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And was based on completely different technology and served a different purpose.

Yeah, I feel that Microsoft is bastardizing or abandoning everything that Microsoft Surface (the table computer) was supposed to be by repurposing its name into Microsoft Surface (the tablet computer) just to compete with iPad.

It's an already vetted name that is pretty good for a tablet. Might as well reuse it since no one outside the tech community even knows what a Surface is.

Edit: And the old Surface is now "Samsung SUR40 with Microsoft Pixelsense"

The previous MS Surface never became mainstream, or reached mass market. Therefore it doesn't matter.

IMO calling it "surface" instead of "tablet" is brilliant. It distinguishes it from tablets and conveys "touch".

Can I get android on it?

Not without signing your boot image, AFAIK. Microsoft had a program for allowing companies to sign UEFI boot images, but I'm not sure that will extend to ARM machines.