Surface Pro 3 Jumps Into 25 More Countries

It's August 28 and Microsoft is finally giving the go signal. Its latest high-end Surface Pro 3 hybrid tablet can can now be purchased in 25 more countries, starting with New Zealand in the farthest East, bringing the total supported markets to 28. In addition, the Docking Station will also be up for pre-orders on those same territories.

The Surface Pro 3 is Microsoft's latest attempt to make and sell its own Windows 8-powered tablet, addressed at a rather niche market that wants to have a mobile tablet and a regular laptop without having to carry two separate devices. After a few iterations, it might have finally gotten it right as our review of the Core i5 version revealed. There are three versions available of varying configurations, mostly just differing in the processor, which range from Core i3 to i5 to i7.

That last variant, though the most potent of the three, might also be the most problematic. There have been user reports of noisy fans and sudden restarts that are being attributed to overheating. Microsoft has released a statement clarifying the issue, identifying it simply as a software issue that leads to a false positive. The sudden restarts and incorrect thermometer gauge indicator will be fixed in a coming update. On the other hand, Microsoft says that the noisy fans will always be a fact of life, given that the Core i7 model requires more cooling than the others.

The complete list of markets where the Surface Pro 3 can be purchased are as follows: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, 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, the United Kingdom and the United States. In addition, the Docking Station, which became available in the US and Canada two weeks ago, can now also be pre-ordered in those same countries.

SOURCE: Microsoft