Rewarding loyal customers?

This is a the latest little conundrum to set me thinking. If you are  loyal Windows customer you might be considering buying a Windows 8 tablet. And very nice they are too.

But here's issue number one. Many of them are advertised as 'including Microsoft Office'. Which, in a way they do. What you may not realise is that what you're actually getting is a 1 year subscription to 'Office 365' - Microsoft's pay-as-you-go licensing model. After your year is up, you will have to pay (£50 - £150 depending on the scheme) every year to keep using the software. Didn't realise that? Caveat Emptor my friends!

So, here is conundrum number two. If you by a non-Windows tablet (say, for instance, one based on Android) then Microsoft Office is a free download. But there's a sting in this tale too. Firstly they've made it a pain to install on a Tablet (SmartPhones are easy). Secondly, you can't edit documents unless you have an Office 365 account: something that isn't that well advertised. Arguably tablets & phones aren't for creating content, only viewing. But I can't shake the feeling that all this 'sale by stealth' highlights the fact that Microsoft's subscription licensing model isn't proving all that popular...