That is exactly my point.  Clearly MSFT thinks their sole competition in the tablet market is the iPad, yet the price MSFT would be able to come to the market with is more in line with the lower end of the market.  What does the tablet you posted have the MSFT Surface tablet will not, other than the "winky blinkies:?  Not much for what is likely a much lower cost.

 

The other issue is simply just what is the market for a tablet?  I personally believe the tablet is mostly a product in search of a market.  In the end it will be a niche product.  I have seen some announced adoptions of tablets for education and enterprise use, quietly drop away as implementation of their use did not pan out as expected.   I have heard from friends and others all over the world tell me they bought a tablet of some sort, or they bought one for one of their children, parents, wife, whatever, and after a couple of weeks the table was on the shelf.  I suspect the netbook would have better filled the lower end tablet market, in most cases, the the higher end would be better filled by an ultrabook, notebook.  I can see uses for tablets in hospitals, some limited education setting, and limited business uses, such as in banking, but not as a replacement for a good desktop or  laptop.  At best tablets were and are, an adjunct to a PC, not a replacement for a desktop or laptop.  A so-called smart phone can pretty much to everything a tablet can, plus some.  To return to my original point, just what is the real market for a tablet?

 

As to the MSFT Surface, it will make a lovely drink tray.