Microsoft Surface Pro 3: My First 2 Weeks

customers choose their preferred Type Cover color. Fine, whatever. The point is, the keyboard is necessary, and the cheapest Pro 3 + Type Cover combination is $930. I like Microsoft's new tablet, but that's steep.

Microsoft's Type Cover is better than ever. Unfortunately, it's still sold separately for a pricey $130.

Although it's called a "Pro," in terms of computing power, Microsoft's newest tablet is more like a MacBook Air. If you want discrete graphics cards, the fastest chips, and plenty of RAM, you'll have to look elsewhere. That said, I've thrown a fair amount of Lightroom and Photoshop work at the Pro 3. It handled RAW images files well, and I rarely felt slowed down by the machine. Its fan came on often, but the device only felt warm, never hot.

I found it easy to accidentally activate the buttons on the pen's body. They provide erase and right-click functions, and it's pretty disruptive when you accidentally engage one while writing.

The Surface Pro Pen is ergonomically superior to other styluses, but its buttons sometimes get in the way.

At least one artist who reviewed the device complained that while drawing, he inadvertently hits the repositioned Start button, which sits on the right bezel. I've experienced the issue a few times, but I like that the Pro 3 knows to ignore my palm if it hits the screen while I'm using the Pen.

Though a dramatic improvement, the new kickstand also demands constant fiddling. I found it distracting at first; you can just open up a MacBook Air and start working, so setting up the Pro felt comparatively tedious. After a little use, I developed a better feel for orienting the device and don't really consider it a problem anymore. Your mileage may vary, of course.

Laptop power users might also be disappointed in the Surface Pro 3's lone USB 3 port. True, iPads don't have any such ports, but most Pro notebooks have several.

Ultimately, it's both necessary and myopic to discuss the Surface Pro 3 relative to the competition. Microsoft encouraged some of the comparisons, and would-be buyers looking to get the most for their money are of course going to consider several different options. Still, for the first time, Microsoft has produced a device that is more than the sum of its parts. A few months ago, if someone had told me he wanted to spend $1,000 on a laptop, I would have recommended a MacBook Air or a traditional Windows laptop without ever thinking of a Microsoft Surface. Now, that's not necessarily the case.

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