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I actually really like Apple's response. If we can make a $399 machine that is GOOD, we will do it, but if we can't, we won't do it just for the sake of copying everyone else! If Apple builds a cheapo netbook, the only thing differentiating it between other netbooks will be OS X.
 
I must be the only one who honestly DOES NOT see any use for netbooks... I've really tried hard to imagine scenarios where it would come in handy, but each time it's beaten either by the lighter more practical iPhone I have for surfing the net quickly and easily or by the 13" Macbook Pro for school work...
In my student's life it's just useless.
If Apple makes such a thing, I hope they put a bit of dignity in it.
 
To make a netbook that is clearly better than the competition, but only a bit more expensive than the competition, Apple needs to change the rules of the game. I think they need at least one feature that nobody else has, maybe even a feature that nobody else even considered. What haven't we seen in a netbook that could change the entire netbook landscape?

There's multi-touch.

[rant]
I'm sick of multi-touch. It should be on the iPhone/iPT, that's it. The trackpads are goofy.
[/rant]

There could be a multi-touch trackpad or tablet-like swiveley display with multi-touch.

Yes there's already the MBA, but nobody cross-shops that with a netbook; it costs too much.

If the "netlet" can be had for ~$400-$600, it'll sell like hotcakes.
 
I think all this talk about the current netbooks being crap is just absurd. They are perfect for what they're designed for: email, web usage and portability. They're not designed for encoding DVDs or for running Photoshop so of course they preform sub-par at these tasks.

For portability they are truly amazing. I can sit in a coffee shop and leave it on the table while I go to the restroom and not worry that my $2500 MacBook Pro might disappear. If it does get stolen or my car gets broken into I'm out $250 -- not the end of the world. There's nothing I need my MacBook Pro for while I'm on the go/road/travel that my mini9 has not been able to handle.

There is a reason these things are selling; people like them -- they find them useful and cost efficient. Almost every day someone will come up to me and ask me about it. I realize that this is anecdotal evidence, but in my opinion, there is a lot of curiosity and intrigue about netbooks and Apple appears to be missing out. I think Apple is either just being stubborn or flat out lying like they did with the whole "we're not making a mobile phone" business.

Either way, I encourage anyone who wants a cheap, portable and light-weight laptop to check them out. I love my mini9 hackint0sh.
 
I like they way apps are priced.

If the lowest price of any app was $3 instead of 99¢, then i probably would stop buying apps.
 
I disagree

As to the premium image, they have consistently said they do not sell to everyone. I don't know why people expect them to release a junk piece of hardware and change their mindset. It is clearly working based on their results today.

My HP netbook is not a "Junk Piece". Personally it does everything I want it to do. No, It has nowhere near the power of my MacBook, but I don't need it to either. And please hold off with the ridiculous fanboy rant of "The iPhone is Apple's netbook".... Not even close. I can run iTunes, MS Office, Surf the Web, get my email, and sync my iphone and iPods, download pictures, video chat, and even download torrents if I wish (and all at the same time).... And gee, I can even view websites that use "crappy" flash..

The other posters are right, it's all about Apple's margin. I'm sorry Steve Jobs doesn't know how to make a $500 computer that isn't a piece of junk - But most of the industry does....

A netbook is what it is... It's a neat little machine when I don't need to carry my Macbook (which is 75% of the time).
 
I think all this talk about the current netbooks being crap is just absurd. They are perfect for what they're designed for: email, web usage and portability. They're not designed for encoding DVDs or for running Photoshop so of course they preform sub-par at these tasks.

Agreed. More cores are always welcome, though. There is a dual-core variant of the Atom, and Dell is using it in this. My guess is its too hot, costs too much, or uses too much power for a netbook application.

For portability they are truly amazing. I can sit in a coffee shop and leave it on the table while I go to the restroom and not worry that my $2500 MacBook Pro might disappear. If it does get stolen or my car gets broken into I'm out $250 -- not the end of the world. There's nothing I need my MacBook Pro for while I'm on the go/road/travel that my mini9 has not been able to handle.

