well it's Pro for a reason ^_^
I know but $700 for a decked out Surface 3 is still a good bit less than the bottom of the barrel Pro 3 once you add in the keyboard and is probably more usable as a tablet as well. I think this thing does have a niche.
I can't remember if my Surface Pro 3 keyboard did this. But I just noticed the Fn key is now a toggle. I press it and the light on the Fn key comes on and I can use the F key row as F keys.
The keyboard layout itself has been slightly updated as well. The fanciest feature is the Fn button. The Fn button now automatically acts as an Fn-lock; tapping it toggles the option on and off. It has an integrated indicator to show its status. For one-off access to the alternate set of F-key functions, pressing Fn plus the F-key works without changing the Fn-lock status. I'm a little surprised that I've not seen this style of Fn key before, since most systems need a particular combo for Fn-lock but few have an Fn-lock indicator light. It makes a lot of sense, so other manufacturers may start to copy Microsoft here.
The layout itself has also changed. Specifically, some of the F-key alternate functions have been switched. The four Windows 8 charm options have been replaced with Print Screen, keyboard backlight brightness controls, and Insert. It's a much better layout.
I passed on the Surface 3. It still didn't display my VM's the way I wanted even with the extra resolution.
Picked up a i5/256GB/8GB SP3 with type cover and a slew of accessories for $800 off Craigslist. Posting hit right as I talked myself in to an i3 SP3. Good day for me!
that's a badass SP3 and a great price.
I had a chance to play with one. IE performs quite well. Chrome and Opera do not. Its screen is perhaps the best calibrated LCD screen I have ever seen out-of-the-box, followed by Kindle HDX. It even plays 4K/30 content on YouTube without dropping frames. (though you will probably want to close background tasks)
Nevertheless, I still have a mixed feeling about it because Windows desktop just do not get along well with touch. I won't keep beating a dead horse but I wonder how consumers will respond.
I had a chance to play with one. IE performs quite well. Chrome and Opera do not. Its screen is perhaps the best calibrated LCD screen I have ever seen out-of-the-box, followed by Kindle HDX. It even plays 4K/30 content on YouTube without dropping frames. (though you will probably want to close background tasks)
Nevertheless, I still have a mixed feeling about it because Windows desktop just do not get along well with touch. I won't keep beating a dead horse but I wonder how consumers will respond.
I find the pen to be very helpful if not necessary for me to successfully use the desktop in tablet mode. With that and the handwriting on screen keyboard it's a pretty viable device even when using the desktop. If I expected to use the desktop a lot without using it as a pocket laptop I'd definitely get the pen.
I was debating between this and the Surface Pro 3 for a while, as with all the deals that keep popping up on the Pro 3 (eg I've seen the i5/128GB/4GB go for $800 brand new) it's not really that much more expensive than the regular 3. But the smaller size and lighter weight of the 3 clinched it for me since I plan to be using as a more as a tablet with the pen than a laptop. Sometimes size and weight is an important spec too, although I definitely would have paid more for a Surface 3 SKU with the same chassis that had Core M and PCIe SSD storage.
I feel the same about my S3 vs SP3. I had the SP3 for a bit, but returned it, mostly because I wanted to use it more like a tablet and it was too big and heavy for that.
I really love the size and weight of the S3. Also the USB charging is pretty nice I can pretty much charge it more conveniently and not need to carry around a charger (I have USB chargers all over the place).
Performance has been great. Though I do occasionally notice the eMMC storage bottle necking things a bit. Kinda think Microsoft could have put an SSD in this thing without too much impact on the price.
Do we have a general idea of when the Surface Pro 4 will come out? The rumored 14inch model looks mighty tempting.
A friend's daughter is getting into college this fall and asked me for a suggestion on light, thin 'laptop' that she could use for school (it was a pretty lengthy conversation, which I can summarized into: she wants a macbook air, but only have $500). Looks like the budget requirement is pretty tight too, as I came to them when Best Buy was having a sale for the latest base MBA for $750 (and told them that this is as cheap as it's going to get to get her exactly what she wants!), and they still didn't go for it.
Anyway, this Surface 3 works with the budget ($500), the usability would be perfect for college students, especially after adding the pen (and obviously the keyboard). I doubt she will need a lot of fire power, so this should be enough, and the hip factor is right up there, but my gut feeling says it's not a good idea. Anyone care to comment on this?