If you’re a fan of mobile computing and the MacBook Air left you feeling underwhelmed, what would get you reaching for the wallet?

I am pretty satisfied with my HP nx6110. It’s fast enough for my web work and does whatever I need it too in less than reasonable time. It doesn’t have too long of a battery life, but I don’t mind it since I am moving from one civilized place to another (I live in a small country)…

But, if there was one thing that I wish I had more of on this laptop, it’d be screen resolution. Yes. I get the maximum of 1024×768 which is somewhat less than I want. Virtual desktops help, but I’d like to have my browser window 1024 pixels wide with some space on the side of it for other stuff (sidebars, widgets, IM chats, etc).

I want 10″ or LESS, at least 1024×768 pixels, EASIER TO PACK/TOTE/WHIP OUT, not just ‘easier to hide in an envelope’ [a la the MacBook (hot)Air...]. See subnotebooks by Fujitsu, and see how far behind Apple has fallen.

Now am carrying the smallest machine they make, and it’s a bit of a step rearward in evolution from the 12″ PowerBook — and am seriously considering switching from MacOS to Linux to get a usable subnotebook.

The $1800 is for the thinness and the very light weight. If you value those things highly, then you have to be willing to trade off some things – it’s not reasonable at the current state of the art to demand a sub 3lb weight but insist on an optical drive or desktop performance. That would be nice, but we can’t do it given current technology.

So, *for people who value very light weight above all else* the Air is a great machine. Its specs will be fine for business/personal use that doesn’t include CPU intensive tasks or in some other way push the computer. Light web development, office suite apps, browsing mail etc. should be just fine. Heavy video editing? Probably not.

For people who need the ultimate in speed in a laptop should look at the Pro line.

People who are in the middle, wanting a smaller, lighter machine than the Pros but who still want an optical drive can get t he regular Macbooks – they’re not discontinued or anything.

In short – the Air is fine if it hits your hot buttons. If not, pick another Mac laptop.

Whew. Anyway, on topic. I’ll replace my macbook when I can get Pro power in the same 5lb 4-5hour battery life package. And I want full connectivity built-in – the Macbook has no card slot so there’s no way I can use EVDO or other cellular connections unless I use Bluetooth to connect to my cell phone as a modem. If it’s supported by my providers I want to be able to flip open the laptop and be online from anywhere without hassle.

I’m thinking about going all-notebook if I can keep my revenue on track. The particulars of my workspace make that an attractive route to travel. However, if I was to stick with keeping a desktop rig at hand, my purchasing criteria would be ranked in the following order:

…Low cost sticker price, or affordable service plan that activates for spills, etc. Sorry, boys and girls, but computers are commodity items. This is no less true for notebooks.

..Weighs 5# or less. It’s designed to be portable, not just small.

…Give me the resources I need to do my job – and don’t stick a huge price premium on better specs than that. (This is why the Eee isn’t even on my radar.) The good news here is that because I’m a Web guy, the most demanding application I’ll run will be Photoshop.