It is <i>half</i> the price of the cheapest MacBook. The target audience is clearly netbook buyers. People who just want to do a handful of focused tasks. Let's not forget this is going to be an amazing gaming platform. Can you game on a $299 netbook? No because PC games are largely written for desktops with modern powerful GPUs. This device has some real advantages to anyone who has a checklist of 5 or 6 things they want to do with a small portable device.