I've met some of the researchers in this lab, and I've attended talks on their work. They definitely don't mean this prototype to be represented as a practical paperphone device to be sold anytime soon. The prototype is being used simply to investigate bending gestures as a means to UI navigation, complementary to touch and buttons. From what I recall their results have been promising for certain types of behaviour, and it certainly is great to have this level of basic investigation being done long before these types of devices hit the market.

I hate to argue with someone when the contested point is mostly personal opinion, BUT... I have a gut feeling that macbook airs are selling at a faster rate than 12" powerbooks ever did. I think this is an issue of a number of vocal 12" PB advocates on the net making a lot more noise than the greater number of plain ol' consumers who are buying macbook airs. You can complain about apple not making the perfect laptop for you, but you can't complain about apple going after the most profitable market segment.