Microsoft took the wraps off its latest Surface Pro 3 tablet and the device went up for pre-order, but most models will not ship until the end of August.
When Microsoft's Panos Panay announced that the new Surface Pro 3 would become available for preorder at midnight on Wednesday, May 22, the general belief was that the tablet would also be shipping soon after that. As it turns out, that's not the case at all - Surface 3 pre-order customers are still in for quite a long wait.
The Surface Pro 3 pre-order page on Microsoft's website shows that most models of the new tablet will start shipping on Aug. 31. The only models that will ship earlier are the mid-range ones packing an Intel Core i5 processor, which will arrive in one month.
As a reminder, the new Microsoft Surface Pro 3 made its official debut on Tuesday, May 20, arriving in several configurations at various price points.
The basic model with a Core i3 processor, 64GB of internal storage capacity, and 4GB of RAM starts at $799; the mid-range model with an Intel core i5 processor, 128GB of internal storage capacity, and 4G of RAM costs $999, while a larger capacity version with 256GB of storage goes up to $1,299. The higher-end models with an Intel Core i7 processor cost $1,549 for 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM, and $1,949 for 512GB of storage and 8GB of RAM.
According to Microsoft's website, the Core i3 and Core i7 models will not ship until Aug. 31, while the Core i5 versions will ship on June 20.
When it comes to other specifications, Microsoft didn't give full details on every aspect, but did reveal that the Surface Pro 3 will have 5-megapixel cameras both on the front and on the rear of the device, which should notably improve the quality of Skype video chats. The tablet will feature Wi-Fi 802.11ac, but will also allow users to connect via standard, wired Gigabit Ethernet.
The new Surface Pro 3 tablet will also be available with a new docking station, but Microsoft has yet to announce pricing details for this accessory.
