By Staff Writer (media@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Mar 31, 2015 11:25 PM EDT

The release of the Surface 3 appeared to be a partial fulfillment of those Surface tablet rumors.

On Tuesday, Microsoft announced the Surface 3, touted by observers as the successor of the Surface 2. Although there was much anticipation for the release of the Surface Pro 4, the budget tablet-laptop hybrid was still welcome news to fans and pundits alike. It has been even compared to the iPad Air 2, with some saying that its release could make the iPad "an even harder sell," as Business Insider put it, especially with its relatively wallet-friendly $499 starting price.

"It comes with 64GB of storage and 2GB of RAM to start, but the most important distinction between this product and past Surface tablets is its operating system: This computer runs the full version of Windows, including desktop applications, and also comes with a one-year subscription to Office 365, Microsoft's suite of productivity applications," the news source pointed out. "This will make the Surface very business- and enterprise-friendly right out of the box."

The sire went on to compare the product with the $500 iPad Air 2, which only has 16GB storage and the inability to "run desktop apps from Mac."

"The Surface 3 also has a larger display than the iPad (10.8 vs. 9.7 inches), has a better front-facing camera (3.5 megapixels vs. 1.2 in the iPad) and it takes 1080p video; the iPad still only records in 720pHD," Business Insider added. The main camera is 8 MP.

Meanwhile, Mashable noted that the Surface 3 is "the first non-Pro tablet to run an Intel CPU" and, at 1.37 lbs., is the lightest tablet to roll out of Microsoft's doors. It's also the thinnest, at .34 inches in thickness.

"Under the hood is a fanless design with Intel's just announced quad core Atom X7 CPU, which includes the peppier Broadwell GPU," the tech news site went on to say. "The Intel Atom chip can burst up to 2.4GHz."

The new tablet is the first in the Surface line to be 4G LTE-ready. It also promises 10 hours worth of battery life.

To those hoping that the Type Cover is included in the tablet's purchase, prepare to be disappointed. You'll still need to shell out $129 for this necessary add on, which means you'll end up paying at least $628 for that laptop replacement feature. If you want the Surface Pen, that will cost you an additional $49. However, the fact that Office 365 is free for one year should be consoling for buyers.

The Surface 3 will be in stores May 5.

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