SONY IS SCARED of the Asus Eee PC, for fear that it will cause consumers to realize that — given how powerful even cheap computers are now, and given that most computers are mostly used for websurfing and email – it may cause a race to the bottom in prices, instead of a race for expensive new features of the sort Sony prefers.

They’ve got a point. I wouldn’t want the Asus to be my main computer, or maybe even my main laptop. But though I usually go laptopless on diving trips, I needed something for photos and videos so I took the Asus along. It’s so small that it fit in the zipper pocket on the back of my backpack, it’s so light that you couldn’t tell it was there, and it’s so cheap that I didn’t worry about leaving it in the hotel room, etc. That’s a real market niche. Here’s my Popular Mechanics review of the Asus. And Charles Stross has some similar thoughts about the Asus.