My impressions

[Bryanmsi]

I love my SP3. I had the i5 Pro3, and I actually prefer the little guy. Having owned both the SP3 and S3, , I think the Pro 3 is the laptop that can replace your tablet. The S3 is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Subtle, but very important difference.

If you need a full blown do-anything laptop but also want that laptop to pinch-hit as a tablet then the Pro3 is the better choice. For me, having a tablet that can pinch-hit as a laptop was more aligned with my use case. Of course, having said that, I promptly got the dock and have now been using the S3 as my primary laptop too! It is a bit slower than a standard laptop (probably both the ATOM CPU and the slower eMMC storage), but not annoyingly so.

Plus, I love the fanless design! (The more rapid charging on the dock was a nice surprise. That made me feel better about paying almost $200 for it)

 

[hughlle]

I love my SP3. I had the i5 Pro3, and I actually prefer the little guy. Now, having said that, I think the Pro 3 is the laptop that can replace your tablet. The S3 is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Subtle, but very important difference. If you need a full blown do-anything laptop but also want that laptop to pinch-hit as a tablet then the Pro3 is the better choice. For me, having a tablet that can pinch-hit as a laptop was more aligned with my use case. Of course, having said that, I promptly got the dock and have now been using the S3 as my primary laptop too! It is a bit slower, but not annoyingly so. Plus, I love the fanless design! (The more rapid charging on the dock was a nice surprise. That made me feel better about paying almost $200 for it)

A good analysis! I couldn't justify the price of the dock for either of my surfaces so just picked up a Kensington usb3 dock for a steal on amazon prime day.

 

[kristalsoldier]

I love my SP3. I had the i5 Pro3, and I actually prefer the little guy. Now, having said that, I think the Pro 3 is the laptop that can replace your tablet. The S3 is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Subtle, but very important difference. If you need a full blown do-anything laptop but also want that laptop to pinch-hit as a tablet then the Pro3 is the better choice. For me, having a tablet that can pinch-hit as a laptop was more aligned with my use case. Of course, having said that, I promptly got the dock and have now been using the S3 as my primary laptop too! It is a bit slower, but not annoyingly so. Plus, I love the fanless design! (The more rapid charging on the dock was a nice surprise. That made me feel better about paying almost $200 for it)

Interesting analysis! But...in a bid to avoid precisely this choice, I opted for both the SP3 (which I have had since release date in North America) and the S3, which I got recently. The latter replaces my iPad Air and I am more than happy because I gain the Stylus capability which is what I have been looking for. The SP3 works as my main laptop and a large tablet as and when I want to use it as such. But the S3 is my dedicated tablet and I made sure I did not buy the KB with it - and I won't either!

 

[Bryanmsi]

Interesting analysis! But...in a bid to avoid precisely this choice, I opted for both the SP3 (which I have had since release date in North America) and the S3, which I got recently. The latter replaces my iPad Air and I am more than happy because I gain the Stylus capability which is what I have been looking for. The SP3 works as my main laptop and a large tablet as and when I want to use it as such. But the S3 is my dedicated tablet and I made sure I did not buy the KB with it - and I won't either!

I also got the Surface 3 as a replacement for my iPad Air 2 when I realized that for any travel, I was taking the MacBook and the iPad because each one had elements that I needed and neither one could "do it all.". The Surface 3 has become THE killer travel accessory and I find I can do anything I need with it. No more worrying about which device I happen to be carrying at the time.

 

[hughlle]

Interesting analysis! But...in a bid to avoid precisely this choice, I opted for both the SP3 (which I have had since release date in North America) and the S3, which I got recently. The latter replaces my iPad Air and I am more than happy because I gain the Stylus capability which is what I have been looking for. The SP3 works as my main laptop and a large tablet as and when I want to use it as such. But the S3 is my dedicated tablet and I made sure I did not buy the KB with it - and I won't either!