That's the spirit!

There is a reason these things are selling; people like them -- they find them useful and cost efficient. Almost every day someone will come up to me and ask me about it. I realize that this is anecdotal evidence, but in my opinion, there is a lot of curiosity and intrigue about netbooks and Apple appears to be missing out. I think Apple is either just being stubborn or flat out lying like they did with the whole "we're not making a mobile phone" business.

If Apple gets into the netbook segment, at a reasonable price, they will probably own it because Apple isn't some brand that you've never heard of and they (usually) make good quality products.

I like they way apps are priced.

If the lowest price of any app was $3 instead of 99¢, then i probably would stop buying apps.

That's why they want to change it. The lowest price is free, BTW.
 
My HP netbook is not a "Junk Piece". Personally it does everything I want it to do. No, It has nowhere near the power of my MacBook, but I don't need it to either. And please hold off with the ridiculous fanboy ran of "The iPhone is Apple's netbook".... Not even close. I can run iTunes, MS Office, Surf the Web, get my email, and sync my iphone and iPods, download pictures and even download torrents if I wish (and all at the same time).... And gee, I can even view website that use "crappy" flash..

The other posters are right, it's all about Apple's margin. I'm sorry Steve Jobs doesn't know how to make a $500 computer that isn't a piece of junk - But most of the industry does....

A netbook is what it is... It's a neat little machine when I don't need to carry my Macbook (which is 75% of the time).

AFAIK, HP doesn't have the ridiculously high profits that Apple does.

Take a look at this post. The profit per Mac Pro has increased significantly for the Nehalem models.

Apple does have a few billion dollars to burn. They should use that money to test the netbook market with the "netlet." Netlet = netbook power + multi-touch display + a real version of OS X.
 
...Repackaging these things into a cheap $400 netbook would degrade their brand. They want no part of that. Ask Dell how things are treating them in the discount market these days...

If my purchase isn't any indication, perhaps the myriad of other Mini enthusiasts' purchases might shed some light. Don't get me wrong, DELL is not the behemoth PC company it used to be, but they still make nice machines. I loved my XPS M1710, love my Studio XPS i7, and my little portable A90 Vostro Hackintosh. The discount market isn't to be underestimated - especially in a shaky economy. Apple can make what they want, but it's a shame they can't or won't Think any Differently about Netbooks.

I think all this talk about the current netbooks being crap is just absurd. They are perfect for what they're designed for: email, web usage and portability. They're not designed for encoding DVDs or for running Photoshop so of course they preform sub-par at these tasks.

For portability they are truly amazing. I can sit in a coffee shop and leave it on the table while I go to the restroom and not worry that my $2500 MacBook Pro might disappear. If it does get stolen or my car gets broken into I'm out $250 -- not the end of the world. There's nothing I need my MacBook Pro for while I'm on the go/road/travel that my mini9 has not been able to handle.

There is a reason these things are selling; people like them -- they find them useful and cost efficient. Almost every day someone will come up to me and ask me about it. I realize that this is anecdotal evidence, but in my opinion, there is a lot of curiosity and intrigue about netbooks and Apple appears to be missing out. I think Apple is either just being stubborn or flat out lying like they did with the whole "we're not making a mobile phone" business.

Either way, I encourage anyone who wants a cheap, portable and light-weight laptop to check them out. I love my mini9 hackint0sh.

+1

They'll probably release an amazing tablet for about $800 and all will be forgiven. Well, almost all ... there will still be the eggheads bemoaning the end of the world once the new Precious is released. You all just go to your corners and be happy Apple nerds, alright? Let the rest of us geeks have our fun with the new toys. :p
 
They'll probably release an amazing tablet for about $800 and all will be forgiven. Well, almost all ... there will still be the eggheads bemoaning the end of the world once the new Precious is released. You all just go to your corners and be happy Apple nerds, alright? Let the rest of us geeks have our fun with the new toys. :p

Does anyone sell an ~$800 tablet? IMO, it would be quite a feat to have a tablet with real components and an 8.5x11 screen. My dad got a tablet for work about two, maybe three years ago. We checked the price on it and it was at least $1500.
 
