[Off topic - As for MS not being innovative lets look at tablet pc's in general shall we. MS introduced the Tablet PC way back in 2002 (it flopped), then along comes Apple 8 years later with the iPad and the world pisses itself with how innovative this idea was. MS introduced the Surface late last year and people claim they copied Apple. I'm sure there were also other companies who had tablets before MS and Apple, but Apple was only innovative in that they made the tablet pc much easier to use for the common man/woman and their marketing worked. Businesses have been using tablets longer than Apple has had them around. Heck if you want to really look at the concept of a tablet style pc look at the original Star Trek series, ST TNG, DS9, Voyager, they all had a tablet style pc. All companies have really done is take that concept and make them a reality. In the end who really copied who?]
I don't think Apple was successful just because they somehow has "improved" tablet PC and "made it easier" to use. In my opinion, Apple was successful, only because they were riding on the success of the iPhone, which itself was riding on the success of iPod that gave them a huge target market to begin with. It was a series of well-timed product release, which combined the advancement in technology, more affordable prices and existing customer base.
Meanwhile, Microsoft and others in the past were selling their tablets to the "professional" market. The prices were high, and the technology at that time was not really that great yet. Take a look at the movie "Under Siege 2", where Steven Seagal was using Apple Newton, a devices which would evolve into PDA and smartphone later. Look at the screen resolution and its apparent functionality, do you think many people want to buy that if it was $499? Apple Newton was actually sold at $700.