Text and photos Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

 

The new Surface 3 is a full-featured PC with the size and weight of a tablet. It is also Microsoft’s most sensible option for mobile users preparing for Windows 10.

The first two versions of the Microsoft Surface felt somewhat incomplete. The biggest concern was that these were Microsoft products that ran a weird variant (Windows RT) of Windows that couldn’t use the tens of thousands of classic Windows apps but instead required new applications running in a touch-centric ‘Modern’ UI tablet-first mode.

The apps never really came, and so aside from Office 365, which was something of an exclusive suite of apps and bundled for free on the earlier Surfaces, there was little else for Surface users to do aside from surf the web, run Bing searches or check their friend’s Surface status. Office 365 is now available on various devices including the iPad, which Microsoft no longer seems to be gunning for.

 

The new Surface 3 is very much a derivative of the better, faster, and larger Surface Pro 3. It features an Intel Atom processor, which can run thousands of classic Windows applications. It is more refined than previous versions. While it has an improved three-setting kickstand, it isn’t anywhere as fluid as the Pro 3’s more versatile kickstand

For the Surface 3,  you still need to buy the Type Cover and the Stylus, which is a head scratcher because it isn’t a great standalone tablet and you need the Type Cover to be as productive as Microsoft wants you to be.

The Stylus may or may not be necessary depending on the user but being able to sign documents, annotate text and photos and draw and paint on the Surface Pro 3 makes it a necessity for me. Once drawing or sketching apps can support the range of pressure, the Surface 3 might be the one true creative tablet for artists.

What really makes the Surface 3 shine is its small size and light weight. The 10.8-inch display is ample and clear even if it is not as pixel dense or vivid as the Surface Pro 3’s 12-inch display. For the intended audiences of consumers, students and anyone who wants a compact and capable notebook with full touch integration. This will be even more important once Windows 10 rolls around.

Eminently portable even with the connected Type Keyboard, the Surface 3 is easily one of the best 2-in-1 options available in the market and whether it is the right one for most users depends on whether they can swallow the cost of tablet, plus keyboard case plus stylus. Microsoft would sell more of these if they just bundled the keyboard from the get go.

The Atom processor is ample for running most apps and specially Office 365, but can get pokey when running more intensive applications and I wouldn’t recommend it for serious gaming. 2GB and 4GB of non upgradeable RAM are stingy for a device that professes to run PC-level applications.

The pricing of the Surface 3 might also put a lot of buyers off since it starts at CAD $639.00 and that’s without the requisite CAD $159.99 Type Cover and the optional $49.99 Pen.

If you can afford it, the large Surface Pro 3 will be a better all around option specially as a PC replacement, larger storage and RAM can make all the difference in the long run.

If you do have your heart set on the smaller Surface 3 and find that it is suitable to your needs and budget, you are getting one of the better-built devices in the market today and one that carries the assurance of upwards compatibility with Windows 10 which is coming right around the corner (or available now to intrepid souls who are keen on joining Microsoft’s Insider Preview).