>That's only part of the reason. I keep coming back to what I said earlier. People don't buy tablets. They buy iPads. Microsoft has to convince people to buy a tablet. If MSFT leaves marketing primarily up to hardware vendors, as they seem to have done with the WinPhone, it won't take long for the press to declare Win8 Tablets will go the way of WebOS.
>
>>The reason iPad sales massively dominate is not the pricing. It's the iOS apps in the app store as well as the overall ecosystem (accessories, iTunes, etc).

People buy iPads because of the apps and ecosystem. When you say people buy iPads, not tablets, why do you think they are doing so, if not due to the far superior apps and ecosystem it includes?

I agree with you about the hardware vendor and marketing issues. Phone carriers prefer to promote Androids and even iPhones over Windows Phones. Many Win8 tablet makers will probably also sell Android tablets. Microsoft is at a disadvantage relying on hardware companies and partners to market and sell devices based on Microsoft software, especially when the same companies have Android devices as well.