For a long time, expressing admiration for one of Microsoft Corp.’s Windows RT tablets, the original Surface RT or its sequel, the Surface 2, was like saying how much you enjoy paying income taxes: You don’t. The tablets were well-built and incorporated some great ideas, such as an innovative keyboard cover, but because they ran on Windows RT, a stunted version of Windows that never attracted many software developers, they suffered from a very limited selection of apps.
With the new Surface 3, however, Microsoft changes all that. By ditching Windows RT and enabling full Windows 8.1 compatibility, Microsoft has built arguably the strongest iPad competitor on the market. (Both tablets start at $499 but require spending a couple hundred dollars more before they are work-friendly.) Indeed, in the three weeks I used the Surface 3, I barely touched my iPad.
