Solutions
Microsoft went into this in a rather unfocused manner. There are ways out of it, however.
1. Price- Lower the price. Not many people are going to buy a hobbled Surface Tablet to get a hobbled OS and hobbled office suite when they can get an iPad mini for less and be able to do more than with a Surface Tablet. Add the keyboard into that lower price too. But before lowering the price, it needs to be un-hobbled.
2. Un-hobble the device. un-hobble Windows RT and Office RT so that users can get the complete user experience. Add Outlook to it. Allow it to join Domains. Eliminate all of the ridiculous restrictions that hobble the device and make it an expensive hobbled option in comparison to the iPad and in particular, the iPad Mini. Microsoft can't compete with Apple by giving customers a more expensive, less useful tablet option. Customers need a reason to opt for the Surface over the iPad and iPad mini.
3. Give consumers solid reasons to get a Surface RT Tablet- Obviously, no one at Microsoft has asked themselves the question- "Why should I buy the Surface instead of an iPad or iPad mini"? You can get a Bluetooth keyboard for your iPad, so that nullifies the keyboard add-on as an advantage. While the iPad doesn't come with MS Office, there are alternatives that are usable enough to make a hobbled version of Office on the Surface, no advantage for Microsoft. The app Ecosystem for the iPad is it's biggest advantage and Microsoft's app catalog isn't providing anyone a good enough reason to switch to the Surface. Big the big advantage that Microsoft is missing out on is the BUSINESS USE scenarios.
4. Add business use scenarios- Make MS Office 100% usable and Microsoft creates the big advantage it could have over iOS and Android. Right now, iOS and Android have MS Office use advantages over the Surface and that simply should not be. The Surface RT Tablet should be able to join a Domain, make use of the file system to copy, paste, and transfer files and documents, and MS Office on the Surface should be fully and completely usable, so that business users have a reason to opt for a Surface Tablet over iPad and iPad mini. A docking system that ties the SURFACE RT to a desk with monitor and keyboard would be good for office use, and the keyboard attachment works well enough for offsite use. Microsoft used it business use advantages to keep Apple at bay in the office. They could do the same with the Surface RT, if it's un-crippled and allowed to be fully usable.
Maybe these are all the things that Sinofsky pushed for but could not get, and thus, he parted ways with Microsoft. It makes absolutely no sense for Microsoft to overprice an ARM based Tablet, hobble it intentionally to make it unusable for business or personal use (FLASH NOT WORKING? BIG FAIL), and then expect anyone to want to overpay for something less usable than an iPad. Worse, with the Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD, and iPad Mini, there are so many less expensive tablet options available that are far more usable than Surface, Microsoft hasn't really given anyone reasons to buy them. Their daft ad campaign hasn't helped at all. The ad campaigns scream (UNUSABLE). I can do more with my iPad 2 than I could with a Surface and the iPad 2 came out in 2010. That's just embarrassing for Microsoft.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
