Surface Pro 3

The Surface Pro 3 is the third professional tablet from Microsoft that doubles as an ultrabook. It was announced May 20 at a press event in New York City. Despite being called the Surface Pro 3, it is not a direct follow-up to the Surface Pro 2. Instead, the Surface Pro 3 is an entirely new model with a larger screen. Microsoft hopes the Surface Pro 3 is the tablet that replaces your laptop.

The larger display is what you’ll notice first in the Surface Pro 3. Microsoft has increased the size of the display to 12-inches and upped the resolution to 2160 x 1440. That makes the screen 38% larger than the Surface Pro 2 and adds 50% more pixels.

By increasing the size of the display Microsoft has made new keyboards a necessity with the Surface Pro 2. While your old ones will work, they won’t cover the entire screen when closed. Microsoft also introduced a new Type Cover that comes in five colors and features a track-pad that is 63% bigger than before.

A new Surface Docking Station has also been announced to give the Surface Pro 3 more capabilities at your desk.

The new kickstand in the Surface Pro 3 has been changed. No longer are you limited to the two positions in the Surface Pro 2, instead you get a multi-position kickstand that features a friction-hinge. This allows you to pick any angle between zero and 150 degrees for viewing.

Some additional specs for the Surface Pro 3 include: nine hours of battery life, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ pen support, 5MP camera on front and rear, full-size USB port, microSD card slot and Windows 8.1 Pro.

• Full specs for the Surface Pro 3

The Surface Pro 3 comes in a variety of configurations that differ in processor, memory, storage and price. Here they are:

• Intel Core i3 / 64 GB / 4GB of RAM / $799
• Intel Core i5 / 128 GB / 4GB of RAM / $999
• Intel Core i5 / 256 GB / 8GB of RAM / $1299
• Intel Core i7 / 256 GB / 8GB of RAM / $1549
• Intel Core i7 / 512 GB / 8GB of RAM / $1949

The Surface Pro 3 will be available on June 20, 2014.