It still doesn't keep everyone else and their dog from selling them. ION coming soon and Pine Trail was delayed to keep it from stepping on late 2009 netbook sales.

as my uncle would say "and if those boys all decided to jump off a cliff, should Apple do it as well"

we all know that Apple doesn't kowtow to what everyone else is doing. if they did we'd have blu-ray burners in all the macs by now. why? well cause everyone else has them

I wonder what they mean by rankings. It must be hard to keep track of all the apps on the app store.

they have to track how many times each app is downloaded for giving proper payment to the creators. they have taken that count and make a ranked list. simple as that.

If you're writing applications for the iPhone that deal in traditional markets like Mechanical Engineering, CAD, FEA, Manufacturing, Hospital Care, Insurance Industries, etc., the prices aren't going to be $.99.

yes but you also have something of a captive audience. you know that you can charge $19.99 a download for your RX database program because you probably did some market research. heck you might have even gotten one of the big hospitals like Johns Hopkins to sign up as your 'beta' tester. and when they stamp approval on it, every hospital in the country will be swarming.

compare this to the latest of a few dozen tetris rip offs which have to price down to entice downloads.

they're just more about their "premium" image.

you say that like it is a bad thing. Apple's premium image is part of why they have at most 10% of the personal computer market share. and that lack of share is how they avoid anti-trust on the tying issue. which is a win for Apple since they want to be able to pick the hardware folks use.


I must be the only one who honestly DOES NOT see any use for netbooks.

actually they can be quite useful, when they are designed for what they are intended for. The Net. the iphone/touch is a tad small for any real surfing etc. something a little bigger is more comfortable. if the tablet thing is real and really is a NETbook I can see it selling as a device for those that travel or for those that aren't really into computers beyond email. to me the perfect device would be basically a larger touch (say about half the size of the 13" notebooks) with built in wifi and 3g antennas. touchscreen with software based keyboard etc. you use it to do email, surf the web, perhaps it has a built in camera for ichat, you listen to music, watch videos. perhaps the app store opens up for apps rescaled to work on the larger screen.

but not something with power for full on apps like imovie, and such.
 
As previously pointed out, Apple commands a premium price point because of it has worked hard to deliver premium brand experiences, from advertising to stores to the end user experience.
.

I'm pretty sure can go back and find the "Apple is suppose to have prices out of line with the market" posts that similarly explained why there would not be a sub $100 ipod or a $99 iPhone.

Hmm, those both exist at this point at the Apple store. Likewise have been mentioned as necessary by Apple in these conference calls so that the market doesn't get umbrella pricing effect and Apple gets attacked from the bottom.
[ iPod is different because market share dominate, where on the computers where dominate, many years ago, but now have been pummeled into a minor share .... in part because did the umbrella pricing strategy. ]

Apple is doing something weird. There is a $500 gap between the Macbook and the top of this "can't build for that price range". It is almost as if they are holding it open so that some of their products don't overlap as opposed to could not come to market with a device in that range. Or just don't want to sell anything for less that $1,000 ( rounded $999 is a $1k).

The even bigger odd-ball is the MacBook Air. A quality, sub $999 version consumer line packaged equivalent would probably drop its sales precipitously. The $1,000 chasm between the MBA and netbooks is huge.


There are few "deliver customer values" aspects for this. Lots more with Apple only wanting to do a subset of the various markets. Or holding open a slot for a more expensive Touch/Phone. The latter is somewhat problematic when Apple is holding back Mac OS X computer sales to open door for iPhone OS sales.

