Subnotebooks: Everex 9-inch CloudBook, Asus Eee

[#1]

Anyone fed up with the Apple marketing machine or disappointed with the footprint of the MacBook Air might already be looking towards the tiny Sonys or the amazingly compact and cheap Asus Eee for true sling it in your coat pocket mobility. Over at Engadget more subnotebooks are being announced all the time. Has Apple got it wrong to go for the full-size keyboard on the Air? Acer has already announced its own line of 9-inch subnotebooks and this brand is perhaps better known on this side of the pond.

According to rumblings on the internet, the new Cloudbook from Everex that's worming its way into Wal-Marts across the US this weekend will be getting a big brother soon. If you believe what they say (they being Paul Kim, director of marketing at Everex), we can expect a 9-inch version of the Eee-competitor to make an appearance in June, boasting a larger keyboard, more memory, and possibly new "skins" (but please, no tattoos). The Linux-equipped computer will clock in around $500, and will be part of the Ubuntu-based gOS family. The company also has plans to introduce a variant of the smaller CloudBook called the DevBook, a $400-500 laptop aimed at developers with a touchscreen and swappable side-panel accessories, plus a $399 standard size 15.4-inch laptop, and a "mini" desktop with a dual-layer DVD drive, as well as DVI and S-Video outputs for $499. [Via Eee Site] Source: Engadget

Update: There's a great review article about the Everex Cloudbook on the Tech.co.uk site which similarly asks the question 'has Apple missed the trend here?'  - or I wonder, does it see the iPhone as fulfilling this niche?

[#2]

Whilst I'm unlikely to get a MacBook Air because the whole 'ultra-compact' idea isn't suitable for me (my MacBook Pro, with an external monitor, is sufficient to be my desktop computer too - an ultra-portable would never be good enough for that), I do find the MacBook Air to be the most appealing ultra-portable I've seen. The reason is simple: I don't want something tiny because it would be harder to work properly with, but I do want something lighter; it's weight that's most noticeable when you're carrying a backpack for an hour on crowded trains. In fact, a 15" MacBook Air with the same weight as the 13.3" one would be even more desirable...

[#3]

The only one that appeals to me is the Eee PC by Asus. Wanted one since they came out. Can't see myself considering the Cloudbook as I'd never heard of Everex and looking at the rest of their products they seem to just sell cheap clones of inferior quality for popular items. The sony one is too expensive to consider. The Apple one is a superb evolution of design. They just forgot to price it within range of the ordinary customer.

[#4]

I definitely agree, the Eee PC is the best out of all the subnotebooks that has been released. Although I'm begining to get discouraged by the fact that nearly every new model is larger than the first, when the big appeal to everyone was the size and cost. Hopefully they got back to the 7 inch at some point!