The Microsoft Surface Pro 3 in all its glory. It is a very nice touch screen laptop/tablet. The display is fine and crisp and the keyboard is solid and usable, not bad for something so thin.
The keyboard is covered in a suede like material, which is prone to scuffs, though easy to clean.
Conclusion
The Microsoft Surface Pro 3 is a confused product. It is a very accomplished tablet, especially after some recent firmware updates, and it’s a good laptop. The problem is when the two crossover, it becomes apparent that the tablet interface lacks enough transition intelligence to make the experience seamless for the user.
The pen is a little awkward, though it mostly saves the day when using the touch screen, though we found using a mouse is a much better option.
The Surface Pro 3 also heats up, and then the fan will spin up at regular intervals, a complete difference to any other tablet out there, but not unfamiliar to laptop users.
Windows 8.1 Pro needs a mention as well. Its “App Top” interface is perfect for the Surface. The desktop is good and the lack of start menu, though frustrating, is bearable with a Surface, Windows 10 will fix that though.
The performance is good, and it has never crashed or juddered, its been pretty flawless for usability.
The real issues is the crossover between laptop and tablet, it doesn’t quite work and when you pay £1000, the test model price, which doesn’t include a keyboard, another £100 for that, or any sort of OneDrive benefits, you need to ask, is there a laptop for £500 that is better, and you will probably find the answer is yes.
By better, we mean focused, the Surface Pro 3 is a lovely piece of kit, true nerd porn, but it has an identity issue, and that’s more of an issue than performance or options list for example.
The jury is out for the Microsoft Surface Pro 3, we are not sure about it, it possibly needs another generation before it is truly a mature product. As stated at the beginning of the review, Microsoft describe the Surface Pro 3 as the “table that can replace your laptop” and from our experience, that’s not quite true yet.
Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Review
Package - 8.5
Performance - 9
Price - 7.1
Consumer Experience - 7
7.9
It's a piece of nerd porn, though it's expensive. It won't replace your laptop or tablet completely, and if you are happy to put up with a non mature product and have deep pockets, you may end up loving this. It is not quite there yet though.