Marlin, while I understand where you're coming from, you have to consider that hardware and software do not have objective cash values, and the old maxim of "everything is worth what its purchaser will pay for it" is pretty much the law here, and this does not work in Microsoft's favour.
For an average user looking to buy a tablet, they see 64 gb space and even good reasons for only having 2/3 of that free out the gate don't really count - it's misleading advertising, and most people don't care about a host of drivers that make their device that much more functional. Plastic VS Magnesium VS Aluminum - heck, I don't even know what the advantage of magnesium VS aluminum is and I quite enjoy tech, so I wonder what chance the average user has of knowing when they walk into a store for a purchase? If you consider other factors like the three years of collecting iTunes songs that the potential purchaser might have under their belt and that using having no idea what Zune or Microsoft music is, having never even considered the value of multi monitor support, and a whole host of other things... Well, in pure hardware, I actually felt the RT was a better buy than an iPad - even considering the lower resolution screen - but I'm not fool enough to think that your average user agrees with me. All they see is "well, it's not an iPad, which is what everyone I know has and likes, it doesn't have as many apps which is what I've been told by years of marketing is important, and what the heck do I need a USB port on there for? Isn't that a computer thing, not a tablet thing?"
Everything is worth what the purchaser will pay for it, and the Surface RT name isn't worth a hill of beans, nor are features that the average user has no idea are worth having. What's more, when you actually try and value things on an objective value scale, I as a (depending on your definition) power user feel that full Windows 8 tablets are a *far* better value than Windows RT tablets. Heck, I would have saved under $100 getting a Surface RT compared to the Acer Iconia W700 I'm using now, when you factor in the type cover and other things, and this thing is *way* more functional than an RT tablet.