> At this point a tablet is as generic a shape as a laptop is.
Yes it is. Yet countless laptops models throughout the year have shown quite a possibility of variation. Countless touch smartphones from the advent of the iPhone have shown the same for phones too. An Xperia Arc, a Nexus S or a Lumia 800 are very distinct from an iPhone. Even in the tablet space, look at the Xoom, or the Sony S, or the Asus EeePad and EeeSlate, they all are looking significantly different from the iPad. They have an identity of their own. Now you can't honestly tell me that the two tablets shot in the article are not looking strikingly similar (barring for the aspect ratio and the home button position). Even a (theoretically thinned) HP Slate whose exterior design is very close to an iPad has at least rounded corners with a markedly different radius and a slightly wider metal band circling around from full-front, giving it a more robust appearance and a distinct identity.
I concur, there are indeed some constraints that impose a number of choices to the design of a tablet, but there is still some variability available.
Yes it is. Yet countless laptops models throughout the year have shown quite a possibility of variation. Countless touch smartphones from the advent of the iPhone have shown the same for phones too. An Xperia Arc, a Nexus S or a Lumia 800 are very distinct from an iPhone. Even in the tablet space, look at the Xoom, or the Sony S, or the Asus EeePad and EeeSlate, they all are looking significantly different from the iPad. They have an identity of their own. Now you can't honestly tell me that the two tablets shot in the article are not looking strikingly similar (barring for the aspect ratio and the home button position). Even a (theoretically thinned) HP Slate whose exterior design is very close to an iPad has at least rounded corners with a markedly different radius and a slightly wider metal band circling around from full-front, giving it a more robust appearance and a distinct identity.
I concur, there are indeed some constraints that impose a number of choices to the design of a tablet, but there is still some variability available.