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Apple Touchscreen Netbook to Launch in October at $800?

MrCrowbar said:
Soo... keyboards will be considered a pro feature, just like firewire is right now? Could actually happen. With top sites in Safari, you (in theory) don't need to type URLs much, and actually writing would only be on forums or word processing. I Imagine a Macbook Air with the keyboard replaced by the touchscreen and no lid to close. Similar 1.8" hard drive and all. Battery life needs to be good on that tpe of thing, so the Core 2 Duo might actually not be used.
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If you look at what Apple is doing in 10.6 it's pretty obvious they're prepping OS X for touch interaction. Considering most of Apple's product line already has glass screens, I think we're going to see a gradual phase-in of touch screens on the MB/MBP/iMac lines... followed, inevitably, by a phase-out of physical keyboards.

Whatever this Apple tablet/netbook is will only be the start.
 
I think Apple is being pressured into releasing something like this..

Personally, I can't see myself owning one... the iPhone is great in emergency situations and while travelling..

the tablet which would essentially be a large iPod touch but with OS X on it, would also need the capability for always on internet - so probably a data plan from a mobile provider.

Gaming on the device/App Store would be pretty well suited..

My main concern is the virtual keyboard. Sure.. i love it on the iPhone, but this is a larger device and would be harder to hold and touch type on...

It would have to have the facility to pair with a bluetooth keyboard as well...

I mean... all these rumours etc... we'll find out sooner or later
 
$800? Price of 2 32GB iPod touches. Or around 3 32GB iphone 3GS. The screen is going to be really small, and if Apple makes it thin, there won't be much room for hardware, unless Apple uses the NVIDIA ION platform. If Apple priced it maybe at $400-$500, they would dominate the netbook market. Or they could use some glorified ARM processor.
 
This sounds like a giant ipod touch/iphone. I'm sure it will be cool and fun to play with and all that good stuff.

But when am I going to get a high end wacom level tablet?
 
andrew upstairs said:
Not with Jobs' decree that all their computers have the word Mac in it.
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The term Mac (Macintosh) is for computers running the Mac OS. The name is used for desktop and laptop computers.

I don't think Apple will launch a 9" screen running the Mac OS X.
Nor will it run the iPhone OS.

A device too big to fit in the pocket, and too small to comfortably run desktop apps is the worst of all possible worlds.

The only possibility is an entirely new device intended for reading, browsing and note-taking (and stuff we have not thought of yet).

Such a device will not be a Mac - it won't be a Pod, a TV or a Phone. It would have to be something new.

C.
 
Netbooks are great!

I get a kick out of all of these posts that say netbooks are crap. First off, they are very useful devices. Not only are they great for surfing, but they are great for office apps, and videos. Also, they are extremely portable and much less expensive than a MBA.

My Samsung NC10 has a keyboard over 92% of a full-sized one. It weighs less than 3lbs. And, the battery lasts over 5 hours.

Are netbooks less powerful than regular notebooks? Yes, but if you always need to have a high-powered computer, I feel sorry for you; you really need to get outside more.
 
chstr said:
800 dollars for a netbook is retarded. not surprising at all
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But it is not a netbook in the sense of a true netbook. It will be a touchbook or larger iPod touch device. If true I would like very much to own one IF the price is UNDER $800 (and NOT $799) but maybe closer to $699. I think that is the sweet-spot for a touch-based device provided it runs OS X or SL and NOT the iPhone OS as that would be SILLY for $800.

D
 
ddTaylor said:
But it is not a netbook in the sense of a true netbook. It will be a touchbook or larger iPod touch device. If true I would like very much to own one IF the price is UNDER $800 (and NOT $799) but maybe closer to $699. I think that is the sweet-spot for a touch-based device provided it runs OS X or SL and NOT the iPhone OS as that would be SILLY for $800.
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$800 could be the price of the high-end version.
 
Just make a damn netbook, Steve. Cut the crap. I don't want an $800 touchscreen tablet. I want a $600 Apple netbook with a 1.6GHz C2D and 2GB of ram and an $800 option with 1.83GHz and 4GB ram. I don't want anything cute. Stop trying to reinvent the wheel. Listen to what the public wants. I don't want a 10" iPod Touch. Just make the damn netbook.
 
