It"s been over two years since Microsoft originally announced the Surface 3. The tablet was released with Windows 8.1, but was eligible for an upgrade to Windows 10, and towards the end of its sales life, it came with the newer version of the OS pre-installed.
Microsoft ended production of the Surface 3 last year, and removed the device from its online store in the United States in January. It hasn"t yet announced a direct replacement for the Surface 3, making the entry-level Surface Pro 4 - priced at $799 - the most affordable new Windows 10 device in its range.
If you want to purchase a Surface device from Microsoft, but your budget doesn"t stretch that far, you can still do so - although it won"t be brand new. Microsoft is selling Certified Refurbished models of its Surface 3, including a one-year limited hardware warranty.
Microsoft isn"t offering the 4G LTE models, though - and while the entry-level Wi-Fi variant with 2GB RAM and 64GB of storage is listed on the Store, it"s currently out of stock. The only model available to purchase is the 4GB RAM / 128GB SSD / Wi-Fi version, priced at $369; that model was originally priced at $599 when it was sold new.
That"s a significant savings compared with its earlier price, but it"s worth bearing in mind that the Surface 3 is still a two-year-old device, and you"ll still have to purchase the Type Cover keyboard and Surface Pen separately.
If you"re looking for a low-cost tablet, you might want to consider newer alternatives from other manufacturers; the ASUS Transformer Mini, for example, is available from $249, and while its display is lower-resolution than that of the Surface 3, it comes with a keyboard, stylus, and Windows Hello fingerprint sensor at no additional cost.
Source: Microsoft Store