That's right; it might not be a direct competitor in a true sense, but it is definitely related (like a distant cousin):

For one thing, the Eee is a highly mobile device running Linux, and runs it with great media fanfare and commercial success, which means that just like the Tablets it advances the cause of Linux (probably to a much greater degree than the Tablets have, in fact).

I think I need an Eee companion myself, to increase my productivity, because the Tablets don't have very good Japanese text input, nor anything like a full OpenOffice suite. I will keep using my 770 for casual reading, browsing and internet radio until the day it dies on me, but an Eee (especially now that it gets a 9 inch screen) just seems like a better mobile workstation, at least for my special needs.