Microsoft Surface 3, The iPad Air 2 Killer, Is Now Available

The Surface 3, aimed at potential iPad buyers, officially went on sale Monday morning. Though it hasn’t caused as much excitement as the Surface Pro 3, released in June of 2014, the device has received plenty of praise. Tech Radar gave the Surface 3 four stars.

“If you want the cheapest and most portable Surface tablet money can buy for lightweight computing tasks, the Surface 3 fits the bill… The Surface 3 isn’t quite the Surface Mini that you may have been holding out for over the past 18 months (it’s more of a mini-me), but it’s the closest Microsoft has come yet to making a truly portable tablet that feels like a laptop replacement.”

Mashable believes the Surface 3 is an attractive lightweight computer.

“If all you’re looking for is an affordable touchscreen laptop for a student or office-worker who will do lots of work in Office, not go crazy with multitasking and will only open a few browser windows at a time, this might be a good choice. They’ll even get light gaming, HD video streaming (on Netflix and other services) and the ability to draw right on the screen using the $49 Surface Pen. At roughly $600, that’s still a bargain.”

The Sydney Morning Herald also loves Microsoft’s new tablet.

“Finally running a full version of Windows 8.1, the Surface 3 strikes a surprisingly good balance between notebook and tablet… The tablet still feels snappy when you’re running Microsoft Word and Internet Explorer side-by-side while occasionally flicking to the Modern UI Mail app. Under this load the battery is good for a respectable seven hours, around two more than you’ll get out of the Surface Pro 3 in similar circumstances. As an added bonus, the Surface 3 runs cooler and is fanless.”

Microsoft unveiled the first Surface tablet in 2012. The Surface, which ran a disabled version of Windows called Windows RT, was a huge flop. Microsoft made some improvements with the Surface 2 that went on sale one year later. Still, consumers were completely turned off at the fact the tablet didn’t run a full desktop operating system. Microsoft obviously listened to its customers when producing the Surface 3, which runs Windows 8.1 and will soon be upgradeable to Windows 10.

Those who are looking to use a laptop/tablet hybrid for more powerful than day-to-day tasks may want to wait for the Surface Pro 4, which Slashgear believes will be unveiled this month. An unnamed source has supposedly told them that Microsoft is preparing the announcement and unveiling of the new Surface Pro within a couple of weeks. Whether you chose the Surface 3 or the Surface Pro 4, you are bound to be satisfied with either of Microsoft’s comeback devices.

[Photo Credit: Daryl Deino]