I don't know about you, but the device itself is branding. If I pick up an iPhone, I know pretty much immediately that I'm holding an iPhone based on the layout of the buttons, especially the "God" button. Similarly I would never mistake my Nexus 4 for an iPhone 5.

It would be interesting to live in a world where you couldn't show off your logo at ... I was about to say "Starbucks" but I should say ... the coffee shop.

This isn't to indict any particular brand, but when a brand is strong enough consumers of that brand use it to self-brand themselves. They wear the halo effect. And as I read Paul's essay I get some undercurrent that he's "hey, it's ok" to self-brand differently.