Surface 3 pre-orders start shipping; Microsoft buys the tech behind the slate's digital pen

Notifications have gone out to some of those who pre-ordered the Microsoft Surface 3, giving them the exciting news that their new slate has been shipped. The tablet was officially announced on March 31st and pre-orders were accepted starting that very day. At the time that the Surface 3 was introduced, Microsoft said that the tablet would launch on May 5th and would be available in 26 markets by May 7th.

The Surface 3 features a 10.8-inch screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1280. Driving the tablet is a quad-core 1.6GHz Intel Atom x7 processor with 10 hours of battery life. The tablet starts at $499 and accessories include the Surface Type Cover that turns the slate into a laptop, and a digital pen. The pen used for the Surface 3 is the same one offered to Surface Pro 3 users.

Speaking of the digital Surface Pen, Microsoft has purchased the patents and technology for the device from N-trig Ltd. for $30 million. As part of the transaction, some employees from N-trig will be joining Microsoft Israel.



source: Microsoft, WSJ, WindowsCentral