"It’s sad, really, that the state-of-the-art in the PC world is attempting to copy Apple. Why isn’t Asus trying to blow the MacBook Air out of the water with something radically better?".
I have an answer for this. I don't think they can create something that blows the MacBook Air out of the water. The bar has been set too high for the PC manufacturers to properly compete in design, at least for the moment.
I really don't see why this is the case unless you have a very strong affinity for Apple. As I said earlier, the Vaio Z is really a much better machine overall, but has a price to match. The Lenovo X1 is also very good and I think looks better as well.
Of course, I'm probably a little biased against Apple--although I seriously considered getting an Air as my new laptop recently--and have found their recent laptop designs a little garish. There is a gigantic, light-up logo in the back! My roommate had a Mac Book Pro last year and it would light up our room if he used it at night. I favor a more minimalistic, muted aesthetic--if I could, I'd get an all matte black laptop with no labels at all (including the keyboard), but I do not think anything like that exists. The new Vaio Z is close though.
"I seriously considered getting an Air as my new laptop recently--and have found their recent laptop designs a little garish. There is a gigantic, light-up logo in the back!"
That's not a recent design. Apple notebooks have had a lit logo on the back of the lid for the last 13 years[1], starting with the PowerBook G3 Wall Street.
In any case, this 'problem' is easily remedied by covering it up with a sticker. That's what production companies do[2] when they want to use a notebook in a TV show or motion picture that doesn't have 'promotional considerations'[3].
"if I could, I'd get an all matte black laptop with no labels at all"
Apple's black MacBook[4] and Google's copy[5], the CR48, came close. Matte black, barely any labels.
I don't actually keep track of Apple's designs, so I guess you're right--they've been garish all along. Covering the logo up with a sticker would make sense if there were no alternatives without annoying logos; happily, there are.
I have seen the black MacBooks, and they are better than the normal ones--rather good looking, actually--but I'm not sure if they sell them any more and I was looking exclusively at thin, light laptops akin to the Air. As far as I know, matte black Airs do not exist.
I remember seeing the beta Chromebook and really liking the design; unfortunately, the ones they actually sell now look different and too much like normal netbooks.
Where both fall short is the keyboard--in a perfect world, there would be a version with unlabeled keys. It would match my DasKeyboard :).
The Vaio Z I currently have also comes close. From my perspective when I'm using it, it's actually almost exactly what I want (except for the annoyingly omnipresent labeled keys). The back of the screen is a dark blue with a metal (not lit) logo. I rather like that effect as well, although it doesn't quite have the appeal of a completely blank laptop. Having a plastered-over Apple logo wouldn't do either--all this would ruin the effect I want.
Of course, I recognize that the laptop I picture is incredibly silly and can never be more than a very niche product, but I am perfectly content being silly.
I have an answer for this. I don't think they can create something that blows the MacBook Air out of the water. The bar has been set too high for the PC manufacturers to properly compete in design, at least for the moment.