Originally Posted by Lucio
I think the article gets straight to the heart of the matter, at £200 these are a gimmicky impulse spend, at £400 they're sub-par notebooks.
Ultimately for the money, what you really want is something akin to what you'd get from the iPhone or other MDA. Play music, watch some videos, surf websites and read eBooks. If the manufacturers focussed on bringing those features rather than trying to make a PC as small as possible, then they'd really see the sales roll in.
That might be what you want at £200, but it isn't what I want. I wouldn't give thankyou for an iPhone (etc), and I'm not in the slightest bit interested in watching movies, playing games or listening to music on these devices. I
am interested in something as small and light as possible while still having a usable, typeable full keyboard. I want basic data entry, i.e. primarily WP, with a decent email capability, and just maybe a bit of web-browsing. In other words, a decent alternative to carrying a full-sized notebook.
Are they a fad? No.
Is the current sales level because of novelty ... or fashion? Quite possibly.
Are they a niche product? Very likely.
I agree with Biscuit's analysis.