Microsoft Corp. is introducing a new Surface, the Surface 3. Like Surface Pro 3, it’s a tablet that can replace your laptop but is thinner, lighter and even more affordable. Surface 3 is optimized to run full Windows and Office and features long battery life. The ability to run Windows apps and the versatile pen experience makes Surface 3 ideal for students, schools and anyone looking for a portable device to get things done. A 4G LTE-ready version, Surface 3 (4G LTE) is also available.

Surface 3 brings what customers love about Surface Pro 3 to more people, delivering the premium design and productivity of Surface in a more affordable device, said Panos Panay, corporate vice president, Microsoft Surface. We’ve taken everything we learned making Surface Pro 3 and poured that innovation into this newest Surface. It’s beautiful, versatile, powerful and productive, and our customers are going to love what it lets them do.

Surface 3 and Surface 3 (4G LTE) will ship with full Windows 8.1 and can be upgraded to Windows 10 for free when available. They also come complete with a one-year subscription of Microsoft Office 365 Personal, including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, plus OneDrive cloud storage.

Companies such as Prada, BASF and Emirates have committed to purchasing and deploying Surface 3 across their organisations.

Having explored multiple platforms, we are confident that the Surface 3 meets the expectations of our experienced and professional flight crew, said Captain Alan Stealey, Divisional Senior Vice President, Flight Operations, Emirates. The device’s innovative design and functionality proves to be the choice for our EFB (Electronic Flight Bag) initiative.

Pre-order and availability

Surface 3 and new accessories will be available for pre-order starting March 31 through microsoftstore.com, Microsoft stores and select partner retailers in the following markets: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Luxembourg, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States. Commercial customers should contact their authorized reseller for pre-order information.

Starting May 5 through those same retailers and resellers, customers can begin purchasing Surface 3, Surface 3 Type Cover, Surface Pen, Surface 3 Docking Station and Surface 3 Screen Protector, with availability in all 26 markets by May 7. Microsoft will have more to share on Surface 3 (4G LTE) availability in the coming months.

Technical specs

[1] Upgradable to Windows 8.1 Pro immediately and Windows 10 once available

[2] System software uses significant storage space. Available storage is subject to change based on system software updates and apps usage. 1 GB = 1 billion bytes. See http://www.microsoft.com/surface/storage for more details.

[3] Testing conducted by Microsoft in March 2015 using 128GB and 64GB units with 4 GB of RAM. Testing consisted of full battery discharge during video playback. All settings were default except Wi-Fi was associated with a network and Auto-Brightness was disabled. Battery life varies significantly with settings, usage and other factors.

[4] Available on Surface 3 with Windows 8.1 purchased prior to Dec. 31, 2015. While supplies last. Office activation required within six months of Windows activation date.

[5] Available on Surface 3 with Windows 8.1 purchased prior to Dec. 31, 2015. While supplies last. Office activation required within six months of Windows activation date.

More information on Surface can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/surface.