Microsoft trims $200 off a Surface Pro 3 tablet, but only for one day
You'll have to hurry if you want the tablet. The sale is good only for Tuesday, August 18.
Microsoft has again lowered the price of one of its Surface Pro 3 tablets.
In a sale good only for today, August 18, Microsoft has reduced the price of its i5 128GB Surface Pro 3 by $200 to $799 from $999. Powered by a 1.9GHz Intel Core i5 processor, this particular Surface Pro 3 model offers 128 gigabytes of onboard storage and 4GB of memory. So it lies around the middle of Microsoft's Surface Pro 3 lineup in terms of power and storage.
Available in Microsoft retail stores in the US and Puerto Rico and the company's online store, the price is good only while supplies last. There's also a limit of three per customer, which isn't a bad deal if you want to dole out a couple as presents.
Microsoft has been promoting the Surface Pro 3 as a viable alternative to a traditional laptop, such as Apple's MacBook Air. The Surface Pro 3 offers a 12-inch screen with 2,160x1,440 pixels and is powered by an Intel Core chip, so it packs in the screen size and processor power found on many laptops. All Surface models come as standard tablets but can be used as laptops via the Touch Cover or Type Cover keyboards. To better compete against rival tablets as well as laptops, Microsoft has been keen to push the Surface Pro 3 by offering periodic discounts and trade-in deals since last year.
In May, the software giant cut the price of its 1.9GHz Intel Core i5 model with 256 gigabytes of storage and 8GB of RAM by $150. And the latest sale, which started August 4 and runs until August 29, applies the same $150 discount to that same model as well as the 1.7GHz Intel Core i7 model with 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM and the 1.7GHz Intel Core i7 model with 512GB of storage and 8GB of RAM.
For tablet buyers who want a more budget-friendly but lower-end Surface, Microsoft offers the Surface 3. Starting at $499, the Surface 3 comes with a 10.8-inch screen with 1,920x1,280 pixels and is powered by an Intel Atom processor. Microsoft is expected to roll out the Surface Pro 4 this year, likely equipped with Windows 10. The Surface Pro 4 could launch in October if a series of recent tweets by The Verge's Tom Warren are on the money.