Microsoft Surface 3 Tablet First Impressions

[Redaktion]

"Notebook-Killer" Vol. 3 - After the Surface Pro 3 last autumn, Microsoft now also launches the light version called Surface 3. We already have a review unit and will publish our first results.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Microsoft-Surface-3-Tablet-First-Impressions.141116.0.html

[Paulie]

Hello -- thank you kindly for the impressions.

Is the PWM frequency actually 50hz at low brightness, or should I be reading that as 5000hz?

[Nam Le]

Would like to see if it really supports SATA SSD as you mention in the article!?
Should we even tear-down the device just to see the innards or just wait until ifixit! does it?
At the end, Intel didn't keep their promise about the x2 CPU performance as they've mentioned earlier to the previous Z3795, probably it is only adapted to TDP/Perf improvement 4W over 7.5W as they've used before in Core M technically+commercially, but again it is good to see GPU inscreament.

[Alex.M]

Was really looking forward to change from the Surface 2 to 3, but the increase in price over the US is pretty ridiculous, 100 and 120 euros depending on spec. Also if the battery life estimates are accurate, then that's pretty average compared to the tablet and laptop competition.
As for the preview it would be really interesting to see performance on older games and, low performance games, Hearthstone. In other words games that might get played and not GTA V.
Would be curious to see if it can display 4k over the Displayport like the Core M cpus.

[Con Tapas]

Nice tablet but ridiculously expensive  :p

If you are not afraid to buy from a Chinese brand (but with top quality) try one with the performance of Surface Pro 3 but cheaper than the Surface 3 !!!

Cube i7 11.6" Tablet, Core M broadwell, 4GB RAM, 64-128 SSD, Full HD IPS, convertible keyboard and the price........................... $399 promotional the first week, $499 normal retail price.

It is available with Windows 8.1 or with Ubuntu for developers  8)

[Con Tapas]

Cube i7 also has 4G-LTE internal and included in the price!

But my favorite is PIPO W8 Core M 10.1" Tablet:

Smaller, lighter, same processor, insane 2560 x 1600 IPS screen, bigger battery, price ($419-$499)

Now this is a real workhorse!!

[Ali Qushery]

Hi

can you guys test the charging time with a phone charger (or a battery pack like the Anker QI batteries)

I want to know if a phone battery pack can charge it and keep the charge number or raise it slowly

[Nick White]

Is the micro USB port used for charging OTG (so you can use it as a second peripheral port)?

[Uby]

"This is probably a safety mechanism to protect the system against damages caused by high temperatures. "

NO. This means that this means: do NOT use this device for heavy stuff. Otherwise it will FAIL. Epic.

So what about 1 to 2 hours heavy workload (not power virus style), will it also fail? Or just throttle so badly, that it gets unusable?

[LeonM]

You state ''This would mean that you can only use a couple of GB for your own files when you get the configuration with a 32 GB SSD.''

That's surely wrong. Accordind to my estimations, at least 10.7GB remain free and user available, and that's the worst case scenario. Actually most Windows8.1 32GB tablets out there allow ~16-20GB free space (depends on whether WIMBoot is being utilised or not). I don't say that 10-20GB are enough for a W8.1 machine (especially considering eMMC performance degratation), but given the expansion capabilities of W8.1 and the Surface as a device (microSD card slot, standard full-blown USB port, ability of the OS to merge removable storage and consider it SYSTEM partition), even 32GB version is not the end of the world.

[Klaus Hinum]

Some questions I can answer (did not do the full review but some aspects):

According to my understanding of the Osci it should be 50 Hz but mind that it was only in the lowest two brightness settings, so no problem in normal use.

SATA SSDs are not supported (if not clearly stated in the article). There may be some cases where the author wrote SSD instead of eMMC (but meant eMMC).

The micro USB port could be used as a normal USB port (OTG) as far as I remember.

[Marc-SP]

"The 64 GB/Wi-Fi version of the Apple iPad Air 2 costs 589 Euros; with Smart Cover (39 Euros) and Wireless Keyboard (69 €) you get a comparable package for around 697 Euros. "

Comparable? You don't get a FULL PC that can run millions of real programs and has an active stylus option. How can it be comparable? Let aside that with a third party bluetooth keyboard and no kickstand, that is a terrible... thing.

It would be better to compare it with an iPad Air. THAT is a full PC.
Oh, sorry, MBA is 1000 €, vs 870€ of the Surface 3 4GB+typecover. And still not comparable: MBA has much worse screen, no touch, no pen, no rear camera, heavier, thicker ...