A few ideas come to mind... In no order of importance. * Obscure and unused functionality complicating the device? (What do you get when you combine a microwav

A few ideas come to mind... In no order of importance. * Obscure and unused functionality complicating the device? (What do you get when you combine a microwave and a computer? A computer! [thnx Alan Cooper]) * Patents on the physical interface forcing competitors to use different designs (covered in article) * Physical interfaces different to differentiate themselves from competitors * Marketing scheme to make a device look more powerful than last year's model by following modern trends (usually towards more complexity) * Actual innovations in microwave UI design (does sometime happen) I'm sure I missed some. Anyone want to point out more?