On another note, It still impresses me just how quickly the market was anticipating, repulsed, and then rapidly copying the iPad. I genuinely wonder if Google had targeted the iPad form factor first (with Android or Chrome OS) if they would have a fraction of the same success in bringing tablets to the masses.
Sure Apple apparently made a nice one. But it is not only Apple's genius, it is also the the progress of technology that made it possible (faster, more power efficient CPUs, better batteries, better displays...).
One big thing hindering other companies' tablets was probably Windows, which presumably just sucked too much. There were attempts with Linux tablets, but again, the sleekness wasn't there yet (in the meantime, as with the hardware, things have improved).
So now Google has their own OS, so they can make a new attempt at creating a nice tablet without Windows suckage. They are not just copying Apple.
Apple shouldn't get all the credit for creating tablet computers. They should get credit for creating the first tablet that most people actually wanted to buy. If you want to ignore the influence of the iPad on the current market and overall design of the tablets we're going to see, you're being painfully myopic.