Microsoft Built A Surface Pro 3 Out Of Cardboard - And It (Sorta) Works

Microsoft built a replica of its Surface Pro 3 tablet out of cardboard - and its display actually works.

The Redmond, Washington company has been sending these cardboard Surface Pro 3's to several schools in Australia as part of a marketing campaign to push the company's latest tablet into more classrooms, as well as to celebrate the launch of the Surface Pro 3 in 25 countries, according to The Verge's Tom Warren.

Of course, the computer itself is extremely limited. A small lit part of the screen, which displays the specs of the tablet (in very low resolution, one might add), is powered by a MP4 player inside the cardboard.

The cardboard Surface Pro 3 also comes with a mini USB port, something the real Surface doesn't have, but that's only used to recharge the cardboard device's tiny display.

The video below comes from Dave Polette, a photographer based in western Australia, who initially shared the cardboard Surface Pro 3 with The Verge's Tom Warren on Twitter.

On a school-related note, Microsoft announced educational discounts for teachers and students earlier this month - all Surface Pro 3 tablets will receive discounts of at least $150 for those customers.