storage - $ 999;
• Intel i5, 8 GB of memory and 256 GB of storage - $ 1,299;
• Intel i7, 8 GB of memory and 256 GB of storage - $ 1,549;
• Intel i7, 8 GB of memory and 512 GB of storage - $ 1,949.

And finally, a few insinuations about the future of the tablet. His fate will obviously be difficult, because Microsoft is playing on a very specific and small market, trying to expand it - perhaps artificially. But she has nowhere to go, because Windows 8 is focused on this kind of device. So Microsoft simply has to run ahead of the locomotive. Good luck to her on this difficult path!