My HP EliteBook 2740p tablet PC mistaken as an Apple iPad

The other day, I was reading a PDF on my HP EliteBook 2740p tablet PC. I was using the tablet in slate mode and I was navigating the PDF with my finger.

Someone walked up to me and asked, "is that an iPad?"

I didn't say anything. I opened up the screen, twisted it, revealing the keyboard that made this slate tablet convert to a laptop. I asked, "does an iPad do this?" When I showed that my slate was actually a tablet PC that converted to a laptop, the person was quite impressed.

If I paint the rest of the gray screen bezel glossy black, my HP 2740p would look more like an iPad.  Then again, do I want my EliteBook to resemble an iPad? Most convertible tablet PCs are rather bulky and they're not built in any way to resemble the Apple iPad. HP came out with the EliteBook 2700p series before Apple announced the iPad, so who copied who?

2010 is the year of the slate tablet. Who's going to develop a super-slim convertible tablet for those who want to blend the slate tablet experience with the laptop/keyboard? If Apple made a tablet version of the MacBook Air, that would be a super-slim convertible tablet. I just don't see them going in that direction anytime soon.