Microsoft announces Surface 3 tablet running full Windows

@nerd2;

You statement of "most have laughable amount of offline storage anyway" are laughable really.

Or you have "crippled" knowledge about computer, such as what's chrome OS designed for, and how to add/upgrade internal storage at least.

BTW, the OP is not comparing Chrome OS to Windows 8.1 OS in terms of software side. As always I do not comparing Windows' OS with Apple's OS.

The only chromebook from Google, the $999 chromebook pixel, does have a laughable 32GB of onboard storage (which is soldered on and cannot expandable :D).

And no matter who it is designed for, chrome OS is (intentionally) crippled. I do have a chromebox myself (running Crouton linux on it nicely)

Off the top of my head:

1. Cortana
2. DirectX 12 (faster graphics)
3. Native support for high resolutions up to 8K
4. Spartan (new much faster browser with inking)
5. Native support for multimedia protocols like H.265 and FLAC, which require drivers with any earlier version of Windows
6. Universal applications
7. Old-fashioned start menu
8. More gestures
9. Way more flexible windowing system (metro apps can be windowed and desktop applications can split the screen with metro apps etc.)
10. Support for HoloLens
11. Virtual desktops
12. Microsoft Hello

I'm sure I'm forgetting something...

Papi61: Thanks for your response. No, I don't think you are missing anything significant.

I watched the streamed introduction to Windows 10, in January I think it was. I follow news about it. I'm even registered as a "Windows 10 Insider"! (As I said, I expect to upgrade to it, which will be free for me).

But the only thing on your list that might have been a major benefit to me is "Old fashioned start menu", and I already run Windows 8.1 on both my PCs with a Classic Shell start menu!

I have simple PC requirements, which can be summarised by "Adobe CC + Office 365". I avoided Metro, and don't like touch-screens. Both my PCs are high-spec models within their respective niches. So while I expect SOME performance benefits, I am already getting fast processing.

I am not criticising Windows 10! I think it will be what lots of people have been waiting for. But I am mostly getting what I want out of Windows 8.1 in desktop mode with a start menu.

yes I have classic shell too

I have a Surface Pro 3. I think its screen is only JUST big enough for Lightroom with its panels. But OK for some Photoshop use.

I don't think I would like to use a Surface 3 with Lightroom.

I wouldn't bother attempting any Lightroom or Photoshop on a device with an Intel Atom CPU. Perhaps very light work on a small number of images, at most.

No, the i3 cannot run without a fan.

Atom X7 also has integrated video. In fact the very same type Core M uses. Another reason why there isn't really much difference in the real world between the two (aside from X7 costing much less, of course.) Yes, Atom is less powerful, but it's quad-core vs. dual-core of Core M. Also the X7 has a base clock speed of 1.6Mhz vs. 1.1 of Core M.

I don't have the benchmarks yet (I guess we'll have to wait until May), but I sense that in the end the results will be a wash. Or that X7 will only be 5% slower.

Consider that even if Intel released 3 different Core M CPU's, only one has been adopted so far. Intel has stopped developing Broadwell and it's about to release Skylake. Which is another reason to predict Core M will soon fade away, replaced by a more advanced Skylake counterpart. This will probably be considerably faster while still very easy on power and somehow re-establish a proper CPU hierarchy, without models overlapping on performance.

Apple fanboy making story up alert... ;)

"Apple fanboy making story up alert... ;)"

Definitely. Generally, the SP's are reported to be reliable. At least they don't have frying video cards, as opposed to the notebooks of a specific fruit ex-computer, now-fashion company...

Apple fanboy? That's a *****ng joke. I haven't owned Apple hardware since 1990. That said Apple charge about £90 to replace an iPad battery.
See the MS forums if you think I'm exaggerating - there have been endless problems. This product - ALL MS hardware that I've bought in the last year - is overpriced junk. Buy something by all means - best of luck.
(As I'm typing the screen spontaneously dimmed by about 30%.) Part of the problem has been with the implementation of W 8.1 on this device. I'm running the same OS on an Intel workstation without any comparable problems.
My comments are absolutely accurate. I've been doing this stuff for 30+ years, most of that time professionally and owned or used hundreds of devices. I've also had my own electronics R&D and manufacturing business selling hardware through one of the biggest Japanese companies.
Fanboys? Unlike many posters here I don't give a hoot; it just has to work. This stuff is overpriced junk.

