So that's $454.38 plus $299-399, bringing it to $753.38-853.38. Sure, you can get budget laptops for cheaper than that still, but none that portable. Granted, that's a huge premium for a form factor,
The form factor is *everything* here.
That's the whole point of the EeePC --> there's nothing else out there this small and portable with that kind of functionality, at any price.
And the "premium" for it, in this case is practically nothing, compared to what the much larger/heavier "sub notebooks" out there want.
Cheers!