I’ve just finished the longest, most detailed review I’ve ever published. My 6400+ word Surface Pro 3 full review is up at UMPCPortal and you might be wondering why it took so long. The fact is that it took me over 5 months to realise that the Surface Pro 3 is an incredible ultrabook alternative, ultra mobile Tablet PC and a great desktop PC. It’s extremely well engineered and the modularity is inspiring, if a little expensive. After 6 months of ownership the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 has definitely earned itself a full review.
I’ve been using the Surface Pro 3 as my main PC for the last 6 months and have completed over 600 hours of screen-on time. I’ve produced over 100 videos on the Surface Pro 3, written tens of thousands of words on it, used it as a completely wireless presentation device, it’s been my hot-desking solution, I’ve created music with it, travelled with it in Germany, UK and Ukraine and, importantly, felt proud to be using it.
You’ll read in the review that I didn’t buy the Surface Pro 3 as it’s a long-term loaner from Intel that replaces a broken Ultrabook (a non-retail developer Ultrabook) that I had been using and I admit that I probably would not have considered this $1000+ package at all 6 months ago. Even today with Ultrabooks like the Dell XPS 13 about it’s a tough choice but having seen the quality and experienced true improvements with Microsoft’s firmware and driver updates I feel it’s worth it.
Battery life could be better as I only get a 5.5 hours average out of it but for the weight and processing power there aren’t many other options. The keyboard can sound and feel a little strange but it works well and since I did a little spacebar modification it’s been stress-free and productive for. It’s not a ‘lapping’ tablet despite the stand but that stand makes a lot of difference to the way you use it and when you’ve got the included digitizer stylus in your hand you feel empowered to annotate the day away. Students take ‘note.’
My huge in-depth review goes into every nook and cranny of the Surface Pro 3 and offers tips for those that already own it. If you’ve been looking at convertibles laptops based on the Ultrabook platform, please take the time to consider the Surface Pro 3.
