By promoting the Surface Pro 3 as a MacBook Air replacement the company is elevating it above tablet status. The real benefit of the promotion is more psychological. Microsoft is unlikely to lure in die-hard Mac users. This promotion is unlikely to entice a lot of MacBook users to make the trade, but that's likely not the point. Whether it will work is a big question - no matter how great the Surface Pro 3 is, it's hard to imagine it will have the same perceived value as a MacBook Air. The same can be said to a lesser extent of using the device as a replacement for the pairing of a Windows laptop and an iPad or Android tablet. If Surface can replace both an entry-level iPad, which costs $599, and an entry-level Macbook at $899, then it could actually be perceived as a bargain.
In launching the Surface Pro 3 the company is clearly targeting a broader swatch of the market. That's a niche audience and initial sales for Surface reflected that - Gartner reported that Microsoft ended 2013 with 4.1 million Surfaces sold, representing 2.1% of the tablet market. Apple sold over 70 million iPads in 2013 for a 36% market share while tablets running Google's ( GOOG -1.78%) Android accounted for nearly 70% of the market with 121 million sold. That marketing strategy positioned Surface as a reasonable alternative to an iPad for people who felt they needed Windows. The full Windows version started at less than a MacBook Air but more than some similarly sleek Windows laptops. That made the model of the device running Windows RT - the stripped-down version of the operating system that does not run regular Windows software - an iPad alternative sold at a similar price to the well-established Apple device. Microsoft was unclear in its early marketing, but the idea of replacing a laptop with the hybrid tablet was not mentioned. When the original Surface was introduced, most saw it as a tablet with some laptop-like functionality.
Surface Pro 3 is a tablet and a laptop: multiple processor, RAM and storage options intersect with a sleek design that, with a simple snap or click, transform the device from a perfectly balanced tablet to a full-functioning laptop and back again - all in a beautiful package that is 30% thinner than an 11-inch MacBook Air. In its May launch of the Surface Pro 3, Microsoft left no doubt that it saw the device as a way for people to ditch multiple Apple devices. Now, Microsoft is taking further aim at its rival, offering up to $650 toward buying its Windows 8.1 tablet/laptop hybrid for anyone who trades in a MacBook Air. When Microsoft ( MSFT -1.48%) introduced the Surface Pro 3, the company specifically pushed it as an alternative to both Apple's ( AAPL -1.39%) MacBook Air and iPad.
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