[Macworld]

Post your comments for Imagining an Apple netbook here

[montgomery_burns]

Apple will not make a video iPod. Nobody wants to watch video on an iPod.
Apple will not make a cell phone.
Apple will never switch to Intel processors.

[Kingteddybear]

I tried, I really tried to imagine an Apple netbook running an Atom processor but I just can't do it unless it makes a sub $300 price point maybe just maybe sub $350. There are just too many cheap Windows laptops out there in the $400 - $500 loss leader range.
Perhaps I lack imagination...

[drimwit]

Why would Apple make something underpowered and cheap? Witness the iPhone, lots of power and expensive.
Apple will make a smaller laptop one day. The whole idea of a "netbook" is pretty bogus.

[joshuawait]

That is hilarious. That is exactly the pattern.

[hmurchison]

Apple is NOT going to make a "me too" product based on an Intel Atom. But they ARE going to make a product that will suffice as a Netbook. No it won't be $300 (this "is" still Apple we're talking about here) but it will function admirably as a mid device between the iPhone and Macbook lines.
They have all but layed the path out before us.
1. They purchased P.A. Semiconductor who understands PPC and ARM technology like few others.
2. They've hired Mark Papermaster from IBM (a PPC guru) who will head up the iPhone div but come one we can see where this one's going.
3. They will not use Atom they will likely use a variant of ARM's nextgen core. Perhaps the Cortex-A8 for processing. It delivers a high performance/watt impact.
4. Rumors floated around recently about a company that is contracting with Imagination for their powerful PowerVR SGX graphics. Few companies are as secretive about deals like this than Apple.
5. Snow Leopard is the transition Operating System that we need. It's moving to largely Cocoa frameworks for everything and it integrates Cocoa Touch into the stack. An Apple Netbook class product cannot run just iPhone apps it needs to offer a full OS X experience with menus and menubar.
6. Apple is the sole company championing Mini-DisplayPort and you'll see why below.
I think Apple will deliver a device that has 6-7" screen and look for the most part like a tablet. It may have Ethernet but I think they make make this a wireless device only. It'll have USB and output to connect to a monitor via that tiny and adorable Mini-DisplayPort connector. Hopefully they'll have 802.11n support and Blutooth. Acessories will come in USB or Bluetooth flavors and a keyboard will be delivered that functions as a stand.
I'm thinking 600-700$ depending on configuration and accessories. It'll quiet the Tablet fans and Netbook fans in one fell swoop. It'll be a device that can double as an eBook reader with some software tricks and it may come with 3G technology and AT&T support for making phone calls.
Netbooks need not be cheap and low margin. There is demand for device that is smaller than the typical Macbook but offers full Mac compatibility for most apps Apple will show us the way and make this Mini-me PC laptops look foolish in the process.

[joshuawait]

Thanks for the trip down memory lane with the eMate.
I used to love my old PowerBook Duo which I picked up second hand. It was a great laptop for taking notes in grad school, writing reports on the train and occasionally checking email or browsing the web with Netscape 2.0.
Most laptops are too heavy, too overpowered and too expensive to really find a place in my life. The iPhone fills in many of these gaps but lacks the a keyboard that's comfortable for typing more than 100 words or so.
I might like to see a netbook with a better keyboard, touch screen and a USB connection for dongles like a Flip Mino or digital camera. It could be useful for uploading videos to YouTube or photos to Flickr. Oops. I mean MobileMe. It would have to be extremely well implemented to fill the space between the iPhone and the MacBook; otherwise, it will end up with the same fate as the eMate.

[brosenbaum1]

The issue for me is battery life. I am a writer & journalist who travels a lot, sometimes in places where electricity is unavailable or erratic (developing countries, mountaineering, etc.) I need something with at least 5 hours battery life and easily re-chargeable (ideally from a solar charger). I don't need movies, video, even audio -- just something with a decent keyboard I can keep a diary on, write dispatches with, and do some email and occasional web (when I'm in a place with internet access). I've tried Alphasmart/Dana (clumsy interface), Palm (unreliable external keyboard), Acer (too heavy, not enough battery life).
Frankly, iPhone comes the closest. If only it had support for bluetooth keyboard & cut-and-paste. v3.0, anyone?

[sheldonrampton]

Let's take Steve Jobs seriously. An iPhone COULD be a passable netbook if it had a full-size keyboard. If a third-party vendor could make a workable plug-in keyboard (hopefully something that folds or rolls up small enough to fit in my pocket), I'd buy one, and I bet a lot of other people would too.

[acl259]

I recently bought a Dell mini 9, I chose the mini 9 because it is conceivable to load Mac OS onto it (with some limitations), no I haven't done this (yet).
The mini is NO power anything, and it doesn't have to be! what it has to do is allow me to truly through it in the back pack and ride to work. It runs my web, email, calender and open office snappily once loaded (the painful part).
I am after practicality, mobility and actual (not claimed) battery life. I have a Mac desk top and MacBook. No neither performs the function adequately.
The Macbook is transportable not TRUELY mobile (for me anyway). It is not practical to put in the backpack for multi day hikes or cycle touring.
I have a Iphone and Itouch, and neither are practical beyond their original intent which is not word processing, journalling or more than a cursory review of anything. Their is marketing hype, biased/evangelical reviewers and then their is reality.
For me the gap is there and is very (painfully) real. If you cannot perceive / conceive of the gap maybe it is because you do not have the need, or have not tried what you are knocking. It is not about cheap or power hungry this or that.......it is about practicality. For some anyway.
Which company used to challenge us to imagine or even think different?
I would happily drop the Mini 9 and purchase a apple 10" subnote as long as it did the job at a realistic price.

[tawjedi]

I think they already done all of these things. Look at the Apple's website.

[arj8138]

Theres no way they would put the iPhone into a device - how would you use the accelerometer since all the games, or at least most of them, are centered around that feature. What I would like to see is a dock that you can pop the iPhone/ iPod Touch into in landscape mode, which gives you a bigger [not necessarily full sized] keyboard and external battery. A bluetooth keyboard would do since the newest release of the Touches have a bluetooth chip in them, then you would just have to get something like the naja king so hold the iPod Touch/iPhone. I rather see this than a netbook.

[Alfiejr]

for hevins' sake, loose the darn clamshell!
keep it simple - all we need is a Touch with a 7" screen - 4x as much screen area.
we already have the 10,000 apps. just add copy and paste, background running, and a few other minor odds and ends. preloading an iWorks app would be extra neat.

[chase]

I enjoyed the article. Great job. I'd love to see a MacTablet (Maclet?) as a related product and/or article.
Maybe it would take an "...I Pledge to Buy if Apple Would Make..." webpage. Maybe MacWorld could even sponsor it! If enough people pledge, how could Steve ignore it?