Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) took to the stage this week to unveil its latest and greatest Surface tablet, the Surface Pro 3. The full-featured device runs Windows 8.1 Pro and is powered by an Intel processor. That also means that the Surface Pro 3 can run all legacy applications.
During the presentation, Microsoft primarily compared it to other laptops such as Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) MacBook Air instead of stacking it up against competing tablets. That shows that Microsoft wants to position the Surface Pro 3 more against laptops than tablets, even though it will inevitably compete with both form factors.
Despite expectations, Microsoft did not unveil a Surface Mini to target the smaller tablet market. That makes strategic sense since the high-end enterprise market is already Microsoft's bread and butter, while the low-end consumer market is not. The company reportedly decided to play it conservatively because management did not think the Surface Mini would be differentiated enough to be successful.
In this segment of Tech Teardown, Erin Kennedy discusses Surface Pro 3 with Evan Niu, CFA, our tech and telecom bureau chief.
Erin Kennedy owns shares of Apple. Evan Niu, CFA owns shares of Apple. Evan Niu, CFA has the following options: long January 2015 $460 calls on Apple and short January 2015 $480 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool recommends Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple and Microsoft. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
