This is still bothering me. Do many people really think like this? I know some do (*cough Apple)* , but I hope it is not as common as you make it.

I have to admit, this Asus machine is a bit flash for me already and after what you said in this thread I would probably feel like a giant poser if I bought it. But this new line of thinking means that I care what people think, and I don't. So I guess in theory I should still buy it and don't give a damn about that people think. But I don't want to look like a poser at the same time...

I am so confused...

* I know some people buy apple products because they like them, not because they want to pose so hide your torches

Why do people buy Audi and VW when a Skoda with identical parts is so much cheaper? Change a few panels and a badge and you can charge a hefty premium.

It may not be the dominant mental process around these parts; we are posting on a forum after all. However, out in the real world I am sad to say that IMO the pursuit of image has a stranglehold in a majority of lives.

For instance, whilst some of us might argue about iOS versus Android, how many people really need a smartphone at all? How many people have a massive TV but can't even really see the difference between SD and HD? How many women wear Ugg boots even though they look bloody awful? How many people bought houses they couldn't afford in order to appear successful? How many people refuse to shop at Aldi or Lidl even though the quality of a lot of the food is much better than Tesco or Sainsbury's.

The Asus is undoubtedly a lovely thing; had it been original I would have praised it to the rafters. The trouble is that when a piece of computer kit is made to exploit the posing market, it has to be evaluated as a product in that market. And for me, that's where the Asus falls down: precisely because it's very much like the MBA it just can't have the posing value that a machine like this has to have to be a success.

(IMO obviously )

It does look very much like an Air to be honest. But then how can you make an ultra portable out of aluminium that doesn't? I don't mind the Asus badge mind you. I've relied on Asus motherboards and other components for years and often paid a premium for them. The name might not mean much to some but to me it does.

That's the problem right there: there's really not much you can do to make the side-elevations look all that different.

But then surely that's why one should work all the harder to differentiate the inside and the lid. Whilst the lid is somewhere between okay and excellent, I really wish they'd worked a little harder on the inside; I especially wish they'd developed their own unique in-house style and rigidly stuck to it. If they had, it'd be fap-tastic.

I feel for Asus, I really do. It's a proper bugger of a nut they're trying to crack.

That's what I think too. I am pretty sure that ASUS name is persistently high in tables of laptop reliability tests. Not bad brand at all to have...