Microsoft is trying to make devices that run Windows easier to sell by making significant cuts to the license price.

Stronger competition from Apple Inc. and Google cut revenue last quarter at Microsoft’s devices and consumer licensing division, which includes Windows software, as the computer industry posted its biggest annual decline on record. By offering incentives for PC makers to sell cheaper models, Microsoft may be able to increase its share of the growing $80 billion tablet market and stave off Chromebooks, notebooks that run Google’s operating system.

This is a slippery slope. Windows is in a race to the bottom and that’s no place for innovation. Time will tell if this strategy will help grow their mobile market share. Personally, I’m skeptical. Make your products more compelling, not cheaper.