Surface 3 Pro Hits Retail Availability in USA, Canada

News
By Jane McEntegart
published

Microsoft in May introduced us to a brand new version of its Surface Pro convertible. Though the Surface Pro 2 is not even a year old (it came out in October), Microsoft’s newest model features several significant upgrades over the last generation of Surface Pro and today, the company is celebrating the official launch of the Surface Pro 3.

Starting Friday, June 20, the Surface Pro 3 is available at brick and mortar retailers and online across the United States and Canada. While Microsoft has several configurations of the Surface Pro 3, only the Core i5 version is actually shipping right away. When Microsoft announced the Surface Pro 3, it said that the Core i3 and Core i7 versions would come in Augsut. Redmond confirmed today that these versions would ship August 1 in the US and Canada, though it's worth noting that Best Buy's US and Canadian sites have the Core i7 and Core i3 versions down for an August 31 ship date. The docking station is set to come out out on August 15. All three models and select related accessories will be available in 26 more markets by the end of the year.

 

If you’ve already pre-ordered the Surface Pro 3 or plan on picking one up today, you’ll also need to know that Microsoft has just released the first firmware updates for the device. Users can manually install the tablet update via the Settings menu (accessed by a swipe in from the right). The Surface Pen got an upgrade on June 10 which enables the double click for instant screen grabs feature. You’ll need to install the June 10 Windows Update and install OneNote (from the Windows Store) to enable this new feature.

 

The model shipping today packs Intel’s Core i5-4300U CPU (3 MB cache, up to 2.9 GHz) and is available with either 128 GB or 256 GB of storage. The former packs 4 GB of RAM while the latter squeezes in 8 GB of RAM. Usable storage is 96 GB on the 128 GB model and 211 GB on the 256 GB. As with all models of Surface Pro 3, the Core i5 version boasts a 12-inch ClearType Full HD Plus display with a 2160 x 1440 resolution (3:2 aspect ratio) and 10-point multi-touch. The device thinner than ever, weighs less than a MacBook Air, and features an improved kickstand with a wider range of motion. The redesigned TypeCover features an improved clickable trackpad that’s 68 percent larger and comes with improved precision, and reduced drag.

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Jane McEntegart
15 Comments Comment from the forums
  • teh_chem
    My pre-order is out for delivery. I'm looking forward to it. Now that my computer habits aren't very demanding (don't really play games anymore, rarely transcode movies etc.), all of my uses are easily satisfied by the SP3. The portability is a great plus, I'm really looking forward to a lower power consumption device, and a cleaner-looking desk space. :)
    Reply
  • littleleo
    It hard to see this being anything but another disappointment. It is saddled with one huge handicap successful tablets don't have, namely Windows 8.1 O/S. Now if the tablet ran iO/S or android it will be much much more successful.
    Reply
  • kawininjazx
    It hard to see this being anything but another disappointment. It is saddled with one huge handicap successful tablets don't have, namely Windows 8.1 O/S. Now if the tablet ran iO/S or android it will be much much more successful.

    This is the best deal out there, it's an awesome portable laptop and tablet in one. It has the full desktop to run all your windows programs and the start screen to act as your tablet. This is a great device.
    Reply
  • teh_chem
    13548328 said:
    It hard to see this being anything but another disappointment. It is saddled with one huge handicap successful tablets don't have, namely Windows 8.1 O/S. Now if the tablet ran iO/S or android it will be much much more successful.

    Curious; what's the handicap issue with Windows 8.1?
    Reply
  • deftonian
    13548328 said:
    It hard to see this being anything but another disappointment. It is saddled with one huge handicap successful tablets don't have, namely Windows 8.1 O/S. Now if the tablet ran iO/S or android it will be much much more successful.

    Curious; what's the handicap issue with Windows 8.1?
    I think the handicap he is referring to is his brain. Obviously he's not intuitive enough to learn the simplistic use of Win 8.1 on a touch screen.
    Reply
  • mitchellvii
    Let me make this simple for everyone. If what this hybrid does is what you need done, you are going to love it. Comparing this to an iPad which has a completely different purpose is just silly. Comparing it to a MacBook Air is just as silly as the Air has NO PEN, NO DETACHABLE KEYBOARD AND TERRIBLE RESOLUTION.

    What the SP3 offers is ultimate flexibility for power users at a pretty fair ultrabook price. IMHO, Corporate Clients will eat this up. I can see entire hospitals buying 100's each for their staff.

