Preordered a Surface 3 today

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I ended up going with the MacBook mostly because my other toys and phone are apple, but it was hard to pull the trigger.

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If you're an Apple guy that's probably the right move. My main machine is Win 7 though so I knew I was getting a Windows system, the question was more the hardware.

I went to the MS Store here in KC and test drove one today. It's a really sweet machine and I'll be getting one when the i7's come out in August. A few observations from playing with one:

-As you said, it's a bit big as a tablet but workable. It's lighter and thinner than the Surface Pro 2 and therefore easier to handle. I really had no problem handling it as a tablet. I also have a Google Nexus 7 so if I strictly need compactness without full PC capability, it's my go to machine.

-It's a true PC. Nuff said.

-The screen is beautiful (2160 x 1440) and plenty large enough to be a laptop replacement, which it will be for me. I have about 3-4 "niche" programs I use for work (engineering, CAD & 3D modeling, computer simulation) and this will run all of my programs with plenty of screen real estate so I don't have to squint to see what I'm doing.

-Apps and software. I haven't kept up too much with MS apps, but it seems that MS is not so much pushing app development as they are pushing the idea that this machine supports existing PC software so there's already lots of software available for use. A number of software vendors are also updating their software to make them more touch-screen friendly for Windows 8 machines.

The keyboard "clicks on" just as easy as with previous versions, has a good crisp feel to the keys, and a very responsive touchpad.

The stylus works very well in OneNote. I noticed with the i5 unit I was using that the line I was drawing tracked just a very short distance behind the tip of the stylus but otherwise writing with it was very easy and natural.

-Very fast and responsive.

-Windows 8 is actually easy to use.

Al in all, it's

I got the 128GB SSD version, plus keyboard. I'm taking adult ed classes at UVA so I qualified for the student discount, and it came in at just under $1100, tax included. This will be my secondary machine, for a main machine I'd want the 256GB version instead.

I only spent some of the day yesterday playing with it and am quite impressed. This is a full-fledged laptop in the guise of a tablet, simple as that. It runs full Windows 8.1 so will support basically anything that will run on that. Microsoft is starting to make a big push to expand app development but the Surface supports anything you can run on Windows 8.1, so it isn't that big a deal on this machine. I plan to install Oracle Enterprise when I have some time, I don't know any tablet that can run an Oracle database but see no reason why this one can't, and on an SSD it would be blazing fast.

A nice plus is that you can switch from the Metro UI to a classic Desktop by pressing a button on the frame of the screen. Easy as can be if you don't like Metro, and I'm not used to it myself so I've gone to Desktop quite a few times while I learn.

I have a buddy who has one of those high-end Nokia Windows phones and swears it is the greatest thing out there. Based on what I'm seeing so far if MS can ever get their phone apps together I may be switching off Android, it's really that good.

It's expensive, no?

Just returned my MBA. Someday soon I'll be on tSP3 bandwagon.

I did and it is da bomb. Windows 8.1 takes a little getting used to but no complaints so far.

I haven't used the pen yet and may not ever, I'd rather use a keyboard. The keyboard and trackpad are fine - a little small and the keyboard layout isn't my personal favorite, but it has to be small and I accept that.

Battery life is decent so far, I used it for about two hours today and the battery went from fully charged to 74%. I have no idea how accurate that is though. It works fine as a tablet - just bear in mind that with a 12" screen it is large. But the kickstand goes to nearly any angle, which is nice.

I installed Oracle Enterprise 12c on it and it works great, I can do database development on a fricking tablet. Anyone who wants a tablet you can do real work on seriously needs to get one of these.

Definitely consider it. The only drawback I can think of is that it is kinda small for a laptop and kinda big for a tablet. But it's big enough to do real work and yet is as portable as can be. It would not be my main work machine at the home office, it's a touch too small for that. But if you travel for work this would be ideal IMHO.