Right alongside the new Surface Pro 3($274.00 at Amazon), Microsoft has introduced a new version of the Surface Pro Type Cover. Part protective screen cover, part keyboard and mouse, the Microsoft Surface Pro Type Cover ($129.99) provides a very laptop-like experience for the new tablet and offers a level of productive capability that most tablets can't match.

Design and Features
Previous-generation Surface tablets had two keyboard covers to choose from: the colorful Microsoft Touch Cover and the sturdy, but more capable Microsoft Type Cover. This time around, Microsoft has ditched the touch-sensitive Touch Cover, combining its selection of bright colors with the greater functionality of the original Type Cover. In many respects, the Surface Pro Type Cover($129.99 at Microsoft Store) retains the best aspects of its predecessors, with backlit physical keys, an integrated trackpad, and function keys preset to call up Windows 8 functions for faster navigation of the interface.

Despite the similarities, however, there have been updates. For starters, there's the addition of a narrow, magnetic flap running next to the docking connector on the keyboard. The flap folds up, attaching magnetically to the front of the tablet, setting the keyboard at an angle. The slight incline makes the typing experience much more comfortable than the flat-to-the-table design of the old one. The trackpad has also been improved, with a larger 1.73-by-3.48-inch sensor, a clickable surface, and a slick, low-friction finish that is better than the felt-like material used in the past. The final significant design change is found on the right edge of the keyboard, where there's a loop for stowing the tablet's new digital Surface Pen.

Measuring 8.6 by 11.6 by 0.19 inches (HWD), the Surface Pro Type Cover is larger overall than the previous Type Cover, which measures 7 by 11 by 0.22 inches. The larger size is due to the new tablet's larger, 12-inch display and broader 3:2 display aspect ratio, but the effect on typing comfort is pronounced. The larger keyboard offers more room for hands to roam, and allows ever-so-slightly larger keys, measuring 0.72 inch square instead of the 0.7 inch square of the older Type Cover. The 0.3-inch difference in the cover thickness sounds negligible, and for the most part it is, except when folded closed as a cover for the display, where it allows for a slightly slimmer profile overall.

While the dimensions are different, the connector is the same, and you can, technically, use the new Type Cover to type on an older Surface tablet in a pinch, or use the older Type Cover (or Touch Cover, for that matter) to type on the new Surface Pro 3. But the size differences still mean that the sensors on the old covers and new Surface Pro and those on the new Type Cover and old Surface tablets don't line up, so you'll want to purchase the cover that is made for your model of Surface tablet.

The bright colors are nearly identical, with the cyan blue Type Cover matching the old Touch Cover with only the slightest variation in shade. The Type Cover is also available in black, red, purple, or light blue (a Best Buy-exclusive). In past iterations, the Type cover was only available in black. 

Performance and Pricing
The Surface Pro Type Cover improves upon the previous version in many ways, but it isn't problem-free. For example, the new angled keyboard position is more comfortable to use, but it actually adds a new, distracting element to the typing experience. The keyboard backing is slightly more rigid that on that on the previous Type Cover, all the better for typing on your lap or another unstable surface. But because the cover itself is thinner, you get a hollow feel whenever you type with the Surface Pro Type Cover raised up off the tabletop. Place the cover flat, and the insubstantial feeling disappears, but so does the comfortable sloping angle. It's a tradeoff either way, because there's simply no getting around the fact that this isn't a standard keyboard.

The typing experience is still one of the best we've seen on this sort of keyboard cover—the typing action, with real, physical keys that move, is substantially better than the capacitive sensors used on the Surface Touch Cover. But with only 0.19-inch thickness to work with, it has limitations. The larger proportions of the Surface Pro Type Cover means that there is more room to type, and the keys are slightly larger. The square keys still have no real spacing between them, so if you're used to a larger, chiclet-style keyboard, which separates every key, the new Type Cover may still feel cramped.

The biggest drawback is price; at $129.99, it isn't cheap, but it is practically a necessity for the Surface Pro 3. While the tablet does support touch and pen input, some mouse functions in apps have no equivalent touch function, as I found while using the baked-in Internet Explorer to browse the Web. Without the Surface Pro Type Cover, you'll be stuck trying to use a separate keyboard and mouse, requiring either a Bluetooth-connected keyboard, like the Microsoft Wedge Mobile Keyboard, or juggling between two devices with the tablet's single USB port.

Conclusion
If you're getting a Surface Pro 3, then do yourself a favor and get the Microsoft Surface Pro Type Cover. It has its share of problems, but you'll find that it adds a significant amount of productive capability to the tablet, and is necessary to make it a viable PC. The price, on the other hand, is a serious sticking point, costing quite a bit more than comparable keyboard covers for the iPad. Unlike an iPad cover case, such as the Editors' Choice Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard mini($15.09 at Amazon), the Surface Pro Type Cover is essential to getting full functionality from the Surface Pro 3, and arguably should be bundled with the tablet instead of requiring an additional purchase.

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