BS. Go into Sears where all the top brands are located and sold. Samsung's cheaper models have a thin boxed border surrounding the glass, and a clear bottom plastic molding that extends from the bottom of the screen and is quite distinctive. Sony's lower end flat screens have a much thicker edged boxed border surrounding the glass, and no decorative molding. Sony also uses a darker black then Samsung.
Sharp makes a beautiful flat screen that doesn't come across super well in pictures, but it almost looks like the front of a MacBook or Apple Display. The corners are rounded, the LCD is covered in a reflective glass, and surrounded by a black frame that sits under the glass (the stand is quite distinctive as well). Samsung's higher end flat screens are unmistakable as well with a super thin border that seems to be a polished chrome like metal.
Panasonic in the cheaper to mid range models uses rounded corners and a frame with a con-caved bottom border.
LG tends to look like either Panasonic or Samsung (I am not sure who is knocking off who), but even LG mixes it up a bit with a different shaped clear plastic bottom molding which is often times a different color like red (as opposed to Samsung's clear).
I have a design degree I used to be able to go into a clothing store and look at a pair of pants or shirt without looking at the label and tell you who makes it. Most of the top brands in flat screens are easily distinguishable from one another.
Samsung's Tab though is real hard to tell the difference between it and an iPad from the front view. If I recall, the backs are different. Samsung could do any number of things to distinguish its product. For instance, frame the Tab like its TVs in a clear or color tinted molding. Use a polished or hammered metal frame. Chrome polished aluminum would have been sharp (like its high end TVs). Possibly make the back out of clear plastic like Apple used to do with its monitors. Had it even copied Apple exactly, but used a different color molding, it would be on slightly better footing. Moreover, there is no reason Samsung's Home button needs to be the same size, shape, or location as Apple. It could have even added two home buttons, or eliminated them, or put them on the sides.
There is quite a bit Samsung could do to make just as effective a product without trying to make it look just like an iPad or iPhone.
It, however, is purposefully emulating Apple to either fool people or convince them that its product is just as good or better.
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Originally Posted by
Neo42 
From a distance just about every LCD or Plasma television looks identical AND have the same aspect ratio too. I don't think similar looking fronts (remember, only the front was shown) of different sizes warrants design copy. Then again I am not a patent troll.