Welcome back. If you read Part 1 of this 2 Part blog series you know that we really like the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 a lot.
What we don’t like however is Windows 8. In our opinion the shoddy combination of a touchscreen and traditional Windows desktop is really a train wreck when used together.
That being said, the split personality that Windows 8 brings to the Surface Pro 3 is finally the device that helps it to make sense. (So far it’s the only device.) With the Surface you finally got an OS for its tablet mode and, when using it in desktop mode, regular Windows.
If you want to compare the new Surface Pro 3 to an iPad, as many lovers of Apple products certainly are doing, keep in mind that the basic iPad has 16 GB of storage compared to the Surface’s 64. The iPad also doesn’t come with a keyboard, mouse, video output jack, pressure sensitive pen or USB jack, and that you can’t use the iPad to run real desktop programs with a real desktop operating system.
Let’s say that you want to compare the Surface Pro 3 to the MacBook Air. Both are sleek, thin, made out of metal and beautiful, but the Air doesn’t have a touchscreen and can’t turn into a tablet. It’s also heavier than the Surface even if the keyboard is attached and it doesn’t come with a pressure sensitive pen. Their prices however are relatively close.
Comparing the Surface Pro 3 to a regular laptop, even though the price might be two or three times more, doesn’t even make sense as most regular laptops weigh two times as much, are three times as thick, have about half the battery life and are made of plastic, not metal. Oh yeah, and they can’t be quickly turned into a 12 inch tablet.
One thing to keep in mind if you are a frequent flyer is that, when it comes to laptops and tablets, there is a big difference about how they are treated by the FAA as well as the TSA. With a tablet you can go through the TSA scanner machines without taking it out of your bag and you can also use it during takeoff or landing on a plane. With a laptop you can’t. Score one for the Surface Pro 3.
What you get with this newer, better Surface Pro is a combination laptop/tablet that’s thinner and lighter than its predecessors, with a bigger screen to boot. It also has an infinitely flexible kickstand and a trackpad, keyboard and pen that are greatly improved. They’ve even improved the power cord that made so many people angry with the Surface 1 and 2, and added a USB jack right into the power brick, making it easy to charge your smart phone at the same time.
Why would you not want a Surface Pro 3
It’s obvious that we really like the Surface Pro 3 a lot but, to be fair, there are a number of reasons that someone might want to pass on purchasing it.
For example, if all you really need is a tablet then you should probably save yourself some money, as well as weight and thickness, and simply get a tablet.
The same can be said for people who only need a laptop because again you’ll save money, get more storage space and have a machine that will be more secure when it’s sitting in your lap.
If you love all things Apple, including the fact that they have a universe of machines that work wirelessly together, then of course anything from Windows isn’t going to particularly float your boat.
Those things being said, if you currently carry both a tablet and a laptop around with you most of the time, the Surface Pro 3 might be right up your alley. There’s really nothing like it on the market right now and, even though sales figures aren’t that great, it simply because the buying public has so far given in short shrift. It’s truly a marvel of engineering ingenuity.
in other words, this might just be the bit of engineering that lifts the curse of Microsoft hardware.