Note that the HP netbook with the pretty screen (1280x768) only has a slow Via CPU. Not the faster and more popular Intel Atom.

HP does offer a Atom-powered netbook, but Intel doesn't allow high-res screens, so you're limited to 1024x600.

For me, the Eee is perfect. The keyboard is small, but it took me about a day to get used to it, and now I can type as fast as I can on a large keyboard, maybe faster. It doesn't get as hot as my big HP laptop, which I gave away because I got tired of lugging all that weight, and then putting up with all that heat. I had to use a chill pad with it, and I got a small one for the Eee, but found I don't need it. I also found that I don't use my N800 very much, either, because the Eee isn't that much bigger or heavier, but it's far more powerful and easier to use. Trackpads are what they are, and while it's easy to hook up any USB mouse, I find that the trackpad works fine for me.

You won't need Ubuntu mobile, because it will run standard distros just fine.

NP.

There's no Thanks! anywhere in the Off Topic forum, presumably so Thanks! counts more reliably measure utility rather than entertainment.

Faster... not horribly much. The same clock speed, but barely improved performance (from what I've heard, anyway). My Eee 701 has a 900MHz Celeron M (I think the 1.6GHz C7-M should outperform that), and seems adequate, so I wouldn't worry about the performance. I think the Atom would get significantly better battery life, but the C7 should still be livable.

And I'm thinking that that resolution on that small of a screen should be ok? I'd think it would be pretty hard on the eyes to have the resolution any smaller. I do like the look of the HP better, a little bit cleaner lines on it. Even if its just the plain ol' black one.
And on a side note...is VIA better these days? They used to be kind of crap at times.

The Eee PC 901 includes Bluetooth so you can tether from a phone like you can with the N800/810.

Well, for what is worth:

I have no Eee PC, but just got something quite similar: a DELL Mini 9 netbook.

I got an N810 and just bought a DELL Mini 9 Netbook. The Mini 9 is a similar concept as the Eee PC's; very small footprint computers with network access and a full (but usually small) keyboard.

Why I got this? , well: DELL is a good brand, with good worldwide support. We have no Eee where I live, nevertheless I was planning on purchasing one in the USA and bringing it home.

I am glad I didn't ordered it online and get it shipped to my hotel before my arrival because I went to a computer store and saw the Eee PC, they looked extremely cheap to me. Like toys kind of plastic. I saw several models there, the "original" 700 series and some of the 900 line. I didn't like any of them.

Plus features of my DELL Mini 9 are: it has NO fan so it is 100% silent, specially good when you are working at night in your bed, next to someone you dont want to disturb with your laptop's noises.
Drives are Solid State (SSD), I got the 16GB one and they just started selling the 32 GB version
The Mini 9 comes with Linux also (you can order a Windows one if you want to), full support here.
The Mini 9 has an external monitor port which is great for presentations.
It aso has bluetooth, so it can communicate with your Nokia devices and with headsets.

So, my N810 is a perfect companion to my DELL Mini 9, the N810 fits in my shirt pocket, has connectivity which is great for my job and, whenever I need to do something that requires a bit more screen real-estate and/or a more "real-sized" keyboard, the Mini comes in nicely.

Hope this helps a bit.

Replying to myself

I found a couple machines have 1280xXXX screens and Atom processors: the Gigabyte M912 and the Dell Mini 12 (its 12" screen probably makes it too big to be called a netbook). So, I guess the resolution restriction has weakened or been eliminated.

I do like the idea of a big netbook, like the Dell Mini 12. Nice screen, near fullsize keyboard, but still light-weight and small enough to easily carry in a bag/backpack/etc. It'd be a useful companion to my large, heavy, desktop-replacement laptop. But the Mini 12 isn't available with a SSD, the graphics card has poor or non-existent Linux support, and initial pricing isn't appealing.

And refurbished Inspiron Minis are 20% off right now with coupon code "QQ3RLJFHCTTRBG".

N800 (4" 800x480) is 225 PPI; 1280x800 in 9" is 167 PPI. While I've not seen one in person, a 7" 800x480 is 133 PPI, and I can't imagine that 167 would be a problem.
Well, yeah... it's not that VIA is awesome (although their new Nano series is not half bad), as much as that Atom's pretty bad; it's got serious performance sacrifices to get decent power savings (which gets eaten by a power-hungry chipset), and is in fact beaten simultaneously in performance and power by AMD K8 desktop chips from ~5 years ago. Celeron Ms are also bad, and AMD hasn't got in yet. There are no really good netbook chips available now, but VIAs, even C7s, are decently competive (IMHO).

I like the ease with which the SSD, RAM, and WiFi card can be replaced in the Mini 9. Undo one panel, and there they are. Full disassembly for any upgrade seems common among netbooks.