Microsoft Surface 3 review

Will it be third time lucky for Microsoft's Surface?

IT Pro Verdict

The Microsoft Surface 3 is comfortably the best of the lower-cost Surface hybrids to date. The sum of improvements made to the hardware, both in the tablet part and the keyboard, and full Windows 8.1’s flexibility make it a very workable portable companion to a more powerful desk-bound laptop or desktop.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Good screen quality; greatbattery life; strong removable keyboard

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Low CPU and storage performance; limited RAM; Fiddly to use on lap

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Image quality is mostly excellent too. Colour vibrancy and accuracy are commendable, viewing angles are strong thanks to the IPS LCD display and top brightness is very good. The one slightly weaker point is black level. Especially at backlight settings over 50 per cent, blacks rise, taking on a slightly blue-grey tone. While reflection-heavy glossy screens like this will always offer compromised outdoors use too, the strong backlight makes it perfectly usable in fairly bright sunlight.

Connectivity

There's also provision to attach an external monitor too. The Surface 3 has fewer connections than most laptops, but there's a Mini DisplayPort for easy connection to a monitor, projector or TV.

There's also a single USB port, allowing connection to a mouse or any number of other accessories. If the tablet was any larger, it would seem a shame that Microsoft hadn't added a second USB port for easy connection to both a keyboard and mouse. However, this is not a hybrid made primarily as a something to instantly replace a desktop or Intel Core-series (or AMD) laptop with. The Intel Atom CPU's limited power makes sure of that.

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