Surface Pro 3 : Microsofts New Giant KillerMicrosoft launched the latest member of its Surface tablet family, the Surface Pro 3 at an event in New York few days ago. The Surface Pro 3 aims to blur lines between Laptops and Tablets. As per Panos Panay, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Surface "Surface Pro 3 is the tablet that can replace your laptop packing all the performance of a fully powered laptop into a thin, light and beautifully designed device."

Microsoft is dubbing the Pro 3 "a tablet that can replace your laptop," and is pitting it against the current market leader the MacBook Air. So is Microsofts new Surface Pro 3 a Tablet or a Laptop. The categorization is left to you, all we can say is that its a big tablet, but also has an optional keyboard and a digitised pen to make notes as well as the ability to run everything a traditional Windows 8 PC can handle. It also boasts of a Windows 8.1 Operating system.

Maybe it is a laptop disguised as a tablet and the specifications as well as features released by Microsoft sure makes it look the part as well.

THE PROCESSORThe Surface Pro 3 would be available in three configurations packing the Intel Core i3, i5 or i7 processors which are by far the best available processors in the market.

THE MEMORYAgain the Surface Pro 3 will have an option between 4GB and 8GB of RAM. As for the storage space available, it has options of 64GB, 128GB, 256GB or 512GB which is quite impressive for a tablet and on par with many budget laptops.

THE DISPLAYIt boasts of a 12-inch screen with a 3:2 aspect ratio. Agreed that 3:2 aspect ratio sounds weird but with a 2160 x 1440 - 216ppi display resolution it is one of the best available in the market and no doubt would be aptly suitable for all daily activities like gaming, watching videos etc.It also has the powerful Intel HD Graphics 4400 as the GPU which enhances the visual details to the next level.

CAMERA, CONNECTIVITY, WEIGHT & BATTERY LIFEThe Surface Pro 3 has Dual Camera. Both the Front Camera and the Rear Camera are maxed out at 5 Mega Pixels with a 1080p recording feature, though we assume that it would have more to do with making video conference calls rather than about becoming the next James Cameron or Steven Spielberg.It has connectivity specs of 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0 LE which would take care of most (nearly all) connectivity options. This powerhouse packs a weight of 800 grams which is huge for a tablet but if u consider the screen size and specs then it saves u at least 2-3 kilos a laptop usually has. The battery should easily give you Up to 9 hours browsing the web.OTHER FEATURESOther prominent and useful features that the Pro 3 had were an all new Updated Trackpad and A Digital Pen (They dont call it a stylus at MicroSoft). The Surface Pro 3s pen allows you to take notes as well as draw and paint like an accomplished artist in case you want to become the next Michaelangelo. Other standard features of a laptop like USB 3.0 port, miroSD, and a Mini Display Port are present too. Microsoft has hidden the Surface Pro 3s stereo speakers on the front of the tablet.

AVAILABILITY & PRICEPhase One of Surface Pro 3 will see it being sold in US and Canada from June, 2014. Phase Two will have it being available in 26 additional countries by end of August. Sadly, India does not feature amongst the plans at least for this year. Microsoft has not yet launched a Surface tablet in India and may not launch in Indian market any time soon. Insights from Microsoft reveal that in India Microsofts prime focus on less expensive tablets created by Microsoft's hardware partners like Lenovo and Dell.

VERDICTIf you think of Surface Pro 3 as a laptop replacement, then it is quite impressive. It also can hold its own against the MacBook Air according to the features and specifications and hence has the potential to become the market leader and overthrow Apples MacAir. Specs look good, features are top class but for the ground reality, we would have to wait till its launched and more hands on reviews are garnered.