News - Surface Pro 3 specs leaked ahead of tomorrow's Surface event

[Jowsey]

You're wrong - what's a "tablet replacement" unless you're talking about something like Google Glass (or iGlass if that ever appears). Can't see anything fundamentally wrong with Windows RT's multitasking - I'm hard pressed to tell it apart from "proper" Windows 8.1 ... certainly just as annoying. I also can't see you getting something affordable, portable and able to run BF4 at anything approaching usable frame rates.

When I state my personal opinion, I can't be wrong, I can be misinformed but not wrong. A tablet replacement is something I would replace my current tablet for, as they are a similar form factor. Also, if you read my comment carefully I said that you wouldn't be able to get anything that plays BF4 in this form factor. I said AMD would give you a better chance of playing some other things however. Like Dirt 3 ( I can't find a link but I watched a video of a person playing Dirt 3 on an AMD powered windows 8 tablet, I think it was a LinusTechTips video) or other less demanding games.

In that case why not save money and just get a decent ultrabook?

I'm an apprentice on barely more than minimum wage with living costs to pay. I didn't say I desperately need this device, I merely indicated my strong desire for it. I don't need one, I have a nexus 7 and a reasonably powerful desktop. I don't need anything else.

Ultrabook not laptop then. I've also seen some clever laptops with flippable screens, so no need for the client to hold that tablet in their hands - you can leave it stood on the desk.

I'll forward you're suggestion to the MD of the company I work for then, will I? I don't decide the IT purchasing in the company I work for, if I did I would choose ultrabooks but purely for there battery life. I'm currently stuck on a device that at best gets 2 hours battery.


To reiterate my point. This looks like a lovely device but I just can't quite understand it being a laptop replacement. The form factor is that of a tablet, I would hold and use it most of the time like a tablet. That is why I think it is tablet replacement. I'm looking forward to what other information is revealed about this product later today but sadly I won't be purchasing though.

[LSG501]

In which case I'll echo Brewster101's advice... (note 10.1)

Can't run 90% of the software I use on android, there aren't even 'support apps' for android with most of my programs on android. Plus personally I don't think android suits above 7-8 inches in it's current form (same issue that apple iOS has) although on my phone and nexus 7 it's the best option, if I ignore the hassle of syncing windows/office and google contacts.

[RT-XD]

I did go to one of the stores to check out all the tablets available at the time - it just so happened that the surface was most convenient. All the other tablets and ultrabooks I was looking into were either very expensive or just not useful for what I needed it for.

I agree about the price though: that price-point is a little extreme (typical for Microsoft). But overall, I am satisfied with it.

[crossy]

When I state my personal opinion, I can't be wrong, I can be misinformed but not wrong. A tablet replacement is something I would replace my current tablet for, as they are a similar form factor. ...

Ok, fair point. Being niggling what you meant was a "replacement tablet" because the term "tablet replacement" is already out there for stuff like smart walls, Glass, etc.

I'm an apprentice on barely more than minimum wage with living costs to pay. I didn't say I desperately need this device, I merely indicated my strong desire for it. I don't need one, I have a nexus 7 and a reasonably powerful desktop. I don't need anything else.

Again, fair comment. Roll on the "living wage" rather than "minimum" (says the union member, and please don't get me started....). And yes, I agree it's a desirable device. Heck, ignoring the cost (for a moment) then I'd have one of those over an iPad without needing to think that much about the decision.

I'll forward you're suggestion to the MD of the company I work for then, will I? I don't decide the IT purchasing in the company I work for, if I did I would choose ultrabooks but purely for there battery life. I'm currently stuck on a device that at best gets 2 hours battery.

Ouch. I work in IT Services, so I won't go any further with a reply to the rest of that comment.

To reiterate my point. This looks like a lovely device but I just can't quite understand it being a laptop replacement. The form factor is that of a tablet, I would hold and use it most of the time like a tablet. That is why I think it is tablet replacement. I'm looking forward to what other information is revealed about this product later today but sadly I won't be purchasing though.

I'm going to side with Microsoft again - the pricing alone makes this a high-end laptop replacement. Don't forget that a lot of the big-ticket stuff these days is "touch enabled", so the line between keyboard-docked tablet and full on laptop is getting a wee bitty blurry thinks I.

