Originally Posted by
TooNice
I also think the category is here to stay. Some format (screen size/spec vs cost) may be more successful than others, and in the long run we may see manufacturers focussing on the most successful ones, but I am sure that the market of the category is big enough.
I did a study tour last summer, and that would've been the perfect place to use one of those sub-notebooks: I was on the road a lot so it needed to be portable, sometime stayed in a hostel where the storage box too small for a full sized laptop, not too expensive in case anything happens. And while it may not be very comfortable to type reports, I only needed to do a series of relatively small reports at a time. A PDA/Smartphone, even with a keyboard would probably be less efficient.
Even at £400, it's still cheaper than many 10.4" to 12.1" 'Ultra portable' laptop of the past. I do favour cheaper models (toward £200) because they are no substitute for a main PC for me. But there may be people (e.g. those frequently write reports on the road) who use them often enough to justify a beefed up model.