Faced with disappointing sales, Microsoft has reportedly slashed the price of its heavily promoted Surface RT by $150, bringing the price of the 32 gigabyte 10.6 inch screen model down to $349, far below that of a comparably equipped iPad, and only $20 more than a 16 gigabyte, 7.9 inch iPad Mini.

The Surface was introduced last fall to considerable hype and a multimillion dollar advertising campaign, but reportedly sold fewer than a million units in the first quarter of this year for a tiny 1.8 percent share of the estimated 49.2 million unit tablet market.

The Surface RT received fairly decent reviews, and was competitively priced even before price-cut. So what explains the tablet's struggles? Lack of available apps has surely been a big part of the problem—it's a chicken-egg thing not even mighty Microsoft could instantly overcome. But I insist that the product's name doesn't help.