What happened to $199 per unit? Around these parts you can already get one of them smaller cheapo Acer laptops for around $300. Laptops that specs-wise leave EeePC in the dust.

Amen to that. I'm sorry for being so cynical, but at around $400 this thing seems like a waste of money.

Guess it's time to look on Ebay for a 3-4 year old subcompact notebook now, unless ASUS releases a model here at $200!

Though, I'm sure some people might be interested in pre-ordering from allasus.com, where you can actually get the lower model for $259.

Can I boot off of the SD slot?
16GB or 8GB ;p

mdm-adphAmen to that. I'm sorry for being so cynical, but at around $400 this thing seems like a waste of money.

Guess it's time to look on Ebay for a 3-4 year old subcompact notebook now, unless ASUS releases a model here at $200!

Well, I understand where you're coming from. However, you have to think...it's a laptop ;).

To make a car comparison. Kia/Hyundai makes a budget sedan for $11,000 USD. A new Nissan Sentra costs $15,000, and a used Ford Focus costs about $7,000 (talking base models here, to keep things simple). Each car will last tens of thousands of miles (my friend's '97 Mercury Mystique, the Mercury equivalent of the current Ford Focus) is at 190,000 miles and still going strong, Nissan cars are known to take a lot of damage and take a lot of miles before biting the dust, and Kia puts a 10 year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty on everything they make. All of the cars will last a while, all of them do a basic task...but some better than others. The Kia is truly base, the one my dad owns has no power steering/AC/radio (we put radio in later) and is stick shift (NOT a bad thing :D), but it was $11,000 new and does everything you need it to do. The Ford Focus is automatic, and prolly has power windows and locks, but...it's used. The Nissan Sentra is loaded with power everything, but starts at $14,000.

To make a long comparison short, you have to choose the individual model based on need and what it does for you, not because of the price point.

Isnt this supposed to be a super green laptop?

zekrahminatorWell, I understand where you're coming from. However, you have to think...it's a laptop ;).

To make a car comparison. Kia/Hyundai makes a budget sedan for $11,000 USD. A new Nissan Sentra costs $15,000, and a used Ford Focus costs about $7,000 (talking base models here, to keep things simple). Each car will last tens of thousands of miles (my friend's '97 Mercury Mystique, the Mercury equivalent of the current Ford Focus) is at 190,000 miles and still going strong, Nissan cars are known to take a lot of damage and take a lot of miles before biting the dust, and Kia puts a 10 year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty on everything they make. All of the cars will last a while, all of them do a basic task...but some better than others. The Kia is truly base, the one my dad owns has no power steering/AC/radio (we put radio in later) and is stick shift (NOT a bad thing :D), but it was $11,000 new and does everything you need it to do. The Ford Focus is automatic, and prolly has power windows and locks, but...it's used. The Nissan Sentra is loaded with power everything, but starts at $14,000.

To make a long comparison short, you have to choose the individual model based on need and what it does for you, not because of the price point.

Good analogy! And I have to agree -- an individual should buy things depending upon what he needs, not just price.

However, there's a caveat to your story -- I happen to be a car mechanic, and could keep that Focus running for very cheap. ;) But, of course, that's just me.