This new surface starts at $799 which puts it clearly in thee mid-range notebook market where there are plenty of compelling alternative laptops, many of which

This new surface starts at $799 which puts it clearly in thee mid-range notebook market where there are plenty of compelling alternative laptops, many of which sport clearly superior hardware. Bump it up to an i5 or i7 and I'm sure the price will be north of $1K. The premium paid here is the form factor and it's related features so the comparison to traditional laptops isn't valid (even if MS is making it). Maybe if you're cross shopping svelte, premium laptops the Surface 3 would be an option, but not for someone looking for a $400 i3 Windows laptop.