[crossy]

MS makes the same fundamental error as most tablet/hybrid makers - very limited storage capacity. As soon as you move to an area that is a bit out of the way, so limited wi-fi access you will regret having everything in the cloud

If the Pro3 is anything like the "old" Pro2 then it's got a USB3.0 port and uSDXC slot. So that's up to 128GB in the slot and eBuyer, Dabs, etc will quite happily sell you a 2TB bus-powered USB3.0 drive for less than £100.

So in what sense is that "limited"? Okay, I'm cheating by including the external drive, but given that the Pro2 can be maxed out with 512GB internal storage before you start looking at the expansion slots, that's more than the "conventional" laptop I have in front of me has. Okay the 512GB model is a shade less than £1500, but it's still available to purchase.

Or, you can take the advice I was given online when I was bitching about a similar thing on a tablet I had ... "just put less c**p on it!".

[TheAnimus]

Woh, 800grams, 12".

Those specs, if the battery life is longer as roumered too.

<Rude Word> I'm probably buying one.

[Jowsey]

Liveblog of release going on if people are interested.

Clicky

[cjs150]

"Or, you can take the advice I was given online when I was bitching about a similar thing on a tablet I had ... "just put less c**p on it!". "

Thanks Crossy - that put a smile on my face when I read it.

Using an external disk is cheating - which is exactly what I do, I use a wireless HD with my current tablet. Point is you end up with yet more stuff, and wires, to stuff in the suitcase.

If it has a uSDXC slot that helps. But I refuse to pay the price MS want for the storage

[Top_gun]

A momentous event for Microsoft. I think this is the first time they have released something very cool and left me thinking 'I want one'. What strike me was how well they thought through their ideas on this particular tablet. Wow, a 3:2 aspect ratio display, paper like functionality when using its optional stylus and one click cloud sync. Downside - no retina quality screen perhaps.

Is Satya Nadella the next Steve Jobs?

[Whiternoise]

Disagree Whiternoise.

I ended up not getting a Surface Pro, but a samsung 9 series. It's been to hell and back, still rocking in one piece. It's noticably smaller than the 13" macbook air, whilst having a much nicer, and bigger screen. All in all, the 13" macbook air pales next to one of those.... except thunderbolt is much better than USB3.

What I hope to see from the event is a good selection of tablet sizes. I've said all along the iPad is badly sized. Too small for preference for productivity, to big for portability. I think the Nexus7 scored a great hit in the perfect size for something portable.

is 12" much worse than 10" to lug? Not really, your going to need a bag afterall. But for doing anything it's a great benefit. This is why 13" outsell 11" laptops. (However, these sized devices have their place!).

I could see me happily using a 12" i7 8gb RAM surface as my main computing device. That said, if I could get 16gb of RAM in, I could see myself using a Surface Pro 3 as my ONLY primary computing device. That's kind of amazing.

At this price point it isn't even that expensive either, for the hardware and batterylife you get. Will have to see if I've any money when I'm in HK or Singapore next!

Think you missed the point of my post: I think it's a fantastic device, it just bugs me when everyone compares it to iPads and other tablets. The comparison should be to high end ultraportable laptops and the Air is pretty much the only thing in Surface's class - and as you rightly say it whips it in a lot of areas. So when people cry that it's expensive, that's the comparison and as I mentioned the Air doesn't have a digitiser either.

No word on which i7 they've put in? I guess one of the 15W dual cores, but a quad would be nice. Their press release simply says 4th gen, so Haswell Refresh?

Good god it's tempting isn't it.. wish it had a second USB3 and a proper SD slot, but there's that nice looking dock too.. where's my wallet!

[TheAnimus]

Think you missed the point of my post: I think it's a fantastic device, it just bugs me when everyone compares it to iPads and other tablets.

Ah, I was more responding to the fact there are some kick ass ultrabooks out there, that are brilliantly made bits of kit, and very fast too boot.

No word on which i7 they've put in? I guess one of the 15W dual cores, but a quad would be nice. Their press release simply says 4th gen, so Haswell Refresh?

