Microsoft has announced a new tablet- the Surface Pro 3, and in an ambitious move it’s aimed at totally replacing your laptop. Right now the average user needs a laptop or desktop for actually getting things done, while a tablet serves as a convenient choice for entertainment and light productivity.
The Surface Pro 3 aims to fulfil both those needs and it looks like it just might manage it. With a 12 inch, full HD screen it’s certainly big and high resolution enough to comfortably use for everything from web browsing, to gaming to word processing.
It’s no slouch in the power department either, thanks to a choice of an Intel Core i3, i5 or i7 processor, coupled with either 4 or 8GB of RAM. This has true desktop performance.
With all that performance comes a lot of storage too, with a choice of 64, 128, 256 or 512GB of built in memory. Yet despite all that power and storage it’s only 9.1mm thick and at 800g it’s heavy, but still a lot lighter than your average laptop.
Of course power isn’t the only thing needed for a true laptop replacement. The Microsoft Surface Pro 3 also runs full Windows 8.1 Pro, so anything you can run on a PC you can run on this. Plus it has a detachable keyboard and a kickstand which can be angled however you want, so it works both on your lap and on a desk.
It runs silently and it comes with a stylus, giving you a third input option beyond the touchscreen and the keyboard.
Unfortunately it’s not out in the UK until the 31st of August, so if you want one you’ve got a bit of a wait on your hands. When it does arrive it won’t be cheap either, with the most basic option (64GB with an Intel Core i3 processor) retailing for £639, while it goes all the way up to £1649 for a 512GB model with an Intel Core i7 processor.
So yes, it probably is a laptop and a tablet rolled into one but you could end up spending as much on it as buying those two devices individually would cost you. Still, whether you want it for work or pleasure it looks like an exciting, innovative and enormously powerful slate, so you’d best start saving now.
