Imitation Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

Some products change the landscape in which we operate. They are either so visionary, so different or so far out of left field that the change our whole perception of what we do and how we do it.

What used to take generations and decades to happen in days gone by has been reduced to weeks and days in our age of technology.

Changing the game these days is measured in the way that your peer group or competition react to your product.

The iPhone has spawned endless attempts to mimic its look, interface or modus operandi. Whether that be by previously unknown MP3 player fabricators or the software houses who have been pushing out iPhone- alike applications left, right and centre; its clear proof of how Apple rewrote the book with the iPhone.

Now the Asus EeePC has crossed that boundary into legend, as its legions of imitators look to match its combination of ease-of-use, size, price and performance. We've seen some of the smaller players be quick out of the blocks with their own Eee-clones, Everex, MSI and the like.

But the recent launch of the HP Mini-note and subsequent announcements by Dell and Acer shows just how Asus managed to move sub-notes to the front of the agenda right across the board.

Asus' head start won't be enough to see off the big boys in the Corporate marketplace (the education targeted 700 Series' toy-like looks probably killed that) but for consumers, smaller businesses and the semi-independent/self-employed the new, larger screened 900 looks a real winner.

And for their bravery and innovation Asus deserve nothing less.