Good god it's tempting isn't it.. wish it had a second USB3 and a proper SD slot, but there's that nice looking dock too.. where's my wallet!

I would hazard a guess you are right, they aren't being overly helpful today:
4th-generation Intel® Core™ i3/i5/i7 Processor

And apparently the i7 is going to be later ship than the others.

What do you get for that $250 premium? If it's just a 2/4, like the i5 I'll be a bit disappointed. That kind of price you should get something more.

They've also got no Iris mentioned. But I guess squeezing stuff into that space, they can't be using the very latest kit.

The downside is, add up the costs.

Docking station $200,
i5 8gb $1300,
Type Cover $130

Yeah, we're talking like £1200 once UK has been added. For a completely non-upgradable machine, I'd have to be sure that the i5 will happily run my workload to pay that much.

[Whiternoise]

Ah, I was more responding to the fact there are some kick ass ultrabooks out there, that are brilliantly made bits of kit, and very fast too boot.I would hazard a guess you are right, they aren't being overly helpful today:
4th-generation Intel® Core™ i3/i5/i7 Processor

And apparently the i7 is going to be later ship than the others.

What do you get for that $250 premium? If it's just a 2/4, like the i5 I'll be a bit disappointed. That kind of price you should get something more.

They've also got no Iris mentioned. But I guess squeezing stuff into that space, they can't be using the very latest kit.

The downside is, add up the costs.

Docking station $200,
i5 8gb $1300,
Type Cover $130

Yeah, we're talking like £1200 once UK has been added. For a completely non-upgradable machine, I'd have to be sure that the i5 will happily run my workload to pay that much.

It still has a fan, but I doubt they've improved their max TDP if it's a smaller case, so we have:

http://ark.intel.com/search/advanced...s&MaxTDPMax=17


Up to 3.5GHz i7 vs up to 3.0GHz i5, but no idea until it's actually announced. But if it goes on sale tomorrow, someone will find out.

[Top_gun]

An other rip of price from the greedy corporates,

Not really, when you consider prices belonging to touchscreen Intel laptops and comparing them to the Surface Pro.

[TheAnimus]

It still has a fan, but I doubt they've improved their max TDP if it's a smaller case, so we have:

http://ark.intel.com/search/advanced...s&MaxTDPMax=17


Up to 3.5GHz i7 vs up to 3.0GHz i5, but no idea until it's actually announced. But if it goes on sale tomorrow, someone will find out.

It's bigger as it's gone to a 12" from a 10".

However, if it is still the 4400 graphics, then it's at most a 3.3ghz. A 10% maximum boost (it's the same fabbing process as the i5 right?) then heat may well prevent it even doing that 10% boost. It will be interesting to see.

[LSG501]

I like the new model except for three things, it's not a wacom stylus anymore, the gpu doesn't appear to be iris and the release date (UK at least) is listed as the END of August which is literally a couple of months max away from intel broadwell being released in pc's according to the intel guy.... they're due for the holiday sales period.

Considering the improvements that broadwell are supposedly bringing, in gpu if nothing else (they're at least iris level from what I've read) and how close this model is to the release of broadwell I may as well wait for surface 4.... I wouldn't be surprised if the surface pro 3 was was supposed to be broadwell based but had to go with haswell because of the delays intel encountered....

Then there's the lack of UK pricing... the i3 shouldn't really cost more than £550 max and that's pretty high when you think about what you're getting

I'm also curious to see if this brings any decent price drops on the surface 2 pro, which could sway me...especially with the 'battery keyboard' which the new surface 3 doesn't have mentioned anywhere.

Also I'm still wondering why we haven't seen the rumoured 'smaller' model, maybe they're keeping that back for when they've combined the windows rt/windows mobile codebase, they're not massively far off that supposedly. Now it's a case of seeing if they 'change' the surface 2 to a 3:2 ratio (it sounds weird but it is literally a4 ratio...)

edit: uk site now has surface pro 3 and prices listed... pmsl, that i3 is not going to sell well, it's got literally a £90 'delivery to the UK charge' just to 'separate from the surface 2 with lte', how I love the 'UK tax', the i5 256GB isn't too badly priced, it's roughly the same as the old one at £1100...