For those of you who want to leave your laptops behind and just carry a tablet when on the move, Microsoft offers a solution: the new Surface Pro 3, released last month. Marketed as slimmer, bigger, and more powerful than its predecessor, this tablet is designed to serve as all-purpose computer worthy of replacing your laptop.
Pro 3 has a high-resolution screen that measures 12 inches (30.5 centimeters) diagonally, weighs approximately 28 ounces (800 grams) and is slightly more than a third of an inch (0.9 centimeters) thick. While the Surface trademark keyboard cover persists, it has been modified to let users tilt it according to their convenience so as to better anchor the devise during use. The tablet also comes with a “pen” that can be used to remotely activate it or to write on it as though it were a notepad.
A research cited by Microsoft Corporate Vice President Panos Panay indicates that more than 95 percent of laptop owners also have tablet computers. But as Gartner surveys reveal, Microsoft has barely made a dent (a mere 2% in 2013) in a tablet market dominated by Apples’s iPad and others powered by Google Android. Microsoft chief Satya Nadella stressed that Microsoft, which built its software empire in collaboration with partners who make computing hardware, is not looking to compete with device manufacturers by launching the Pro 3. Rather, it aims to pioneer a merging of laptops and tablets. “We clearly are not interested in building refrigerators or toasters; we are not building hardware for hardware’s sake,” said Nadella. “The motivation is to create new categories; we want to build productivity experiences.”
According to Gartner Analyst Mike Silver, the Pro 3 is an innovative and counterintuitive move on part of Microsoft at a time when rivals boast of smaller, pocket-sized devices. Says Silver, “If everything works as good as it looks, you are getting pretty close to a device that can replace a notebook computer for a high percentage of people.”
Got mine and its great until the firmware update change my tablet to a laptop. Touch and pen functions fried.