Let the hive mind of Engadget get that for you.
"As someone who doesn't reside in the USA, I was wondering what would be the best way to get internet for my computer in the US for a couple of weeks? If it were Europe I know I'd look for some prepaid data. Is there anything similar offered by American carriers? A MiFi or a data SIM that I can tether from would work, but I'm trying to maintain a tight budget. Help!"
otakucode, I am sorry but that is BS. They aren't just taking the same exact stuff used in larger laptops and putting them in a smaller case with a smaller LCD. Just because they use the same chips (although many of these devices use ULV Core Duo chips), a lot of the other hardware, etc. is specialized and designed for the tight confines.
You need to realize that these are highly specialized devices that require special engineering precisely because they are using some of these same types of chips, optical drives, etc. but cramming them into a much tighter space.
Just as an example, you can get some idea of what the internals of a Sony TR look like here:
http://www.siliconpopculture.com/sonytr/viewtopic.php?t=5486
Just because some of these ultraportables have common components doesn't mean that there also isn't a lot more that inherently makes them more expensive.
They aren't charging more for these things simply because they are a niche product. They charge more because the smaller you make it, the more difficult it is to assemble and get working properly. And there is a lot of specialized hardware here......... not everything in these kinds of laptops is an off-the-shelf part that you'd find in a larger laptop.
Really, by your logic, the Sony UX180p Micro PC should be much cheaper than $1800 because the specs are so low. But of course that isn't true, because the engineering required to cram some of those things into something so small make it a more expensive device.