MacBook Air - Great Package, Bad Timing

Apple's recently announced MacBook Air is surely the coolest looking notebook I've seen. It is light, small, sturdy and has a full sized screen and keyboard. It even has a reasonable price tag for a notebook of this size as the sub-notebook category has been commanding a premium for some the past several years.

The effort that went into making the MacBook Air's form as slick and slim and the reduced number of external ports make it clear to me that Apple considers this as a person's second (or perhaps third) computer. I have to say that the thought of having a nice iMac at home and this little beauty to carry around appeals to me in several levels.

Unfortunately for Apple at the same time they were coming up with this incredible design, others were taking a different approach the issue of a light device that can stand in for a full notebook in most common situations. The Asus EEE PC and several similar devices, such as Everex's cloudbook, which are starting to show up in the market take a different approach to a similar goal and with the difference in price tag Apple might be in for a rough ride in with this specific product.

Asus EEE PC - a Transforming Event

About a month a go I came across the first references to the Asus EEE PC. Since then I've been following how it is being received by people across the world. One thing that has been very consistent is how even those who criticize any aspect of the tiny computer agree that that particular issue is an acceptable trade-off, given the size and purpose of the equipment.

This tiny little computer in its most common configuration is powered by a 900 MHz Intel Celeron processor, has a 7 inch WVGA(800x480) screen, 512 MBs of RAM and 4 GB of SSD (Solid State Disk). With 3 USB 2.0 ports, phone, mic, 10/100 Ethernet and VGA ports the EEE can be used with external keyboard, mouse and monitor. The EEE has, also, Wifi 802.11g connectivity built right in and comes with a customized Linux distribution and a whole assortment of free applications such as Firefox, Thunderbird and OpenOffice.

The EEE PC is clearly not designed to be a primary computer for professional use. It is however designed to be an ultra-portable device through which you can access the Internet on-the-go and accomplish quick business tasks. In this capability the device seems to shine, from all the hands-on reviews I've seen on the Internet. Specially interesting is a video podcast from ITIDIOTS, which quickly shows the EEE in action.

Though official distribution of the EEE PC in Brazil (where I am right now) has not started, independent distributors started delivering them to stores about a week ago. In this short period the number of shops offering the product has grown rapidly and everyone is talking about the product which seems to be drawing just as much attention as it is doing in Australia, the US and the UK.

This small device has all the makings of a Transforming Event. A transforming event is a technology change which has a high impact on our everyday lives. One of the most impressive transforming events we've gone through is the release of the iPod which totally redefined the way the wold listens and buys music. Just as the iPod was not the first portable media player, the EEE PC is not the first smallish notebook to come around. It seems, however, the first to combine "enough" capability and features with a small enough size and weight at an affordable price point.

In the few short months since its introduction I've seen a huge community starting to grow around the EEE and a number of great ideas on how they can be put to use. It had been a while since entirely new ways of using a computer where being thought up by so many different people. Asus has announced plans to release new versions of the product in 2008, including models with larger screens and with Microsoft Windows XP.

Just two days ago a model of the EEE, running Windows XP, was released in Japan. This shows that Asus is making good on its promise to release new models sooner than most expected. The Asus EEE PC will certainly be a product to watch carefully in 2008.