Acer Timeline X, in the box

"The 11-inch MacBook Air has set a new standard for netbooks and mini laptops,"

Please explain this statement.

I've asked in another discussion why this sentence was used, since from a technical standpoint the MacBook Air could even be seen as behind the times and definitely not a new standard.

My original text is below, from http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/hiner/?p=6734, where I compare the "new" MacBook Air with my older Lenovo x200:

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I'll repeat the "oh hum" impression others have already stated. There's nothing very innovative here.

Here are the specs of the Lenovo X200 I have at home(built in 2008):

- Intel Core 2 Duo 2.40 GHz (3MB L2 cache, 1066MHz FSB)
- 2GB DDR2 667MHz (1x 2048MB) (upgraded to 4GB of DDR3 Memory @ 800/1067MHz)
- 7200RPM 160GB SeaGate Momentus SATA
- 12.1" widescreen 1280x800 LCD
- No built-in Optical Drive, like Macbook Air (I have the X200 UltraBase for this capability, which also grants multiple USB and other connectors)
- Intel X4500 Integrated Graphics
- Network/Wireless: Intel Wi-Fi Link 5300 (802.11 a/b/g/n) 1Gb Ethernet Card, built-in Verizon WWAN and Bluetooth (56 Kbps modem optional. Later models in the 200 series have 3G access)
- 95 Key Keyboard with Three Button Touchpoint
- Dimensions: 0.8 - 1.4" (h), 11.61 inches (w), 9.2 inches with 9-cell battery / 8.3 with 4-cell battery (d)
- Weight:
-- 4-cell battery starting at 1.34 kg / 2.95 lbs
-- 6-cell battery starting at 1.47 kg / 3.24 lbs
-- 9-cell battery starting at 1.63 kg / 3.58 lbs
- Windows Vista Business (Win7 is now installed on this machine for speed improvement)
- Extra Options: Web-cam, fingerprint reader, 56Kbps modem, 5-in-1 card reader, ExpressCard slot.
- Battery life (used battery now) is about 4 to 4.5 working hours out of the UltraBase.

So what I'm seeing here is a difference brought on by an onboard, hard-to-service-and-smaller-in-size flashdrive, a mini DisplayPort, and a better graphics card where the older product I have sports a faster CPU / FSB, fingerprint reader, keyboard light and an extra USB port.


"...a breakthrough product like the 11-inch MacBook Air is also likely to spawn a variety of copycat PCs that will run Windows and will have a much lower price tag"

They're already here. Since 2 years ago.

"Breakthrough"? Really?

Because of... a SSD drive? FaceTime?

"The 11-inch MacBook Air has set a new standard for netbooks and mini laptops,"

Please explain this statement.

I've asked in another discussion why this sentence was used, since from a technical standpoint the MacBook Air could even be seen as behind the times and definitely not a new standard.

My original text is below, from http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/hiner/?p=6734, where I compare the "new" MacBook Air with my older Lenovo x200:

------------------------------------------------------------

I'll repeat the "oh hum" impression others have already stated. There's nothing very innovative here.

Here are the specs of the Lenovo X200 I have at home(built in 2008):

- Intel Core 2 Duo 2.40 GHz (3MB L2 cache, 1066MHz FSB)
- 2GB DDR2 667MHz (1x 2048MB) (upgraded to 4GB of DDR3 Memory @ 800/1067MHz)
- 7200RPM 160GB SeaGate Momentus SATA
- 12.1" widescreen 1280x800 LCD
- No built-in Optical Drive, like Macbook Air (I have the X200 UltraBase for this capability, which also grants multiple USB and other connectors)
- Intel X4500 Integrated Graphics
- Network/Wireless: Intel Wi-Fi Link 5300 (802.11 a/b/g/n) 1Gb Ethernet Card, built-in Verizon WWAN and Bluetooth (56 Kbps modem optional. Later models in the 200 series have 3G access)
- 95 Key Keyboard with Three Button Touchpoint
- Dimensions: 0.8 - 1.4" (h), 11.61 inches (w), 9.2 inches with 9-cell battery / 8.3 with 4-cell battery (d)
- Weight:
-- 4-cell battery starting at 1.34 kg / 2.95 lbs
-- 6-cell battery starting at 1.47 kg / 3.24 lbs
-- 9-cell battery starting at 1.63 kg / 3.58 lbs
- Windows Vista Business (Win7 is now installed on this machine for speed improvement)
- Extra Options: Web-cam, fingerprint reader, 56Kbps modem, 5-in-1 card reader, ExpressCard slot.
- Battery life (used battery now) is about 4 to 4.5 working hours out of the UltraBase.

So what I'm seeing here is a difference brought on by an onboard, hard-to-service-and-smaller-in-size flashdrive, a mini DisplayPort, and a better graphics card where the older product I have sports a faster CPU / FSB, fingerprint reader, keyboard light and an extra USB port.


"...a breakthrough product like the 11-inch MacBook Air is also likely to spawn a variety of copycat PCs that will run Windows and will have a much lower price tag"

They're already here. Since 2 years ago.

"Breakthrough"? Really?

Because of... a SSD drive? FaceTime?