The clear thing that Apple needs to do is not match netbooks but to match the consumer line ( above netbook and $1000 range) that the competitors have offerings in. The solitary Macbook is whacked. There is no engineering deliver blocker there other than zero effort on Apple's part.
(similar to letting the Mac mini run comatose for several years with some whacked constraints that don't really ad customer value. ]
 
as my uncle would say "and if those boys all decided to jump off a cliff, should Apple do it as well"

we all know that Apple doesn't kowtow to what everyone else is doing. if they did we'd have blu-ray burners in all the macs by now. why? well cause everyone else has them
I guess Apple shouldn't listen to the consumers at all then. FireWire and the supposedly desirable SD card slot shouldn't be on a MacBook (Pro) at all.

Acer is definitely doing something wrong with its sales. In before slim (normal) profit margins.
 
I already have an Apple netbook, it's called an iPhone :p
Oh and Apple, I will always wait for app price drops, I refuse to pay more than $5.00 for an App.
 
I actually really like Apple's response. If we can make a $399 machine that is GOOD, we will do it, but if we can't, we won't do it just for the sake of copying everyone else! If Apple builds a cheapo netbook, the only thing differentiating it between other netbooks will be OS X.

Uh, exactly my thoughts. My cousin's have those tiny things and to me, I get just as much done on my iPhone as they do on that little computer.

OSX would definitely help out the netbook in a number of ways. Oh, and the one button mouse that so many are not fond of would work wonders on it. There 2 buttons are literally merge into one.

I too say the heck with it. Just build what we have. Maybe make the air smaller.
 
I already have an Apple netbook, it's called an iPhone :p
Oh and Apple, I will always wait for app price drops, I refuse to pay more than $5.00 for an App.
The device that needs to be tethered to my computer is my computer. :eek:

What can you do with an iPhone/iPod Touch if you never connect it to a computer?
 
Anyone else find it ironic that even as the article talks about apple ending te race to the bottom in the app store, the hordes are clamoring for apple to enter the netbook market?

Apple doesn't play in the cheap end of the market. Why is this so hard to understand? Do you expect BMW to make an $18K sedan? It's not the business model and it's not gonna happen.
 
Or holding open a slot for a more expensive Touch/Phone. The latter is somewhat problematic when Apple is holding back Mac OS X computer sales to open door for iPhone OS sales.

The iPT already tops out at $399; way too expensive for me to even consider. If it had the 3G S hardware, that includes camera, then it would work a $399

Uh, exactly my thoughts. My cousin's have those tiny things and to me, I get just as much done on my iPhone as they do on that little computer.

So you're doing stuff in Office and printing, and multitasking?

A computer that needs another computer to function...
 
netbook market targets for light way of using PC. mainly its purpose is internet, email, photo, video clips with decent battery life. it doens't need heavy power as you know. but it's in very narrow section what kind of poeple use it. yeah, it's popular. it's side market comparing to other PC yet. that's why Apple is not attempting to get into this market anytime just like they don't put Blu-Ray in their macs. well, Apple already has iphone & ipod touch to do all of it.
 
netbook market targets for light way of using PC. mainly its purpose is internet, email, photo, video clips with decent battery life. it doens't need heavy power as you know. but it's in very narrow section what kind of poeple use it. yeah, it's popular. it's side market comparing to other PC yet. that's why Apple is not attempting to get into this market anytime just like they don't put Blu-Ray in their macs. well, Apple already has iphone & ipod touch to do all of it.

The iPT and iPhone can't edit MS Office things, which is one of the primary reasons people get a netbook.

I doubt anybody gets one for video/photo editing. The screen is too low a resolution with too small a size combined with subpar performance for either of those tasks.
 
Have any of you raving about an Apple netbook tried typing on one? For those of us who learned how to use a keyboard, it's a nightmare. The 9-inch screen is also freakin' tiny, so good luck seeing anything.

