It's not that I'm planning on rocking it like this often, but it's really practical for when you're moving between rooms and have a lot of other stuff to carry.
I think they certainly fall in the same category, but I'm hoping that the iPad Mini will be slightly better in some scenarios where my Nexus 7 fell short.
I sold my Nexus and have preordered an iPad Mini to see if it'll be more usable while still retaining the portability of the Nexus (which I loved - you could actually stick it in your jeans back pocket)
Browsing the web was fundamentally frustrating for me on the Nexus 7 because you'd either be served a mobile site which looked awful because it was meant for a 4 inch screen or you'd be served a desktop site where you had to do a lot of pinching and scrolling to get the text to a readable state which felt like more work than it was worth.
Especially in horizontal mode the Nexus 7 felt like browsing the web through a letterbox because the OS is quite greedy with the screen real estate and the 16:10 doesn't have that many pixels to begin with.
I agree with you completely that desktops and laptops aren't going anywhere for the forseeable future.
For a lot of job functions power is just not necessary.
There is a lot happening right now with especially the iPad as a tool for mobile professionals, service sector jobs and for blue-collar work functions where access to data and light data entry is needed but a quad core is total overkill.
An easy to use OS and a decent touchscreen is a great way of streamlining a lot of processes which currently involve filling out forms and carrying around manuals and forms and what not.
Us office types still see it as that third device that does nothing that our laptop or smartphone can't do, but for those who have neither of those provided by the workplace it's a real boon.
I agree with your idea that the future will be a fragmented one. And obviously there are still a lot of desktops and laptops at offices.
In my work for a digital agency we have a lot of projects going with tablets (well let's be honest it's all iPads) to work as replacement for laptops for certain processes and situations. There are so many real-life processes happening today where toting a laptop around is really not ideal and tablets have some awesome characteristics which make them a great second or third device for some job descriptions, but also a first device for others.
For pump installers for instance a laptop is a pain in the ass. They all have one, but they never bring it out of the car with them because it's heavy, has poor battery life and is really impractical when you're working in a dusty, dark environment. A tablet on the other hand serves them well. They can bring it with them. Hang it on a pipe somewhere and watch that installation video or look up that manual that they are needing. Battery life is so that they don't have to charge it all week. Everybody wins.
Don't mean to get carried away, but the world is really full of people doing "real work" where laptops and desktops are just not the best solution.
Imagine the viral traffic you could get when people have seen "moe clubbed two obnoxious baby seals" in your facebook ticker a few times an hour for a while.
In my experience it's not uncommon for a boss to have people draft up their own recommendations when it comes time to find a new place to work and then just sign them afterwards.
Topolsky did mention in his post that he has a project on the horizon that he will be sharing more about. Ryan Block and Peter Rojas went on to start GDGT so maybe the alienated engadget editors have some new fresh take on tech up their sleeve.
It's not that I'm planning on rocking it like this often, but it's really practical for when you're moving between rooms and have a lot of other stuff to carry.
Home to measure my jeans pockets I guess.