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Apple Answers Questions About Low-end iPhone and Mac Netbooks

puffnstuff said:
You remember the days when the Apple lineup had variety?

iBooks were 12", 14" and the Powerbook 12",15", and 17"
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Five form factors. Those were the days!

Today we only have two shapes of 13" MacBook, three sizes of Pro, and the Air.

(I too wanted a 12" or smaller screen before the Air came out. But the overall volume is so small that this is definitely as portable as a small-screen device that's thicker. So I'm not at ALL sorry I have the bigger screen in my Air subnotebook. I'd be interested to consider something smaller, and I don't know what I'd choose, but this thing IS ultraportable.)
 
cloudnine said:
I'm so glad to hear that Apple's not going to pursue a lower end iPhone or some cheap netbook. Hopefully all those people hoping this would happen will stop being so vocal about it now.

Better Looking Than You, Inc.
24" 2.8GHz iMac;
2.4GHz Unibody MacBook;
16GB White iPhone;
160GB iPod Classic (Silver);
2GB iPod Shuffle (RED)
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Ok, this is from a guy who has an iPod Classic and an iPod Shuffle and an iPhone...

Hmm, maybe sometimes you all you want to do listen to some music and don't want to carry around your larger/heavier/bulkier Classic or iPhone and don't need all the features anyway.

Well guess, what? - some of us like to do the same thing with their computers! :D
 
Got an eee901 for Christmas, great little device. Keyboard is fine ( coming from a Jornada 720, so I'm used to it out of the box ), battery life is spectacular ( it came with a 6-cell ).

I use it to browse the web, use Inkscape, Lego NXT all seem to work fine under XP with no extra RAM, etc.

If an Apple netbook was released, I would buy it. Heck, they could buy the HW from Asus, install OSX and support it. :) But I don't think it would be a huge market for them...so they probably will not do it.

I do hope they release an iPhone nano ( pay as you go ) or a pay as you go iPhone, would be nice to have something to test apps on without signing a service contract. :)
 
Apple are a low selling/high profit company. Netbooks are by their nature aimed at people who are looking for something afforable. Either Apple cut their profits on it substantially or build a lower quality (compared to everything else Apple) product - neither of which Apple will ever
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Don't you see how you Have allowed the PC mfgrs to define the netbook space? If Apple thought like that we'd never have seen the (premium priced, superior design and ecosystem) iPod. Give apple some credit. And think different! :)
 
Never understood the rumours about a low end iPhone. Seems to be a self defeating concept...
 
BenRoethig said:
No and at $1300 its a tad on the expensive side for a secondary computer. The reasons netbooks have been so popular is because they combine the advantages of an ultra portable without the insane price tag.
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Price is a big factor for a NetBook, since there is a change you may lose it on the other hand there is a peace-of-mind when you rough handle a NetBook considering you might not lose too much if something happened to it. Its disposal and not supposed to be an investment, heck technology can never be an investment since it loses too much value in a short period of time.

rtdunham said:
Don't you see how you Have allowed the PC mfgrs to define the netbook space? If Apple thought like that we'd never have seen the (premium priced, superior design and ecosystem) iPod. Give apple some credit. And think different! :)
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Something tells me that Apple will expand the OS X iPhone to run on a NetBook. Think about it, its an iPhone minus the Phone. :eek:

I installed OS X on a eeePC 1000H, it is clear it does not handle the resolution well. Maybe ResInd would solve this.

beeh said:
Got an eee901 for Christmas, great little device. Keyboard is fine ( coming from a Jornada 720, so I'm used to it out of the box ), battery life is spectacular ( it came with a 6-cell ).

I use it to browse the web, use Inkscape, Lego NXT all seem to work fine under XP with no extra RAM, etc.

If an Apple netbook was released, I would buy it. Heck, they could buy the HW from Asus, install OSX and support it. :) But I don't think it would be a huge market for them...so they probably will not do it.

I do hope they release an iPhone nano ( pay as you go ) or a pay as you go iPhone, would be nice to have something to test apps on without signing a service contract. :)
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Could not agree more, I love this eeePC 1000H. :D
 
numbersyx said:
Never understood the rumours about a low end iPhone. Seems to be a self defeating concept...
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It all depends, the iPod Shuffle was only released since it made Apple money as it accessed the iTMS.

If Apple is going to released a low-end iPhone it has to profit by accessing the iTMS, if not I do not believe Apple will follow through.
 
BenRoethig said:
No and at $1300 its a tad on the expensive side for a secondary computer. The reasons netbooks have been so popular is because they combine the advantages of an ultra portable without the insane price tag.
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Something to be said about any product that looks expensive and is expensive and must be treated with great care. This is where the MBA fails or should I say succeed since it has all of this. However the market and consumers want affordable products that can be thrown around and still be functional, sleek looks is an after thought. Think of what one might do if they lost a MBA, now think what a NetBook user would do if they were to lose they NetBook.

I figure the MBA user would fear this situation, while the NetBook user would not give it a second thought. Disposal equipment, that is the future of technology, think about cell/mobile phones over the last decade. I remember then being bricks and people would coddle them, now it is thrown around with no care.
 
Does anyone else feel that Apple is being slightly more cavalier about releasing info on whether or not they are gonna reveal products? I feel like in the old days they would have just said "we will not discuss that at this time."
 
Finally. Thank you Tim Cook. I'm tired of hearing about an iPhone nano and an Apple Netbook. We don't need these niche market products.

