We all knew that there was talk about Apple producing a Netbook but now a Taiwanese newspaper has come out and said that Apple’s new Netbook will make its debut this October.
Apple has consistently repeated that it isn’t interested in producing low cost run of the mill Netbooks so we are all expecting something different with this one but what do we know?
A translation of the original Chinese story appearing in InfoTimes was posted on MacRumours and by all accounts the description of the Netbook fits the view that Technology Business Research’s analyst Ezra Gottheil has had for months.
“The screen size, the fact that it will be a touch screen, is pretty much along the route I think Apple should take,” said Gottheil. “The price point, though, is pretty high if Apple wants to do with a Netbook what I think it wants to do”.
“But then, Apple has never been above squeezing early adopters,” Gottheil added.
According to the report the screen size is a mere 9.7 inches which puts it smaller than some of the other popular Netbooks on the market and it is a touch screen. The cost is reported to be around the $800 mark which is far more expensive than most other Netbooks and puts this one in another bracket.
The report even mentions three Taiwanese manufacturers who will be producing the components for the Netbook and these are Dynapack International Technology, Foxconn and Wintek.
According to Gottheil, we are not to think of this new Netbook as a PC but as a device that can do the things that Netbooks can do like checking emails and browsing the web of course, but we shouldn’t compare it to a Netbook.
As for the operating system, well Gottheil says, “I think this will use something more like the iPhone operating system than the Mac” he adds “and it will have something like the iPhone’s App Store.”
The App store is important says Gottheil in order for Apple to have control over what goes on the Netbook, particularly for security issues.
“Having that control is really important to them….especially as a way to cut off any security problems. They would not want to ever see a virus on something like this.”
What we don’t know is if the new device is a traditional Netbook or a tablet without a keyboard but I kind of like Gottheil’s vision of an “iPod on steroids”.
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I just cant wait till October for this master piece. It is really awesome…i will surely save money for this one.