That's the screen part. Tables are not all screen. They have the surrounding area (bezels), buttons etc.
"""* Tablets are rectangular because LCDs are rectangular."""
That's the screen part. You can easily make a design with rounded corners to look say like (_) (add a top edge in there). You could also just make a square tablet (there were several phones with square displays, pre-iPhone at least).
"""* Tablets have rounded corners and bezels because it's difficult to manufacture the unit if the screen extends right to the edges."""
What does "difficult" mean? It is also more difficult to make a unibody aluminum computer that a plastic, segmented body one, but Apple also does that. It is also harder to produce a "retina" display, but again the iPhone has one. And it's not even a screen extending to the edges is unheard of: Apple does it for the iMac and some MBP's IIRC.
"""* Samsung has been touting "slimness" and "world's thinnest" on their phones for almost a decade."""
They seem to promote everything at once to catch every tiny niche of the market. For example, here are the models they currently sell in the US:
Yeah, the value slimness alright. They also value big screens, small screens, colors, blacks and white, thick bricks, you name it, they've got it.
"""* Samsung has also been doing "non-cluttered" for a long time, e.g. they partnered with Porsche Design back in 2002 for some designs."""
See above.
But really it's not any one of the design decisions taken separately that's the WTF. Sure, you can go and support each and everyone of them.
It's the total sum of them that's the WTF. All design decisions being similar is not a coincidence, it's a copycat design.
And no, NO bloody tablet/phone design is so "eternal" that no one can produce something different. Amazon does. Even Apple will do it in a year or so, and the Samsung will copy that too.
Let's see:
"""* Tablets are flat because LCDs are flat."""
That's the screen part. Tables are not all screen. They have the surrounding area (bezels), buttons etc.
"""* Tablets are rectangular because LCDs are rectangular."""
That's the screen part. You can easily make a design with rounded corners to look say like (_) (add a top edge in there). You could also just make a square tablet (there were several phones with square displays, pre-iPhone at least).
"""* Tablets have rounded corners and bezels because it's difficult to manufacture the unit if the screen extends right to the edges."""
What does "difficult" mean? It is also more difficult to make a unibody aluminum computer that a plastic, segmented body one, but Apple also does that. It is also harder to produce a "retina" display, but again the iPhone has one. And it's not even a screen extending to the edges is unheard of: Apple does it for the iMac and some MBP's IIRC.
"""* Samsung has been touting "slimness" and "world's thinnest" on their phones for almost a decade."""
They seem to promote everything at once to catch every tiny niche of the market. For example, here are the models they currently sell in the US:
http://www.minimallyminimal.com/journal/2011/11/16/coffee-ti...
Yeah, the value slimness alright. They also value big screens, small screens, colors, blacks and white, thick bricks, you name it, they've got it.
"""* Samsung has also been doing "non-cluttered" for a long time, e.g. they partnered with Porsche Design back in 2002 for some designs."""
See above.
But really it's not any one of the design decisions taken separately that's the WTF. Sure, you can go and support each and everyone of them.
It's the total sum of them that's the WTF. All design decisions being similar is not a coincidence, it's a copycat design.
And no, NO bloody tablet/phone design is so "eternal" that no one can produce something different. Amazon does. Even Apple will do it in a year or so, and the Samsung will copy that too.