I'm happy with my fully featured iPhone and my Macbook Air.
 
I think iPhone nano is still possible. I never considered an iPhone nano to be a low cost version of the iPhone but rather an equal or more expensive version since it should have all the same features but with reduced microphone and speaker space (more just the screen area). So, Cook is dismissing a low cost iphone but not dismissing iphone nano... ya?
 
It's interesting to see how many people don't want a company ( Apple ) that can and does produce great products to innovate in new or existing product areas. That just seems wrong. :)
 
beeh said:
It's interesting to see how many people don't want a company ( Apple ) that can and does produce great products to innovate in new or existing product areas. That just seems wrong. :)
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There was a time when Apple used to lead the way in technology, they now play the follow the market game 1-2 years later and then call it inspiration. Apple only improves what has already been released, they are not leaders in technology, however masters of the Human interface.

They will release a NetBook or a affordable iPhone only if the iPhone can access the iTMS and the NetBook running OS X iPhone.
 
Easy now everyone.

I'm basing my statement on experience. I ended up with a $379 Acer cheap-o laptop over Christmas with the x4500M chipset which plays 720p videos flawlessly. And that's already outdated with the even newer x4500MHD which plays 1080p. It was cheaper than a lot of Netbooks with smaller screens and the whimpy GMA950...

I think some of the newer low-power chipsets, like the Intel 500 or the Ion made for Netbooks will be able to play 1080p also. But, I can't really stand anything smaller than the 12" square screen on my Thinkpad (or the ever popular 12" iBook/PowerBooks).

I guess if that's what your into fine. I would think anything smaller than 12" you can just use a Tablet/Touchscreen. I think Apple, with the success of the Touch/iPhone and the App Store would be the only company that can pull a Tablet off.

Leave the Netbooks up to Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and other "cheap PC" companies... :eek:
 
gkarris said:
Easy now everyone.

I'm basing my statement on experience. I ended up with a $379 Acer cheap-o laptop over Christmas with the x4500M chipset which plays 720p videos flawlessly. And that's already outdated with the even newer x4500MHD which plays 1080p. It was cheaper than a lot of Netbooks with smaller screens and the whimpy GMA950...

I think some of the newer low-power chipsets, like the Intel 500 or the Ion made for Netbooks will be able to play 1080p also. But, I can't really stand anything smaller than the 12" square screen on my Thinkpad (or the ever popular 12" iBook/PowerBooks).

I guess if that's what your into fine. I would think anything smaller than 12" you can just use a Tablet/Touchscreen. I think Apple, with the success of the Touch/iPhone and the App Store would be the only company that can pull a Tablet off.

Leave the Netbooks up to Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and other "cheap PC" companies... :eek:
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Or Nvidia who had a box smaller then the Mac Mini that does 1080p video and can be connected to a TV with multiple USB ports at CES.
 
drakeshipway said:
Good..
Low end iPhone = Dumb.
Any netbook = Dumb.

Do you really need a miniature computer that's a piece of trash?
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First comment, agreed. Second comment, there isn't a big enough face palm to that would suit that comment. You need to go read up on netbooks.
 
This wait-and-see attitude mirrors comments by Steve Jobs from the last financial results conference call in October
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Jim Henson had a wait-and-see attitude and look what happened to him!
Now we've got wrong sounding Muppets!!!
 
HELLO APPLE... ARE YOU LISTENING???

We would buy a little laptop for our KIDS!!!!

They could have a little laptop to use garageband on, take photos on photobooth, play ClubPenguin on Safari, edit their videos, make web pages...

What parent wants to deal with the hassles of a little PC?

Branding begins at an early age... hello.....:)
 
if apple were to release a netbook, I would think it would cost no less than $800, in which case, you would be better off buying a refurb macbook air. i see no point.
 
MacRumors said:
We're watching that space, but from our pov the products are based on hardware that's much less powerful, software technology that's not good, cramped displays. We don't think that people are going to be pleased with those type of products. It's a category we watch, we have some ideas here, but we think the products there now are inferior and won't provide the kind of experience people want.
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Sounds like an iPhone (aside from the software part.)

Sorry if I missed a few days of Jobs market class here, but isn't that exactly the kind of market Apple does well in?

Give me an 8" iPod Touch! (please)
 
!¡ V ¡! said:
There was a time when Apple used to lead the way in technology, they now play the follow the market game 1-2 years later and then call it inspiration. Apple only improves what has already been released, they are not leaders in technology, however masters of the Human interface.
Click to expand...

Google wasn't the first search engine. The iPod wasn't the first mp3 player. The iPhone was the first smart phone. But all of them redefined their respective industries. It's not about getting there first, it's about getting it right.
 
nagromme said:
(I too wanted a 12" or smaller screen before the Air came out. But the overall volume is so small that this is definitely as portable as a small-screen device that's thicker. So I'm not at ALL sorry I have the bigger screen in my Air subnotebook.
Click to expand...

Too bad the college classroom desk manufacturers haven't heard about this and started making their desks wide enough. I can't fit a 13" widescreen anything next to a graphics tablet without the center of mass of one of them being over the edge. My 12" Powerbook, now that could fit. That's why I used it.

(Why do I need a graphics tablet? because English keyboards don't have all the greek symbols a physicist uses; complex equations, graphs and free-body diagrams are really difficult using ascii art)
 
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