One possible concept for an Apple touch-screen netbook.
(Image from Gizmodo)
In a recent column, we speculated about the possibility of an Apple touch-screen tablet. Now it appears that more fuel has just been placed on the fire. In fact, some on the Net have speculated that Apple could release just such a device as early as this October. Even a price ($800) has been associated with this device-to-be.
It’s rather difficult to say if such a device is really in Apple’s pipeline—much less with an $800 price tag. But if true, depending on the features, $800 would be on the pricey side especially compared to $300 to $400 for a netbook like the MSI Wind. Still, a netbook is not generally a touch-screen device, so the addition of a touch-screen and 3G could well justify the extra dollars.
Here on the “yes, it’s going to happen” side, we have a quote via cnet news and MacRumors that is attributed to a translation of a Mandarin-language article in the Chinese Times. (Are you still with me? That's a rather convoluted path—but that's how rumors sometimes run.) “Three (Taiwanese) corporations--Foxconn, Wintek, Dynapack--have received direct orders from Apple. (Wintek will be producing touch screens and providing relevant technologies for Apple.) In addition, some supply chain companies have privately confirmed deals related to Netbooks."
But a netbook is not necessarily a tablet. So is it a netbook, a touch-screen or is it a combination of the two? MacRumors clarifies this by reporting that, "Apple will produce (touch) screens with about 9.7 inches in diagonal length." So it sounds like this indeed could be a tablet touch-screen.
Now there remains the question of where in the product line this device (if it exists) will sit. Is it a netbook Mac or a super-sized iPod Touch? Here the rumors seem to indicate that the device will be bigger than an iPod Touch (is there such a thing as smaller than an iPod Touch?) but smaller than the Apple MacBook Air. There’s a lot of real estate between these two devices. However, to accommodate a 10-inch touch-screen, the device would have to be much closer in size to a MacBook Air than to an iPod Touch.
Does it run OS X 10.6 (or later) or iPhone OS 3.0(or later)? Will it have a physical or virtual keyboard? Will there be an interface to use it with the iPhone 3GS (with the iPhone operating as a super-remote for the device?) Will it have a dock? The questions abound. These kinds of rumors create many more questions than they answer—and the potential for an Apple tablet netbook is no different. There is more unknown than known at this time. We’ll just have to wait and find out.
Disclaimer:Apple is typically mum about unreleased products. And I have absolutely no inside information with regard to any potential products.
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