Hide Your Laptop, Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Is Here

At a press event in New York City today, Microsoft unveiled the Surface Pro 3, the latest in their line of convertible laptops and reason enough, Microsoft thinks, to throw your existing laptop into a crowded landfill.

With the Surface Pro 3, Microsoft has the traditional laptop squarely in their sights. With a 12-inch ClearType Full HD display, 4^th-generation Intel Core processor, and up to 8GB of RAM and nine hours of Web-browsing battery life in a 0.36-inch, 1.76 pound package, Microsoft’s latest does indeed make a compelling argument for being your on-the-go computer. The improved Surface Pro Type Cover and more adjustable kickstand makes switching between tablet and laptop form quicker than ever.

The Surface Pen allows you to write, jot, scribble, doodle, mark, sign, and do just about anything you would do with a regular pen, while also enabling you to open OneNote with a simple click for those spur-of-the-moment, I-need-to-write-this-down-before-I-forget-oh-god-when-did-I-get-so-old thoughts. Double-clicking the back of the pen captures whatever is on your screen at the moment, which is always a useful feature. The Surface Pro 3 tablet also employs “Palm Block technology,” which may sound silly, but allows you to rest your palm on the tablet as you write without fear of it interrupting your work.

Then there’s the 2160×1440 2K color-calibrated screen with multitouch input, Dolby Audio-enhanced sound, front-facing speakers, two 5MP cameras that can capture 1080p HD video, and Windows 8.1 Pro 3 with all that offers. Between the various models of Surface Pro 3, you can get a tablet equipped with a Intel Core i3, i5, or i7 processor and up to 512GB of storage and 8GB of RAM.

There are five different models of the Surface Pro 3, ranging from $799 to $1,949. Pre-orders for the $799 model will be available starting tomorrow, but all models won’t be available until some time in August.