15 Apr Surface 3 – A Surface without the Pro
Microsoft Surface 3
Microsoft has announced the Surface 3 (not the Surface Pro 3), and from what it looks like, the third time may very well be the charm.
To those of you who may be unfamiliar with how the surface line has ended up thus far, let me explain it a little bit.
For each iteration of the Surface, there has been two versions that come out, the standard and Pro versions.
The Pro versions would perform much like a laptop would. They ran full Windows 8/8.1, They were compatible with all Windows programs out of the box, and they were pretty much laptops that looked and felt like tablets. However, they were always a little on the small size until the third iteration, making it hard to get serious work and multitasking done. They did accomplish Microsoft’s goal with the Surface line of computers, though, which was to have a laptop and tablet replacement.
The standard versions, however, were much more limited. They would run a version of Windows called Windows RT, which performed much more like a tablet than a computer, which didn’t really match with what Microsoft was trying to market the Surface as, a tablet and laptop replacement. Windows RT didn’t allow for standard Windows apps to be run on them, you could only download apps from the Microsoft store, much like the iPad and the App Store or Android tablets and the Google Play Store. This wouldn’t be a big deal if the Windows store wasn’t the least robust of the three major app markets, but it is. Add that to the fact that it cost just as much as Apple’s iPad without the keyboard, and you can imagine how they weren’t massive successes.
Luckily, it looks like Microsoft is breaking that mold with the Surface 3.
The Surface 3 boasts an Intel Atom processor and 2GB of RAM at the base model, which retails for $499. While this isn’t the most powerful computer on the planet, for those who want portability and functionality, this should be sufficient for most people, especially if you are doing mostly web-based tasks. But most importantly, we can say goodbye to Windows RT. You are now free to run standard Windows programs to your heart’s content! The computer will ship with Windows 8.1 and will offer a free upgrade to Windows 10 once it is released.
I can see this being a really great tool for small businesses and general usage. It offers a sufficient amount of power for general use, it is small and lightweight, and is reasonably priced. This is definitely a 2-in-1 computer to keep on your radar when it is released this coming May.
If you have any questions about this article or computers in general, please feel free to contact SOS Support, your specialists in IT service in Salt Lake City.