Because it won't fit properly. Even the MS overpriced version exerts so much leverage on the socket that it's just a matter of time before a disastrous breakage. The Surface range (I have an SP2P) is disastrously bad. So many deficiencies there's not enough room here to recount them. Microsoft hardware is ALL uniformly sh!t.

Hmm, do I smell Apple fanboy here? All these guys seem to have Windows machines that explode every 5 minutes... ;)

Really, find something more original.

"Microsoft hardware is ALL uniformly sh!t."

Typical Apple fanboy BS.

I'm a long time Apple user and have detested Windows for years. However, my job provided me with a Surface Pro and I love it. For the most part, I really like the super-easy Windows 8.1 operating system too (though it is still Windows underneath, with the weird glitches that provides). Apart from occasionally having to detach and reconnect the magnetically-attached keyboard, the hardware has been bullet proof. It's a great gadget.

It is partially right about "Never. Machines that support connected standby mustn't use HDD."

You can use Intel's Smart Response Technology on a Hybrid Hard Drive for enabling rapid standby, resume and other functions.

I use mSATA for Intel's Smart Response Technology for HHD b/c most of Hybrid Hard Drive only has 8GB SSD last time I checked. 8GB or even 16GB SSD is not enough for getting full potential of Intel SRT IMHO.

BTW: when you config Intel SRT as Maximized Mode instead of Enhanced Mode. The PC boots/runs almost as fast as by using pure SSD b/c I have PC that uses SSD as well.

Samsung makes 1TB SSD in m.2 format - in theory you can swap it in to surface pro 3 (if you can open it without breaking the glass)

It is nice running a real computing environment (Windows 8.1) on a tablet. For those with the interest, need and patience, much better than iOS or Android platforms in my opinion. With a Windows 8.1 tablet, the system power and features are always there.

Just FYI, the iPad has stopped "rising" in a while.

Reality check:

http://www.valuewalk.com/2015/02/apple-inc-aapl-may-see-50-decline-ipad-sales/

@Papi61

FYI Not in my work environment it hasn't.

Again, why should WE care?

BTW, you started with the dickish behavior.

"FYI Not in my work environment it hasn't."

Well you are prolly just 0.000001 % of total tablet users. =D

another un-educated mac user living in pretend world.

Hi, I'm an educated Mac [and Windows, as well as Linux] user. Mac OS generally requires someone with admin access to willfully install software in order to become infected with anything, and the HowToGeek article basically says as much. The people who have done so are, unsurprisingly, a rather narrow spectrum of users, especially now that Apple has the AppStore.

There are few instances where a flaw in the OS lead to any worrisome compromise for the user [e.g.: HeartBleed], but these exploits also affected much larger, public-facing devices which would prove more problematic [in the case of HeartBleed, public servers for Gmail and FaceBook were also compromised].

Statistically, there are much fewer viruses and malware variants for Mac OS. Apple also tends to issue security updates to address exploits far more frequently than Microsoft does. Given the choice of Mac OS X and Windows for my personal systems, I choose Mac every time.

I'm happy with my Android tablet for lightweight consumption tasks, on the couch etc. For REAL computing I have a self built desktop that does things no $3000 laptop can handle for a fraction of the price, with multiple high res displays, GPUs, SSDs, 32GB RAM, a real mechanical keyboard, etc...

For something in between, this Surface looks like quite a good option. Imagine that, a usage case different than your own, will wonders never cease.

My bigger problem with the OP is the insinuation that Android is stable and virus-free. Now *that* is laughable.

