 |
| Bloggers got to try the Surface 3 and the Lumia 640 and 640 XL handsets at a gathering in Singapore in April. |
The new Surface was announced late March in Singapore, and has the same build quality as the Surface Pro 3. Like Surface Pro 3, it is a tablet that can replace a laptop but is even thinner and lighter. Surface 3 has a suggested retail price of S$748 and is optimised to run full Windows and Office and features long battery life. The ability to run Windows apps and the pen experience1 — great for taking notes or marking documents — make Surface 3 ideal for educational purposes and those with a productivity focus.
“Surface 3 brings what customers love about Surface Pro 3 to more people, delivering the premium design and productivity of Surface in a more affordable device,” said Tan. “We’ve taken everything we learned making Surface Pro 3 and poured that innovation into this newest Surface. It’s beautiful, versatile, powerful and productive, and our customers are going to love what it lets them do.”
Powered by the new quad-core Intel Atom x7 processor, Surface 3 is responsive but designed to maximise efficiency with up to 10 hours of video-playback battery life2. The 10.8" ClearType HD multi-touch display, stereo speakers with Dolby Audio-enhanced sound, and the magnesium design are some of the features which the Surface 3 that customers will recognise from Surface Pro 3. The three-position kickstand retains the three most popular angles for the Surface Pro 3 said Tan, and are ideal for using Surface 3 while working at a desk, sitting on a couch or holding in the palm of a hand as a writing surface.
Surface 3 ships with full Windows 8.1 and can be upgraded to Windows 10 for free when available3. They also come complete with a one-year subscription of Microsoft Office 365 Personal, including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, plus OneDrive cloud storage4. The full specifications are here.
Surface 3 accessories include5: Surface 3 Type Covers in bright blue, red and black, which feature an improved trackpad and responsive keyset for fast, accurate typing, and four Surface Pen colours — silver, black, blue and red. The Surface 3 Docking Station connects the device to an external monitor and other desktop devices, and Surface 3’s full-size USB 3.0 port, Mini DisplayPort, microSD card reader offer connectivity. Tan highlighted the Micro USB charging port, which allows the Surface 3 to be used with a power bank if it runs out of battery. Surface accessories specifics can be found here.
 |
| Source: Microsoft. |
Surface 3 will be available from retailers and resellers from May 5, and in Asia Pacific, in Australia, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Taiwan, and Thailand at launch.
Pre-orders are accepted at the Microsoft Online Store. Retailers include Challenger, Harvey Norman and Newstead will also accept pre-orders, while commercial customers should contact their authorised reseller. Microsoft Singapore also announced four additional authorised resellers to its Microsoft Devices Programme: Innocomm Technologies, Insight Technology Solutions, JK Technology and Jardine OneSolution (2001). This brings the total number of authorised resellers to seven – including AsiaPac Distribution, SoftwareOne, and UIC Asian Computer Services. In addition to offering Microsoft’s extended warranty and accidental damage, resellers bring a variety of value-added services to the Surface family such as asset tagging, custom imaging, kitting, onsite service and support, device recycling, and data protection.
Pre-order availability
|
Available for pre-order at Microsoft Online Store.
Pre-order at authorised retailers Challenger, Newstead, and Harvey Norman begins in April 2015. | ||||||||||
Retail availability
|
5 May 2015
| ||||||||||
Surface 3 SRP in S$, with GST
|
| ||||||||||
Accessories SRP in S$, with GST
|
|
1 Surface Pen sold separately.
2 Testing conducted by Microsoft in March 2015 using 128GB and 64GB units with 4 GB of RAM. Testing consisted of full battery discharge during video playback. All settings were default except Wi-Fi was associated with a network and Auto-Brightness was disabled. Battery life varies significantly with settings, usage and other factors.
3 Free upgrade to Windows 10 for qualified Windows 8.1 devices that upgrade in the first year. More information and additional offer terms available in the coming months. See http://windows.microsoft.com/
4 Available on Surface 3 with Windows 8.1 purchased prior to Dec. 31, 2015. While supplies last. Office activation required within six months of Windows activation date.
5 Accessories sold separately.
*Some information relates to a pre-release product, which may be substantially modified before it is commercially released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here.
