The tablet PC market is a big one, and as far as operating systems go, you would be forgiven for thinking that there are really only two options: Android and iOS.

Windows RT is a distant third, and I think that really affected Microsoft tablet sales, with its limited offer of Windows Store applications. Microsoft Surface 3 is the company’s bid to change all that by running the full Windows 8.1 OS, and it goes on sale on May the 5th.

Compared to the Surface Pro 3, the Surface 3 is lighter, weighing only 1.37 pounds, thinner at 8.7 mm, has a smaller yet brighter 10.2 inch screen with 430 nits of brightness, and costs 499$, as opposed to the Surface Pro 3’s 799$ price tag.

It keeps the price down by using the new quad core 1.6GHz Atom x7 Cherry Trail processor, which is a hybrid chip for both laptops and tablets. Microsoft, however, boast that the Surface 3 battery should last a very impressive 10 hours.

Microsoft Surface 3‘s real selling point is, like I mentioned earlier, the fact that it will run Windows 8.1, unlike the previous models’ Windows RT, which was designed for tablet PCs which used 32-bit ARM architecture. Running the full Windows 8.1 OS means that Surface 3 will not have any of the software compatibility limitations associated with RT, and you will get to upgrade to Windows 10 for free, once it is released.

It comes with 64 GB of internal storage and 2 GB of RAM, but for an extra 100$ you can get LTE support or 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB internal storage. For 699$ you can get both LTE support and the extra RAM and internal storage.

Some other interesting things to mention about Surface 3’s hardware are the 8 MP rear-facing camera and 3.5 MP front camera, and a great selection of ports, including a full-size USB 3.0, a microSD card reader, a microUSB charging port that doubles as a USB 2.0 for data, a Mini DisplayPort, and a headphone jack.

Although sales start on May 5th, pre-sales have already started since yesterday, and testing in stores has begun today.

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