The $400 Asus model I used also had the battery pack partially sticking out the back and had a VERY crappy touchpad. Since Apple just doesn't make POS products, I can't see any netbook costing less than $600, which almost negates the point.
 
Have any of you raving about an Apple netbook tried typing on one? For those of us who learned how to use a keyboard, it's a nightmare.

Yup. As long as you get a nearly-full-size one, it's fine.

The 9-inch screen is also freakin' tiny, so good luck seeing anything.

Not if you get a 10'' :p.

The $400 Asus model I used also had the battery pack partially sticking out the back and had a VERY crappy touchpad. Since Apple just doesn't make POS products, I can't see any netbook costing less than $600, which almost negates the point.

The Asus ones do have crappy trackpads. I find most of them satisfactory, though.
 
I think people are seriously confused. I don't think people want a $400 crippled POS they just want something small yet powerful. The average consumer doesn't know what the difference is between a netbook and an ultra portable hence why people keep screaming for Apple to make a netbook since that is the buzz word and is associated with small. Thing is an ultra portable is small too yet powerful. Hence the " $800 10" tablet small and powerful + not a f*cking netbook" - that is what Apple should put in their ad when it's released so the consumer can finally understand.
 
The device that needs to be tethered to my computer is my computer. :eek:

What can you do with an iPhone/iPod Touch if you never connect it to a computer?

What can I do with the iPhone without connecting it to my computer. Nearly everything I need to do for work and home. I run a Citrix client on my iPhone, access/sync work emails remotely. I can edit work, excel docs on the go if needed. I respond to emails all day long with it, If I choose I could backup everything wirelessly but USB backups are much faster.

As far as how I use it for entertainment I don't need to connect it for anything but backing up the data, which I would do on a netbook anyhow yes? I download all my apps, movies, music, tv shows etc.. directly to my iPhone. I don't recall the last time I downloaded something in iTunes on my MBP and then sync'd to my iPhone, no need when I'm around a wifi connection I just get what I need.

If you use a netbook and backup the data to an external HDD, that is the same difference as backing up my iPhone to my MBP.

So to answer your question... I do everything I need on my iPhone and have no need for a netbook, this works better, more portable and is not crippled by Windows XP.

The only Apple product I can see come out that I would think about making a move to is a 10" MB or Tablet/touchpad device. The biggest downside besides the current plastic netbooks are the horrible trackpads and cramped keyboards. Google "netbook return rates"... 30%.. because they are for the most part junk. People think they will replace their computer or laptop and the general buying public has no clue that an Atom processor vs a C2D will make a difference. Their kids think they are cool and small then realize they are a pc of junk when they won't run Youtube, Hulu and other video sites as well as the fact they cant play games. (anything graphic intensive anyhow) FPS, MMO's etc..

Games have driven computer sales for so many years with reguards to the PC market. Netbooks will fade away as novelty toys because they are over hyped and over priced. The only ones that even stand a chance to gain respect end up well over the $500 or even $600 mark. Then what is the point? The whole idea was a sub $300 machine.
 
What can I do with the iPhone without connecting it to my computer. Nearly everything I need to do for work and home. I run a Citrix client on my iPhone, access/sync work emails remotely. I can edit work, excel docs on the go if needed. I respond to emails all day long with it, If I choose I could backup everything wirelessly but USB backups are much faster.

As far as how I use it for entertainment I don't need to connect it for anything but backing up the data, which I would do on a netbook anyhow yes? I download all my apps, movies, music, tv shows etc.. directly to my iPhone. I don't recall the last time I downloaded something in iTunes on my MBP and then sync'd to my iPhone, no need when I'm around a wifi connection I just get what I need.

If you use a netbook and backup the data to an external HDD, that is the same difference as backing up my iPhone to my MBP.

So to answer your question... I do everything I need on my iPhone and have no need for a netbook, this works better, more portable and is not crippled by Windows XP.
You can use an iPhone/Touch without ever connecting it to a computer then?
 
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