Little needs to be said about the Surface 3. Being the lightweight version of the Surface Pro 3, Microsoft’s iconic laplet is targeted at those who think that the Surface Pro 3 is just a tad too steep for the wallet. So, does the Surface 3 perform well for its price point? The short answer is, yes.

Scaled Down

When compared to the Surface Pro 3, the Surface 3 is a smaller device. The Surface 3’s 10.8-inch touchscreen means that the entire device is allowed to be smaller. This translates into being quite a bit more portable than the 12-inch Pro 3. Other than the size, the Surface 3 mostly identical to the Pro 3 when it comes to looks with all the USB ports and microSD slots positioned at the same places.

Atom Inside

As the lack of the word “Pro” should have clued you in, the Surface 3 sports weaker components when compared to its older brother, utilising the Atom series of processors instead of the Pro 3’s Core series of chips. RAM and Storage space is also lower than its Pro counterpart, coming with up to 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.

Workspace Productivity

The amount of mileage you can get out of the Surface 3 depends on what you plan to do with it. If your main purpose to get a Surface 3 is to do general workplace tasks that involves documents and spreadsheets, then the Surface 3 is more than sufficient. Facilitating this further is the fact that the Surface 3 comes with an Office suite by default, allowing you to jump straight into work without any further interruption.

Media Crash       

However, the lower powered nature of the Surface 3 means that it will lose out to its Pro counterpart when it comes to work of a media-related nature. Video editing would cause the Surface 3 to struggle. Photoshop is perfectly functional, but it runs noticeably slower than it would on the Surface Pro 3. Basically, depending on your profession, the Surface 3 may not be powerful enough. 

Like A Bunny

Battery life on the Surface 3 is pretty decent as well. An average day use of the Surface 3 that involves Word, YouTube and music gives the Surface 3 a lifespan of around 8 hours on a full charge. This is around the average lifespan of a tablet or netbook of this configuration.

Would You Like To Add On A Keyboard?

One thing that did not change at all with the Surface 3 is the fact that Microsoft still refuses to bundle the Type Cover together with the tablet. While Microsoft is kind enough to bundle in the Surface Pen, they remain adamant that you need to buy the keyboard separately from them. If you want a keyboard to go with that shiny new Surface 3 you’ve just bought, get ready to shell out however much Microsoft charges for these things.

The Price Is Right

Microsoft’s latest offering is the entry level Surface many have been waiting for. It is much more affordable than the Pro 3, and is great for productivity purposes. However, if your job requires a bit more computational horsepower, the Pro 3 is better suited for you. If you just need a simple mobile tablet that performs well, the Surface 3 is a decent choice. That said, Microsoft, please just bundle the Type Cover in for the Surface Pro 4

Price : RM1,989
Weight : 622g
Dimensions : 267 x 187 x 8.7 mm
CPU : 1.6GHz Quad Core Intel Atom x7-Z8700 processor with 2MB Cache
Memory : Up to 4GB RAM
Display : 10.8” ClearType Full HD Plus Display with Surface Pen support
Storage : Up to 128GB
Operating System : Windows 8.1
Connectivity : Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Ports : USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort, microSD card reader, Micro USB charging port, Headset jack, Cover port

Value: 9/10
Features: 8/10
Performance: 9/10
Design: 9/10
Usability: 9/10 

Verdict: Keyboard aside, this is the entry level Surface we’ve been waiting for.  

Total Score: 8.8/10