Is the heading wrong, or is a defunct phone company now producing ultra-mobile computers?

Good catch! Changing it

"The laptop will get a 1.6GHz, ..."
a 1.6GHz what? (i know its a proc.)
But will this be using a VIA or Intel chip?

If it's using an atom i'll be all over this.

You know you've made it when people talk about making an x-killer (i.e. an iPod killer, iPhone killer, ASUS-killer)

Now that there are so many new contenders to this mini-laptop thing, I can't decide. First, I wanted an eee. then they announced the 9" model, so I said I'd wait. then HP and now MSI release similar products and I'm seriously considering one of 'em... I think I'll just go with the eee though...

The eeePC has the bigger community, the "it" factor, and the looks.
It also has the smallest HDD (although it's flashbased, that's a plus), and a very meager battery life. Not to mention the never-ending complaints about the keyboard.

The HP and MSI alternatives are regular notebooks squeezed into the UMPC form factor. Whether or not that's actually worth it, I can't rightly say. But the point of these smaller machines isn't to replace full-fledged notebooks in any case.

What is going on I see a man wearing crutches or holding a rifle in the reflection of the case.

@kibets: It's called a tripod.

What REALLY worries me is how rugged this laptop is. I mean, If I drop it, will I be breaking Wind?

@Mandatory_Field: oh snap.

@kibets: Tripod for camera?

Can't wait for Dell's.

The way I see this is thus:

The Eee is a better subnotebook than its competitors. (size, price, performance)

The HP, this and most other competitors to the Eee are better at mitigating the drawbacks of subnotebooks (screen, HD and keyboard)

Oh, and the "neverending" keyboard complaints? Well, they come exclusively from people who haven't had their Eee for more than a month.

Seriously, unless you have fat fingers (the kind that need special phones with large buttons), you do get used to the keyboard.

$1100!!!!! When are they going to stop ass raping us just because we want a tiny computer? I can get a "standard" size laptop for $400, so how can they justify $1100 no matter the configuration? Shit, I swear...

The market for ultraportables now is a HELL of a lot better than it was a few years ago, used to be the only things you could get in this size were fujitsu lifebooks, sony vaio picturebooks and a few others and you PAID OUT THE ASS for the small size and them usually being underpowered, couple grand for 400-900mhz 256mb ram etc

I really think the key to this market that companies seem to be losing slowly is to keep the cost around $450-600 max. Other wise you can take your $1000 and get a MacBook. Not quite as portable, but far more powerful.

why would you want a pc you had to wind up?

@6street: Totally steampunk, man, got to have one!

@Guizzy: One other thing that's important to a few of us and never seems to get mentioned in specs or reviews is how quiet and cool (literally, I mean) a machine is. I started out looking to replace my desktop because I can't hear the planes landing outside properly with the fan blowing, and the subnotebook offerings took my ear, so to speak, because of their silence (some of them). I think the Eee PC is fanless, but it seems to buzz along nicely, at least with Linux or XP. Will this Wind just be a loud, wet fart? Will it have a fan? Do they need fans if they have HHDs, but not if they have SSDs? I'm confused. Why does no-one ever mention decibels?

I'm grateful for your comment about the typing, Guizzy - I hope the pc900 will be ok for me touch-typing for several hours a day - or did you just mean they're ok for prodding in a haphazard fashion by people who haven't learned how to use a QWERTY keyboard properly? (ducks)