Originally Posted by
moxfyre
Consider the 3 lb, 12" Dell Latitude D430:
http://www.dell.com/content/products...tab=bundlestab. Similar to the MacBook Air, but with more USB and ethernet ports, replaceable battery, and all for about $1300 with specs comparable to the MacBook Air (and it includes an external optical drive in the price)
I guess if you consider 1/2 the RAM, smaller screen, poorer graphics card, and a slower processor as comparable specs you might have a point ;-)
It really depends on what your needs are doesn't it? More USB ports are always nice, but if I used a separate mouse (I don't), I'd use a bluetooth version anyway. Wireless networking is adequate in most cases. I'm never wired at home. In the office, I will be occasionally and it would be nice to use another USB device at the same time so I'd probably have a hub at the office and leave it there.
And of course a key feature of the Macbook Air is that it will run both OS X and Windows. Windows is OK, but I REALLY like OS X.