    SP3 is going to be a major win for MS despite the protestations of a bunch of lib journalists who can't get their heads out of Steve Jobs backside. Owning Apple doesn't make you cool, it just makes you limited.
    Reply
  • littleleo
    13548813 said:
    13548328 said:
    It hard to see this being anything but another disappointment. It is saddled with one huge handicap successful tablets don't have, namely Windows 8.1 O/S. Now if the tablet ran iO/S or android it will be much much more successful.

    Curious; what's the handicap issue with Windows 8.1?

    Customers hate it, I sell Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 and 98% of all OS sales are Windows 7, the rest are for Windows 8 & 8.1. I'm talking about since the release of Windows 8. Windows 8.1 sells for the same price as Windows 7 so it's not a price issue. Even resellers that like Windows 8.1 won't order the O/S or because they don't think it will sell with their clients. The only luck has been with notebooks offering huge rebates and then the moment the rebate ends so does the sales on the units. Windows 8, 8.1 is still not moving and since this tablet is a windows tablet using Windows 8.1 it is most likely doomed to poor sales like the last 2 models. Unfortunately after the 3 to 5 of you get yours the rest will likely pass on it and get android models or iPads. Of course MS mainly selling this out of their own stores instead of the channel, so they have a lot less reps pushing it to resellers but from what I've seen with their programs and their new software like office 365 they want to cut out the resellers and sell direct to the public anyway.
    Reply
  • teh_chem
    13549775 said:

    Customers hate it, I sell Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 and 98% of all OS sales are Windows 7, the rest are for Windows 8 & 8.1. I'm talking about since the release of Windows 8. Windows 8.1 sells for the same price as Windows 7 so it's not a price issue. Even resellers that like Windows 8.1 won't order the O/S or because they don't think it will sell with their clients. The only luck has been with notebooks offering huge rebates and then the moment the rebate ends so does the sales on the units. Windows 8, 8.1 is still not moving and since this tablet is a windows tablet using Windows 8.1 it is most likely doomed to poor sales like the last 2 models. Unfortunately after the 3 to 5 of you get yours the rest will likely pass on it and get android models or iPads. Of course MS mainly selling this out of their own stores instead of the channel, so they have a lot less reps pushing it to resellers but from what I've seen with their programs and their new software like office 365 they want to cut out the resellers and sell direct to the public anyway.

    Android tablets and iPads are completely different devices with completely different consumer audiences than the surface pro devices. If an android tablet or iPad suits someone's purpose, then they are not the target audience of a surface pro.

    When you say that you sell windows, in what way does that materialize? In the sale of windows installation media, or the sale of computers with the OS installed? If it's devices, are they touchscreen and/or tablets? Or traditional desktops and laptops?

    Windows 8 is not going to be the the reason the surface pro series sells well or doesn't sell well. The only problem with windows 8 at its onset was that the user was thrown into a tiles interface designed for a touch-oriented input style--which was a very dumb move by MS, and that they didn't have the traditional desktop and start menu--which, frankly, I see no reason why MS went to such lengths to exclude them if users so desired. Well, the desktop is there, and the start menu can be easily added with many 3rd party add-ons in one step. So those objections are really very flimsy at best.

    Is windows 8 UI a good UI for non-touch interfaces? Not really. But that doesn't matter; tablets are touch devices with touch interfaces, and windows 8 works far better with them, so I don't understand how you make the connection between people hating windows 8 and the surface pro series doing poorly. Luddites are probably not going to be buying these devices in the first place, so their hatred of windows 8 doesn't make a difference. Likewise, the target audience of these devices aren't the average consumer either. So you can't make a logical argument saying that the average consumer won't want to buy one--of course they won't. But it doesn't mean that they can't see some amount of success.

    The surface pro 3 is not an ipad or android tablet competitor. In a similar way that it shouldn't be seen as a macbook air competitor. It does have one thing that very few offerings do--delivering both a tablet and a laptop in a single package, so people who would normally be traveling around with both have an all-in-one should they desire. The poster above you said it quite well.
    Reply
  • hoofhearted
    But, can it play Crysis?
    Reply
  • flemeister
    But, can it play Crysis?
    Yes, well Crysis Warhead at least. Plays on the SP2 at 1920x1080 with minimum settings with 20 to 30FPS. =)
    Reply