Want to watch a film while lazing in bed? Or use the thing on an ultra-cramped train table? The Microsoft Surface 3 is a bit of a star, as the stand sits in three positions, giving you five different ‘on its side’ positions when the tablet is flipped either way. Still, for every negative there are good bits to even things out. You can do it, but it takes some getting used to, and some manoeuvring at times. It just doesn’t have the stability of a normal laptop when there isn’t a flat surface to rest on. Like every Surface, the Microsoft Surface 3’s kickstand means its not great for using on your lap. It’s also not always perfect for using out and about, much as it seems like that’s the whole point. Just remember: this isn’t just less powerful than the Pro model, but dinkier too. The trackpad is pretty cramped, for one, and in the flesh the 10.8-inch screen seems pretty obviously a lot smaller than even a 12-inch Surface Pro 3 or a MacBook Air 13. Is it big enough? The Microsoft Surface 3 is a fair bit smaller than the Surface Pro 3, and it’s enough to make you want to use it as a portable-only machine, rather than a full, main computer. Microsoft has had this sort of keyboard base for while now. Sure, this sort of experience is nothing new. So while paying £100 extra just for a keyboard seems like an awful lot when you’re on a budget, you can’t help but admire the engineering that has gone into it. It’s only the strange hollow feel when typing that tells you you’re using something other than a proper keyboard.

The key travel really is comparable to an Ultrabook’s and the keys themselves are full-size. As with the Surface Pro 3, the Type Cover does a cracking job of cramming the feel of a real laptop keyboard into an accessory just a few millimetres thick. Plug in the keyboard dock, which hooks in using an extremely elegant, zero-fuss magnetic mechanism, and you more-or-less have an ultraportable laptop on your hands. It feels incredibly well made, but is too chunky to be thought of as a tablet on its lonesome, and without a keyboard and trackpad you’re not going to unleash much of this thing’s potential.Īnd, boy, there’s a lot of potential here. This is pretty much why I wouldn’t recommend buying a Microsoft Surface 3 without a keyboard.

Pro surface 3