30 Days with Surface Pro 3

30 Days with Surface Pro 3: Day 1

OK. I still want to be Morgan Spurlock when I grow up. I love his style of investigative journalism through immersion—actually experiencing and participating instead of just reporting.

For now, I will continue to do my version of immersive journalism by kicking off a new 30 Days series. The last 30 Days series I completed was 30 Days with Surface Pro in early 2013. Two versions later, I am revisiting that series now by kicking off 30 Days with Surface Pro 3.

One thing I have challenged since the original Surface Pro hit the street is the idea that it’s a tablet—or that it competes with tablets like the Apple iPad, or the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro. It is a fact that the Surface Pro devices are a tablet form factor, and there are certainly ways that the Surface Pro line competes against traditional tablets. The difference is that those devices are just tablets, while the Surface Pro is a tablet and so much more.

When Microsoft revealed the Surface Pro 3, it also announced a new tagline that shows that Microsoft has now caught up with me on that point: “The tablet that can replace your laptop.”

As far as I was concerned, the Surface Pro 2 already qualified as the tablet that can replace your laptop…or your desktop. It has the same Intel Core processors, RAM, and storage. It runs the same Windows operating system. It can run all of the same software as a Windows desktop or laptop. The challenge from a marketing perspective is to break free from the idea that the Surface Pro is a tablet that can also run Windows, and instead frame it as a full Windows PC that can also function as a tablet.

The Surface Pro 2 was a solid device, perfectly capable of filling the shoes of a traditional Windows desktop or laptop PC. The Surface Pro 3, however, is a significant improvement in many ways. Microsoft tweaked some things that I had issues with on the Surface Pro 2, and also improved it in ways I hadn’t even realized needed improving.

Join me as I immerse myself in the Surface Pro 3 experience, and share with you 30 days…well, 29 more after this…of intimate detail about “The tablet that can replace your laptop.” I will explore the Surface Pro 3 in much the same way I analyzed the original Surface Pro in the 30 Days with Surface Pro series, but I will also change things up some to address new features and capabilities unique to the Surface Pro 3.

This is also a bit of a group effort. If you have used a Surface Pro 3–or even one of the other Surface Pro models–and there are certain things you love or hate about it, please comment and share your thoughts. If you have questions or concerns about the Surface Pro 3, or there are specific things you’re hoping I will explore in more detail, comment below and let me know. Your participation will make this 30 Days series more valuable for all of us.

Let the games begin!

A complete list of all the posts from the 30 Days with Surface Pro 3 series:

Day 1: 30 Days with Surface Pro 3
Day 2: Look and feel
Day 3: Logging in to Windows 8.1
Day 4: Navigating Windows
Day 5: Surface Pro 3 as a PC
Day 6: Surface Pro 3 as a tablet
Day 7: Finding what you need in the Windows Store
Day 8: How to install software on a Surface Pro 3
Day 9: Shifting gears to Windows 10
Day 10: Setting up the Start menu / screen
Day 11: Longer battery life
Day 12: Loving the new Type cover
Day 13: Managing limited storage capacity