Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Pro Reviews

Not without its drawbacks, this is the brightest shining example of not only Microsoft's vision of a laptop-free future, but the entire laptop-tablet hybrid category.

With a fantastic screen and improved ergonomics, the new Surface Pro is an impressively persuasive hybrid

Surface Pro 3 is easily the best design Microsoft has put forward. If you were intrigued by the previous designs, this is the first one that should really tempt you over. I was a fan of the original Surface Pro, and with Surface Pro 3 I think Microsoft has taken the hardware much closer to perfection. At this point the design needs more help on the software side than hardware, which is saying a lot for the Surface Pro hardware team. Personally I'd still rather carry a good notebook and a lightweight tablet, but if you are looking for a single device this is literally the only thing on the market that's worth considering. I don't know how big the professional productivity tablet market is, but it's a space that Microsoft seems to have almost exclusive reign over with its Surface line. With its latest iteration, Microsoft is serving that market better than ever.

I’m frankly astonished by how attached to the Surface Pro 3 I’ve become in the time I’ve been using it. The previous two iterations were classic examples of spending considerable time and effort on beautifully delivering a flawed idea: too limited in size for a notebook, and too bulky for a tablet. That Microsoft has managed to address, at least in part, those issues is worthy of genuine praise. The lingering question is whether that attachment is enough to get me to leave the MacBook Air and iPad Air I would normally carry in my bag at home. My reluctance is compounded by how much of my daily workflow operates in OS X and iOS; were I instead primarily a Windows 8.1 user, I’d have no qualms about replacing separate notebook and laptop with the Surface Pro 3.Don’t overestimate the potential cash savings in going that route, however. The range may start at $799, but that’s really $928.99 since you want the Type Cover. In reality, if you’re serious about your notebook use then you’ll probably want a Core i5 version, which means - with keyboard - you’re looking at $1,128.99 at least. Your hand might be forced by the fact that the Core i3 and i7 models won't ship until August, anyway.

Microsoft's Surface lineup just keeps getting better and better, with an improved screen for desktop use and an upgraded Type Cover for the road.