I think the main point is, tablets are coming, and this time they will "do" something. I think we can thank, in a large part, the hype generated by the Kindle to the coming stampede, even thought it is not a "tablet" per most definitions (not that the Kindle couldn't morph into a tablet, over time).
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/05/te.../05tablet.html