Ha, i've held off on the keyboard for mine as well. Just can't see the reason in spending £100 when it's really not that hard to just pick up the SP3 if i need the keyboard (not to mention occasionally i do just use the SP3 keyboard with the S3). I may buy one eventually, but more for the peace of mind than functionality (screen protector. I don't like adding bulky cases or such to my devices). Maybe I'll just buy one of these £25 generic magnetic keybaords that have finally hit ebay (wonder when we'll get a generic magnetic blank to act as a screen protector, come on MS for crying out loud, we don't all need a £100 keyboard for our tablet)

 

[kristalsoldier]

Ha, i've held off on the keyboard for mine as well. Just can't see the reason in spending £100 when it's really not that hard to just pick up the SP3 if i need the keyboard (not to mention occasionally i do just use the SP3 keyboard with the S3). I may buy one eventually, but more for the peace of mind than functionality (screen protector. I don't like adding bulky cases or such to my devices). Maybe I'll just buy one of these £25 generic magnetic keybaords that have finally hit ebay (wonder when we'll get a generic magnetic blank to act as a screen protector, come on MS for crying out loud, we don't all need a £100 keyboard for our tablet)

Hmm...I did not think about using the SP3 KB with the S3...I should try it sometime!

But what I am in complete agreement with you is the lack of a screen cover for the S3. I really wish MS would release a Cover that attaches to the magnets but has no keys!!! It would be perfect! And since it would not have the KB mechanisms, it would also be much cheaper! By selling both a KB (as MS does now) and a Cover, MS would be showcasing the versatility of the S3 (and, come to think of it, if applied to the SP3, to it too!) - both as a tablet AND as a high-mobility oriented - yet generously powered - laptop!

What do you guys think?

 

[Oliverbayer]

I just wrote a brief note at my personal blog about this Machine.

To save some time to some of you, here is what I don't like.

View attachment 6350

Hi,

I am just thinking of buying a s3, but what I'm interested in is, what is the performance after many days in use. I want to install Norton 360, office 365, some special vpn security software to connect to my company's workstation.

Is it still performing after several weeks in use. Windows often slows down after some weeks.

Thanks
Oliver

 

[iLLeStEyECoN]

Now I've used my S3, I couldn't care what MS do to the SP4 so long as it is fanless. And by that I do not mean Panays idea of fanless.. I just plugged in a usb harddrive and the spin-up made me start a little. Silent is awesome.

It is my understanding that it is impossible for an Intel I machine to be fanless, which is obviously unfortunate.

 

[hughlle]

It is my understanding that it is impossible for an Intel I machine to be fanless, which is obviously unfortunate.

Nothing is impossible. Heat is heat, you just need a bigger heatsink. what would be (I guess) impossible would be an I series chip in the same form factor without a fan.

 

[GreyFox7]

It is my understanding that it is impossible for an Intel I machine to be fanless, which is obviously unfortunate.

It's my understanding that Core-M is capable of being fanless so it's not impossible and that continues to push lower YOY.

IIRC the magic number is about 4-4.5 watts in a less than 11.6" x 8mm design.

 

[hughlle]

It's my understanding that Core-M is capable of being fanless so it's not impossible and that continues to push lower YOY.

IIRC the magic number is about 4-4.5 watts in a less than 11.6" x 8mm design.

Core M is not an i series Core chip though is it?

 

[GreyFox7]

Core M is not an i series Core chip though is it?

I believe it is.
In the Haswell line there was i3/5/7 Y Series at 10w and i3/5/7 U Series at 15W. Part numbers had Y or U at then end. Like 4300U or 4020Y
In the Broadwell line they took the Y series and called it Core-M and moved the Y in the part number so you have 5Y10, 5Y31, 5Y51, 5Y71 etc. at 4.5 W. U series still at 15W are numbered the old way.

Bottom line is they are all "Core" Series which is the real Family Designation. Other Family designations are Atom, Celeron, Pentium, Xeon.

But Intel's product numbering and tiering is nothing if not confusing.