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If Microsoft was serious about ditching OEMs on device sales then surface and surface pro would have been priced at $300 and $600 respectively and would have been shipped with touch cover. They have enough cash to subsidize them. It is not about bypassing the OEMs. Surface devices are Microsoft's attempt to set a standard on Windows 8 devices. It is a signal to OEMs that they must think twice before installing a crapware that hampers usability.

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I don't think subsidizing the surface to get volume would be a winning move either.

Selling heavily discounted surface tablets today would alienate and possibly kill their OEMs and set forward price expectations that would preclude future profitability.

Microsoft needs to establish a position for themselves that is profitable, otherwise they're burning their bridges behind them AND in front of them. It's hard to see whether Surface is going to succeed -- the reviews thus far are at best equivocal.

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