Published in Mobiles

Microsoft Surface 3 uses real Windows 8.1

by on01 April 2015


RIP Windows RT

WOA was the big, sexy codename for Windows on Arm and many makers of ARM based processors were really excited about this one. However, WOA quickly turned into woe. 

Windows on ARM was later renamed to Windows RT and since it didn’t support Windows x86 applications, we were quite sure that it was doomed before it even took off. Microsoft has just confirmed this with Surface 3 announcement, and guess what, Surface 3 is using an Intel Atom X7 processor and Windows 8.1, which is clearly a death sentence for Windows on ARM, or Windrows RT if you like.

The Surface 3 has a 10.8-inch screen in 1920x1280 Full HD Plus resolution measures 10.52 x 7.36 x 0.34 inches (267mm x 187mm x 8.7mm). The device comes with 64GB or 128GB or storage. The processor that powers this tablet is the Intel Atom x7 Z8700, and this is the long awaited 14nm quad-core part formerly known as Cherry Trail.

Atom X7 Z8700 Cherry Trail 14nm inside

The Atom x7 Z8700 has 2MB cache and works at 1.6GHz. The burst frequency can jump to 2.4GHz, all with a 2W SDP (Scenario Design Power).

The Surface 3 comes with Windows 8.1 that will be upgradeable to Windows 10 when it comes out, and Microsoft also sweetens the deal with 1-year of Office 365 Personal with OneDrive cloud storage.

surf3

The new Surface offers 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0 as well as a full-size USB 3.0 port, Mini DisplayPort, microSD, micro USB charging port, headset jack and cover port. It comes with a 3.5-megapixel front-facing camera and 8 megapixel rear-facing camera with autofocus, microphone and stereo speakers with Dolby Audio.

Surface 3 goes for $499, keyboard cover $129

The pre-orders are live as of today and Microsoft plans to ship them to you by May 5th. The cheapest model is the Wi-Fi only version with 2GB RAM and 64GB storage that sells for $499, while the 128GB version with 4GB RAM is $599. The LTE version with 64GB storage and 2GB RAM as well as LTE with 128GB and 4GB of RAM will ship later at an undisclosed price.

The Surface 3 Type Cover will set you back an additional $129 which sounds like highway robbery. The keyboard cover comes in black, blue, bright blue, red and bright red. If this is not enough Microsoft will sell you a Surface Pen in silver, red, dark blue or black for $49.

Microsoft claims up to 10 hours of battery life while watching video, but the actual battery life will depend on use.  

Last modified on 01 April 2015
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