Surface 3

Surface 3 is an upcoming 2-in-1 tablet/laplet unveiled by Microsoft on March 31, 2015 part of the Microsoft Surface series. Unlike its predecessor, the Surface 2, Surface 3 utilizes an x86 Intel Atom system-on-chip architecture, or SoC, rather than a processor with ARM architecture such as the Nvidia Tegra that powered the Surface 2. Surface 3 will run Windows 8.1 and will be eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 10 when the new operating system is released. ^[1]

History

Released prior to Surface 3, the Surface Pro 3 (featuring a more powerful Intel Core processor) became a profitable business for Microsoft in late 2014. ^[2] It has a starting price of $799, feature a high-resolution Retina-like display and competes with the likes of Apple MacBook Pro with a similar screen technology.^[3][4][5] With the introduction of the Surface 3, Microsoft aims to make the Surface more affordable for those who don't need the power of the Surface Pro 3, at the expense of some performance. Surface 3 can be considered a closer competitor to traditional tablets like Apple iPad.

Design

The Surface 3 share much of its design with the Surface Pro 3, with a body made of magnesium alloy giving a matte gray finish to the back of the device. It features a kickstand that can be set to three different angles: 22, 44, and 60 degrees. Unlike Surface Pro 3, the Surface 3 does not have a fan, so it is physically thinner and lacks the ventilation holes seen on Surface Pro 3. The Surface 3 weighs 180 grams (0.40 lb) less than the Surface Pro 3.

The Surface 3 features a 10.8 inches (27 cm) diagonal multi-touch display with a 3:2 aspect ratio. Microsoft claims this aspect ratio feels more natural, like writing on paper, when used in portrait mode.

Unlike the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 3, which both use a proprietary magnetic charger, the Surface 3 uses a standard Micro-USB charger. This gives users a wider variety of charging options, including charging the device with a mobile phone charger.

Microsoft plans to release unlocked GSM models of Surface 3 that supports 4G LTE. These models will also support GPS/GLONASS positioning.

Hardware

Surface 3 will have the 14 nm quad-core Intel Atom x7-Z8700 SoC. Atom-series SoCs are designed to be more power efficient and cheaper to produce compared to Core-series processors, which are installed in Surface Pro-series devices, but at cost of some performance.^[6]

The Atom x7-Z8700 is able to drive up to three external displays over a Mini DisplayPort and support of a resolution up to 4K with a single external display,^[7] just like the Surface Pro-series' Core CPU. The own laplet's display is of 1920x1280 resolution, compared to 2160x1440 of Surface Pro 3.

The device will ship with either a 64 or 128 GB solid-state drive and 2 or 4 GB of system memory, less than a top-spec Surface Pro 3. Microsoft states the battery capacity will enable up to 10 hours of video playback, compared to 9 hours of web browsing of Surface Pro 3.^[8]

Accessories

The Surface 3, as with its predecessors and Surface Pro-series devices, features an optional Type Cover accessory — an attachable keyboard, which is also a protective cover for the screen, with an announced price of $129.^[9]

The Surface 3 is the first non-Pro Surface to feature a pen digitizer and hence supports the Surface Pen. Unlike Surface Pro 3, however, it will not be included in the box and will be available for a purchase separately.

After the release of Surface 3, a docking station will be released with 4 USB ports (including 2 USB 3.0), a Gigabit Ethernet port, an additional Mini DisplayPort (which in contrast to Surface Pro 3's docking station's port, can't be used simultaneously with the port on the Surface 3, as it is a PassThru port), a 3.5 mm audio socket for audio input/output and a storage for Surface Pen.^[10]

References

External links

• Official website