Unfortunately for me? Why? You're the uneducated rube who thinks OSX has no malware and it's a lot more stable than 8.1. In fact, Yosemite is actually LESS stable than 8.1. So, yeah, keep with unprotected computing on your mac: if you don't know you have crapware on your computer, you can still be happy. Ignorance is bliss...

"Mac OS generally requires someone with admin access to willfully install software in order to become infected with anything"

The same applies to Windows and Linux. You have to be DUPED into installing crapware, and that's regardless of your OS.

@whyamihere - you are definitely right - - - for people such as yourself who maybe careless or does not know how to use the device. I have had the Samsung since 2012 and never had any problem. Have had my Apple since 2008 and never had any problem. I used to make my own computer since 1986. Was a beta tester for MS. Really like the Win2000 and XP. Then came the Vista . . . ouch. Windows 7, although better, was another disaster.

After 26 years stuck to MS, I bought Apple for my personal use.

Unfortunately, MS withdrew support for XP, perhaps their best Window OS.

WIndows 7 was a disaster? You mean the largest-grossing OS in history? Praised by everyone except for diehard Apple fanboys? THAT Windows 7?

LOL, you have really moved into Apple's reality distortion field.

In order to have the same functionality as a surface 3 pro you would need your android tablet and a non-existent MacBook pro which does something other than get scratched when you run a pen across íts screen. The alternative is to carry 3 devices with you, tablet, mbp and Wacom tablet... that's really mobile! not.

Windows asks you to confirm whenever you install something, just like *nix systems since Vista.

And surface pro 3 is as powerful as haswell retina MBP 13".

What would you use to cool that, an ice box? ;)

It all depends on what kind of performance you're expecting. Nowadays there are Win 8.1 tablets with only 1gb of RAM (even from major brands like Dell and HP) and yeah, they work. Assuming all you do with them is browsing the internet, sending emails, checking social networks etc. I suspect the original Surface wasn't designed for much more than that.

I'm not excusing RT as a product, it was worthless, but it was absolutely necessary from a strategic point of view; and yea they may have lost millions, to MS the venture will still have been successful either way. Even Android was encroaching a bit with x86 support (which hasn't really gone anywhere)... RT will live on in the embedded market anyway where WinCE has long toiled in obscurity.

Intel needed a swift kick tho, which RT provided even as a flop, they would've focused on mobile regardless because it's where the market's gone, but not on low cost mobile. They have fanless Core M SKUs, sure, look up their bulk price tho... It's at least 2x that of an Atom, you'll never see a Core M in a $500 hybrid. Getting a modern Atom for was spurred in large part by MS.

Even something like RAM limits was an issue for the original Atom which could only run x86 and not x64... You wouldn't be able to build an Atom system with 4GB and use it fully even if ya wanted.

The problem for Intel now is that Broadwell M isn't really much faster than the best quad-core Atom. So, where's the market for the M? People who want to buy a premium laptop or hybrid will still choose much better-performing conventional Core CPU's, while people who want to save will go for Atoms, which are only marginally slower than Core M but cost much less.

But then again, there's a certain company which can still manage to sell millions of $1,300 netbooks to their generally non-tech customers... ;) So maybe that's why Intel designed that CPU...

No, it's more about RT having served it's purpose and being put out to pasture... This is the Surface they would've WANTED to build three years ago but wasn't possible, you can thank Intel for that.

mikiev:

No, iOS does not need to run a tablet version of the new MacBook.

Touch screens are stupid for content creation. While that Mac will do just fine running OSX and creating+editing.

In case you need confirmation that touch screens are stupid in many respects, see Win8. Or try running 3D CAD on an iPad.

GabrielZ laptops don't come with pen digitizers, do they?

@Gabrielz - You have clearly no clue what an illustrator needs or why this could be handy for a photographer. You've clearly also never worked on an Wacom Cintiq.

If you would have, you also would have known why a built in screen is more handy then an Intuos tablet.
But never mind - You'll learn why it could be easy to do it on a 15.4" tablet instead of 10" and why a laptop doesn't fulfill that same need once you know what you are doing.