Gadgetory

two years Microsoft isn't pushing the surface is a no compromise solution that scratches your laptop pitch and your tablet itchy Quilly but this year's surface pro 3 brought a change Microsoft is directly challenging the nearly ubiquitous 13-inch MacBook Air during its keynote today the company took pot shot after pot shot at the popular laptop going so far as leave a scale onstage showing just how much lighter the surface pro 3 is but how do these 2 devices actually compare well to start one is a Mac and the other is a PC but if you can set aside your software preferences and just look at the hardware the comparison gets much more interesting the MacBook Air is almost universally considered the best all-around laptop on the market it's a thin light powerful workhorse that gets super long battery life and it's pretty fast it's also well a laptop meaning it works really well on your lab the screen stays where you put it and the keyboard always feels sturdy the surface pro 3 is this amalgamation of a tablet and a PC it has a keyboard dock sure and has a kickstand this year Microsoft made a kickstand that uses friction to stay in place which means that it can go basically in any position you want and stay there Microsoft says that it has great lap ability which is their word not ours and basically the company wants you to feel comfortable using it on your lap it also did this clever thing with the keyboard cover adding extra magnets to make a sturdier connection oh that's great but unfortunately setting up the surface pro 3 is still a multi-step affair you pulled on the keyboard you kick out the hinge and you spend a bit of time fussing around is it way better than the last surface absolutely is it a laptop no not really it's a fairly big tablet and maybe not exactly something you'd want instead of an iPad air either but there's so much other stuff that's great about the surface it's getting harder and harder to complain about feeling a little awkward on your lap it's lighter than the MacBook Air it has a high resolution touchscreen and it even accepts pen input microsoft says it should have all-day battery life too frankly it's the best PC hardware I've seen since well the MacBook Air but which one should you get we're not quite ready to answer that yet and certainly not ready to restart the great windows versus Mac OS debate but we're intrigued and eager to give this brave new PC a shot you can expect a full review soon and yes we'll do our best to write it from our lab you