It's been a while since an Asus product has rocked our world—we think the last time must have been the Eee—but the Atom-powered SSD-based Asus S101 looks amazing for its price—even better than we thought before. Just 1kg and a tapering 17.8mm thin (a bit thicker than the Air), its 10.2" LED screen runs at WSVGA (1024x600) resolution. And with 802.11n, ethernet port, Bluetooth, multitouch trackpad, 4-in-1 card reader, 20GB of free online storage and high quality speakers, the S101 packs plenty of useful features—though it only has 1GB of RAM and appears to have the same fatal flaw as the MacBook Air. Yes, the S101 uses a non-replaceable, 5-hour polymer battery.

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Iomega, maker of many a sexy storage device, has a new eGo out specifically tailored to the MacBook Air set. The 2.5-inch eGo Helium Portable Hard Drive encloses 320GB in anodized aluminium. In case that's not enough space, the drive can utilise an online backup service for "cloud computing." The entire package is less than an inch thick, weighs 7 ounces (about 200 grams) and can be dropped from up to 4 feet 3 inches (1.3 metres) onto industrial carpeting without worry. Not that any of you will experiment with that, I hope.

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TUAW reports that Apple released a software update for its MacBook Air last night, which is said to fix issues with video playback and processor idling. But more importantly, Apple warned against running apps that modify processor performance (TUAW lists CoolBook), as the update does not support them. The software update and accompanying documentation can be found here and here. [TUAW]

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Muffled by the cacophony of like a million netbooks and the wireless power that'll power our cyborg brains at the Intel Developer Forum was the low-key introduction of Intel's next-gen 45nm dual core chips for ultra-thin notebooks--i.e., the dwarven chips that made the MacBook Air possible. Now that everybody can snag them, expect a surge of similarly limber notebooks that can suck in their gut to fit into narrow pockets of ugly paper.

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Samsung has been pioneering efforts to improve performance of SSDs in operating systems, working with Apple to integrate ZFS reading and writing to the next version of OSX Server. This means a 128-bit file system with faster data throughput and lots of other fun things that make servers run better. This also means Apple is taking SSD technology seriously, as it has already dropped the price of the SSD upgrade for the MacBook Air—the only current MacBook to ship with an SSD option—to US$599 from US$999. We likely won't see SSDs across the MacBook lines yet, but this means it could be in the cards. [MacRumors]

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The Gadget: It may be seven months late to the party, but Timbuk2's Steve Sleeve is the latest MacBook Air sleeve to fashion itself in the likeness of a manila folder.

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Elgato has shrunk the tech in their Mac-friendly USB TV tuner dongles so that the latest EyeTV DTT Deluxe is much smaller. And as a result, it's now compatible with the MacBook Air's low ground-clearance. It's got a digital tuner inside that can do full HD, so it's just for those of you who can get DVB-T or Freeview, and apparently packs better image-processing for a less noisy picture. It also leaves the mini-DVI slot unblocked on an Air, and comes with a choice of aerials to suit the signal strength in your area. Available now for US$125 in Europe. [Register Hardware]

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Laredo, Texas (Agencies) - Surprising everyone but industry guru Gene Munster, Dell has announced a partnership with Apple Inc. that will see the former licensing the latter's exclusive Manila Case technology to ship all their computer products and accessories, like their Dell Rubber Chickens and Dell Texas-Style BBQ Ribs. "It was bound to happen," said Munster in a telephone interview from his room at the Cupertino Inn, which he uses as a base to stalk Steve Jobs.

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Apple just ripped US$500 off the price tag of their Solid State Drive-based MacBook Airs, which are now US$2598, down from US$3098. AppleInsider says the cuts came from two components, the 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo, which got a US$100 cut, and the 64GB SSD, which got a US$400 cut. The sub-US$3000 bill should be slightly more appetising to fans of light laptops. And fans of money.

AU: The local version has had a price cut to, down to $3,538. Still don't think its worth the $1,000 premium though.

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Remember the MacBook Air case that was announced even before we knew for sure that the Air was real? Well, the Aria from Orbino is now a real product (meaning the 50% of you who voted it to be rumourware were wrong!) and it's pretty darn luxurious. Aircraft-grade aluminium, hand-folded calfskin leather... and that's just the start.

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