According to MacRumors, Apple plans to debut a netbook this October. The rumor has the netbook display measuring 9.7 inches and touchscreen enabled. Here’s MacRumors take on things:
Taiwanese news site InfoTimes reports [translation] that Apple is slated to debut its long-rumored netbook this October. Taiwanese companies Foxconn, Wintek, and Dynapack have reportedly received orders from Apple related to the manufacturing of the new device.
The report notes that Apple is looking to adopt a 9.7-inch touchscreen for the new netbook, slightly smaller than the 10.1- or 10.2-inch screens typically used at the large end of the netbook range.
According to reliable information, Apple will not follow the current market trend (by producing netbooks with screens about 10.2 or 10.1 inches in diagonal length.) Instead, Apple will produce screens with about 9.7 inches in diagonal length. Touch screen will be installed. Wintek will be the main manufacturer of the touch screen.
Exact pricing remains unknown at this time, but the inclusion of a touchscreen and Apple’s history of refusing to compete at the lowest price points suggest that the netbook may be priced at around $800.
Because Apple will adopt touch screen technology on its netbooks, Apple will not target low-end consumers, avoiding direct competition with Acer, Asus, as well as their less-than-500-dollars netbooks. Apples netbook (or a “tablet” as many call it,) will probably be sold at around $800 USD each.
Apple has repeatedly stated that although it has been looking at the growing netbook market, it is not interested in releasing a low-end netbook product that produces an inferior user experience as current products do. Other sources have recently “confirmed” that an Apple netbook is in the works, but claim that it will not arrive until 2010.
My take? I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see a netbook or tablet coming from Apple soon. The netbook market seems mature enough now that Apple can step into the ring. Apple is never first into any market; they always seem to wait and see how things progress then take whatever has been done and do it better. They aren’t always better, but there’s no question that they usually push innovation.
My concern with it is that at $800, are they really going to compete in the netbook market? It just sounds too pricey. Acer, Dell, and Asus are all producing faster, lighter, more reliable, and cheaper netbooks. And at $250 – $400 a piece, who would want to pay double that?
We reported earlier today that Eric Schmidt officially stepped down from his position on Apple’s Board. Now the FTC, which has been investigating Google and Apple for competition issues, has issued a statement commending Schmidt for his decision.
