It seems like nearly everyone wants to get into the small-laptop market lately. Since October of last year when the Asus Eee Pc was released a lot of competitive, ultra small notebooks came to light. The size of these laptops seem to center around a screen of about 8.9", though there are also those with screens of 13.3" (those are about the size of a small laptop, just incredibly thin and light).
The newest two entries seem to be the upcoming Dell E, and the Voodoo Envy 133 (pictured above from Tech Specs PDF). The main concept of these, as well as all the others is simple: portability. All of these devices are aimed to be something between a smart-phone and a laptop, a second laptop if you will. None of them are exceptionally fast, and most completely forgo the idea of having a disc drive in order to save space and battery life.
Personally, I think it's great that all these companies are getting into the small market. Granted, I'm a Mac user at heart, and only use Windows for gaming, but I like to see many companies trying to outdo one another in niche markets. It means the Intel Atom processor (the "next-gen" laptop processor, it's supposedly quite fast while using minimal energy) and other tech will have a reason to get better, and cheaper. I wouldn't be surprised if in a few years one of these things will sell for less than an iPod or iPhone does now. Plus, the Linux option is always cheapest.
The reasons I'm so enamored with these laptops are the same reasons they seem to have been created. I love the idea of a lightweight computer that can do simple word processing and internet access while in a hot spot, as well as other simple functions like video playback. Most have Solid State Drives (flash memory, like the one in flash or "thumb" drives), which makes the data secure if it's dropped, and it's fast to boot because there are no moving parts.
These things can have several uses for almost anyone. They could provide a quick means of checking email if don't have a smart-phone and are in a hot spot. They could play videos while on a flight. Students could use them for taking notes during class (or browsing Facebook during class, which is more likely for a lot of them). I personally think it would be great for writers to start writing whenever the inspiration has them (if they prefer typing to pen and paper, that is). It's great for bloggers if they like to blog about stuff right when they see it, or if they are live-blogging something (say, a keynote speech). Or, there's always the chance for a journalist to quickly get a story out from the scene, or possibly record some audio/video for the story with built-in microphone and webcam (however, they will probably be of somewhat poor quality).
I can only imagine showing up to class and taking notes on such a small laptop that won't get in anyone's way. Or perhaps, showing up to a gaming session with the PDF versions of the rulebooks on an Eee PC or similar, instead of a 15.4" or 17" Mac/Dell/Toshiba/etc., allowing for easy reference and little barrier between people. Or, perhaps, I am simply too much of a nerd and want to get my hands on every cool, somewhat useful piece of tech I can see.
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