As expected, Microsoft's Surface Pro 3 is now available in Microsoft's store and through various retail partners such as Best Buy(s bbuy), Staples(s spls) and Tiger Direct. Microsoft(s msft) previously said the Surface Pro 3 with either a Core i3 or i7 chip would be available by the end of August, but in a blog post on Friday, it announced that the different editions would appear on August 1 in the U.S. and Canada.
Photo by Microsoft
Outside of those two countries, there's a bit of a wait. Microsoft says that by the end of August, Surface Pro 3 will arrive with choice of chip in "Australia, Austria, Belgium, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Kingdom."
The unique laptop/tablet hybrid also works with an optional docking station, shown off at the product's launch in May. For the U.S. and Canada, docking station pre-orders begin today, with shipments expected to start on August 15.
Should you buy a Surface Pro 3? I'll shed some light on that question later today with a full review of the Core i5 model. I've been using a review unit for the past several weeks, so check back to see how the product has worked out for me. Meanwhile, you can get an idea of Microsoft's thought process on the Surface Pro 3 design directly from Panos Panay, corporate vice president for Surface Computing at Microsoft.
