Much of the lure surrounding Microsoft's long-rumored Surface Mini was the notion that it'd come in at a lower price point compared to its full-sized brother. That project was ultimately scrapped and instead, we got the Surface Pro 3 - an impressive offering that's unfortunately still a bit too expensive for some.
Microsoft hasn't forgotten about those longing for a cheaper Surface. Building on the success of the Surface Pro 3, the company on Tuesday unveiled a cheaper alternative it's calling Surface 3.
The device carries a 10.8-inch display with a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 and a 3:2 aspect ratio - it measures 8.7mm thick and weighs 1.37 pounds, or 622 grams. Surface 3 is powered by a quad-core Intel Atom x7 SoC and 2GB of RAM alongside 64GB of internal storage. Buyers also get a one-year subscription to Office 365 Personal which includes 1TB of OneDrive storage.
The rear camera captures images at 8-megapixels while the front-facing shooter does the same at 3.5-megapixels and both can capture 1080p video. Physical connectivity includes a full-sized USB 3.0 connector, headphone jack, microSD card slot and a mini DisplayPort.
Unlike previous budget varieties that used Windows RT, Surface 3 ships with a full version of Windows 8.1 (64-bit) complete with desktop applications. Battery life is rated at 10 hours of video playback.
Microsoft plans to launch the Surface 3 on May 5 with pricing starting at $499.
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