Just my 2 cents (don't shoot at me
On the "perfomance discussions: real & percieved performance depends on the HW+OS tandem, not only on one of those 2 elements --> debating on ARM versus x86 is useless without taking the OS into account... My Windows 7 laptop (on x86 2GHz dual-core 32 bits) uses 1.4Gb of RAM just to run the OS, the Anti-virus SW and IE9 with one web site opened. It runs OK but is not top-notch performance; I would rate it "average". My iPad2 has only 1Gb of RAM and runs a 1Ghz processor; when tested side-by-side it opens web site at the same speed (and my ADSL line is not the bottleneck as it is a 10Mbps downstream).
About "people wants stuff that just works": I tend to deeply agree with that statement, at least for 95% of the buyers in the world (--> all except ourselves, Tom's readers
. My wife and friends DO NOT WANT to spend time configure, 'root', 'jailbreak' or even 'install' their devices. Like for a car, they want something you put your key in, you start and you drive. That's all. And like the car they want something that looks cool, have a choice in color, and have good enough performance to go on the road... In that area both iOS and MS are quite good, Android has still a way to go...
About 'eco-system': that where lies the biggest challenge for MS-Intel: they have no (or almost no) content and AppStore, no Music Store, no Book Store, ... and this is where Apple is making a lot of money (about 25% of all what people buy is going to Apple pockets). This is also a big incentive for people looking for a "it just works" solution. Going to a new eco-system would mean you can't find (easily) all the content you want to buy (music, film, books, apps) because the eco-system is not mature enough. And it takes years to build that one. Apple started with music (iPods) years ago and that was a quick-starter for iPhones and then iPads. Microsoft just failed with Zune (less in US but completely in the rest of the world). Obviously they will use the Windows (and XBOX ?) application/game catalog as a quick-start for W8 tablets but that will require high-end HW --> see next point.
Basic characteristics: I don't see a lot stated around a few characteristics that people do LOVE when using tablets (iPad's and some Android): very fast 'boot time' (almost instant ON including WIFI connection) and very good battery life. So far I have no idea about what a W8 tablet able to run W32 software (--> x86 CPU + at least 2Gb or RAM) will provide. Today my W7 laptop wakes-up from a stand-by stage in about 12 seconds to get to the point where the WIFI is connected again; that's 10 times slower than a tablet...
Cost: somebody mentioned a 800$+ price tag for a real W8 tablet; here again I tend to agree (to benefit from the W32 SW catalof you will need x86 CPU at 1,5GHz+, 2Gb of RAM and - often forgotten - much more flash storage to store application: probably 64Gb would be a minimum).
My pronostic: W8 tablet will start to be a success in the professional world, not the consumer world; maybe a future W9 iteration will be more acceptable on the consumer side thanks to HW improvements overtime...
Again: those are just my 2 cents!