Third time lucky for Microsoft Surface device

MICROSOFT has made a horrible hash of trying to compete in the increasingly pervasive tablet world.

The Microsoft Surface Pro 3 is a hybrid device: a tablet and laptop in one.

FOR a company that for decades had near ultimate control of the desktop and laptop PC arena, you’d have to say Microsoft has made a horrible hash of trying to compete in the increasingly pervasive tablet world.

It began in earnest in early 2010 with then chief executive Steve Ballmer waving a Windows 7-powered device called the Slate PC at a Consumer Electronics Show event and predicting it would take the market by storm — only to be trumped several weeks later by Apple’s Steve Jobs with the first iPad.

The original iPad, with its ability to play music and videos, browse the web and have access to a growing repertoire of cheap or free purpose-designed apps, was an instant success. The Slate PC, made by Hewlett-Packard, disappeared without a trace.

Microsoft in recent times has tried again, with its Surface tablets, which include the full Windows operating system, and Intel processor-equipped Pro 1 and 2 tablets and the original Surface and subsequent Surface 2 with ARM processors which run the cut-down Windows RT system. Surface sales of neither variety has set the world on fire. Now, after a lot of thought and internal argument, Microsoft is about to have a third shot at the tablet market, with the Surface Pro 3, due for launch in the US in coming weeks and in Australia in August.

The Surface Pro 3 isn’t like any Apple or Android tablet you’ll find in today’s stores. It’s a hybrid device: a tablet and laptop in one. Open it up and you have a notebook PC with the latest Intel chips that’s thinner and lighter than the MacBook Air, operates Microsoft’s Windows 8.1 software and should be able to run any of the four million-odd Windows apps in use in businesses across the world.

Detach the screen — with a gentle tug on the magnetic catch — and you have a tablet with a gorgeous 12-inch touchscreen (bigger and with higher resolution than the MacBook Air or any iPad or Android tablet) and promised access to an online app store. And with up to 512 gigabytes of storage. it can hold a lot more than Android or iOS tablets, which typically come with 16 or 32GB.

A supplied Surface Pen enables users to mark up presentations, sign documents, do a bit of sketching or jot simple notes on the screen.

Microsoft reckons it will sell millions of Surface Pro 3s, especially to businesses that have workers on the road who need to run Windows programs but are less than enthusiastic about lugging the hefty weight of some Dell or HP notebook PCs.

What’s the catch? There are several, at least as some folk see it. One is Windows 8.1 itself — it’s effectively two operating systems: one conventional OS for laptop use, the other a touch-enabled version for clicking on “tiles” on the touch screen. That means users need to deal with two control panels, two copies of Internet Explorer, two Help systems and two email programs.

Another may be price. In Australia, where the Surface Pro 3 is due to hit the market on August 31 (you can “pre-order” now on the Microsoft website) prices will range from $979 for a 64GB unit with an Intel i3 processor to $2279 for a model with 512GB of storage and a more powerful i7 chip.

Those prices don’t include the detachable keyboard, which Microsoft calls a “Type Cover”.

It’s a “must have”, we reckon, and certainly better than the Bluetooth detachable keyboard DoubleClick uses with our iPad. Unlike that device, it is backlit, has a full row of function keys and a handy touchpad for controlling the cursor with a fingertip.

Like our Bluetooth gadget, it clicks to the display via a magnetic catch, acts as a protective cover for the screen and can be used to prop the tablet/screen at a number of angles, making it equally usable on lap or tabletop. But in Australia the Type Cover will cost $150 extra. So the real price of your tablet-cum-notebook ranges from $1129 to $2429.

Apple’s top iPad Air ranges between $598 and $1049. Add-on Bluetooth keyboards, some with magnetic catches, are offered by a number of makers, generally around the $100 mark.

A MacBook Air starts at $1099 for a model with an 11-inch screen and 128GB of storage and ranges up to $1399 for the 13-inch, 256GB version. The MacBook Air does not have a touchscreen, but it does have an excellent large touchpad.

In the event, we can’t see too many people anteing up $2429 for the top Surface Pro 3. But we reckon come August many Windows enthusiasts will be queuing up for the lower-end models, bringing joy at last to Microsoft’s accounting team.

Microsoft won’t have the two-in-one Windows market to itself. There are a number of detachable keyboard hybrids such as the Asus Transformer Book T100T and the HP Pro X2 410, with an 11.6-inch display, starting at $1163.

The HP device hasn’t been a big seller but HP appears to be planning to put a major push behind a newer business model, now under development and dubbed the HP Pro X2 612.

“Built from the ground up for business,” according to HP execs, it will have a 12.5in screen — slightly bigger than Microsoft’s and with full HD resolution — and will be powered by Intel Core i3 or Core i5 chips.

The screen can be used on its own as a tablet or docked into a full-size HP “Power Keyboard” which carries an embedded battery. That means users have two batteries — one in the tablet, the other in the keyboard — giving the device up to 14 hours’ battery life, according to HP.

There will also be a smartcard reader and an optional fingerprint reader.

Will the Pro X2 612 make it to Australia? DoubleClick was unable to confirm this as we wrote this column. A decision is to be made in several weeks, we’ve been told, but we’d be surprised if it doesn’t appear down under, possibly soon after the US launch in September.