SnowLeopard2008 said:
$800? Price of 2 32GB iPod touches. Or around 3 32GB iphone 3GS. The screen is going to be really small, and if Apple makes it thin, there won't be much room for hardware, unless Apple uses the NVIDIA ION platform. If Apple priced it maybe at $400-$500, they would dominate the netbook market. Or they could use some glorified ARM processor.
Click to expand...

You need to compare apples to apples--

-- subsidized price of iPhone vs subsidized price of new device.
-- un-subsidized price of iPhone vs un-subsidized price of new device.
 
Personally i don't think it will have the word Mac in it's title at all. I do however think it will have Touch somewhere in the name.

iPod is too synonymous with music.

I therefore predict: iBook Touch :D

Well it's more likely than all the other bull that's come before on this thread.

Think about it:
i (cos it's every handheld gadget from Apple has an i in front)
Book (It's hardback book sized (width x height)
Touch (It's primary feature is it's multitouch capability, due to the fact it'll be big enough for multihand & greater than 2 finger gestures)

Look at all the other names in the product list either side of were this thing will sit:
iPhone (obviously a phone before anything else)
iPod Touch (A melding of the now infamous mp3 alternative with multitouch)
MacBook (A Macintosh that's notebook sized)
MacBook Pro (A Better Macintosh that's notebook sized)

I've considered all the alternatives:
iPad (Sounds like a ladies sanitary product)
iTablet (Ugly, and i suspect Apple wants zero connection to tablet PC's)
MaxiPod (Never in a month of Tuesdays, and again sounds sanitary)
iPod HD (I do kinda like this, maybe keep it in second place if the display can do 720p)
MacTouch (It's never going to be a mac, so you netbook fantacists can quit whining.)
Macbook nano (Again, nothing with the word Mac in it.)

Anyway that's my prediction, staking my claim right here! :D
 
isaaclimdc said:
I hope to hell that Apple does not enter the netbook market, as they already said. The iPhone/iPod touch IS their netbook. Unless they come up with something crazily innovative (i.e. nothing less inventive than a collapsable computer), they will end up creating a crappy product. Is that not Apple's worst fear?
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Speaking for myself, I will not consider the iPhone to be a "netbook" until it can run Flash applications.
 
Tallest Skil said:
Piece of crap worthless for everything except the Internet.

Also, I don't believe this. Apple touts a full-size keyboard, and you can't HAVE THAT on a computer this small.
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Have you USED a netbook? Do you OWN one? I have one that dual-boots both OS X and Windows 7 and they BOTH run extremely well on my Acer Atom n271 processor, 1.5GB RAM and 160GB HD with 6-cell battery. What are you talking about - it only works for internet work? Unless you have ACTUALLY spent time with a netbook I would refrain from commenting as it is pointless.

I run CS3 on Windows and CS2 on OS X with great results. Is it fast like a MacBook or MBA? Not at all - is it silly slow to the point of un-usability? Not at all. It is a fine notebook for the price and compared to my 17" PowerBook G4 1.33GHz with 1GB RAM and 100GB HD - it is similar in performance. Why knock it when you must not have tried it...Office and Photo Shop do well on a netbook and would most likely work well on the new TouchBook - provided it runs a version of OS X or SL other than the iPhone OS 3.x or the version that is available at the time of release.

If you have used a netbook it was not a current generation netbook as the new(er) netbooks with Atom CPU and at least a gigabyte of memory run very well. Compared to the Asus EeePC the new netbooks run circles around them - as you would expect. I say the new netbook line runs just as well as a 4-5-year old iBook or PB G4 of 1GHz or even slightly faster with like RAM and HD specifications.

Why spout-off about your dislike for netbooks and spew completely false and ignorant comments about the current status of netbooks? Does it make you feel better? Were you somehow 'wronged' by netbooks and vowed to get back at them at all cost? Please refrain from commenting with totally false and uninformed postings as it does not further the discourse but simply shows how arrogant many Apple users are and perpetuates the air that Mac users are stuck in the clouds with the noses so high it misses the rain!

No offense intended - of course...

D
 
fpnc said:
A 9.7 inch screen suggests a SMALL keyboard. I know they mention touchscreen, but one of the biggest complaints I've read on netbooks is their small, non-standard-sized keyboards. If Apple wants to introduce a netbook I was hoping for something with an 11" or 12" display and a standard sized keyboard (or one that is very close to standard size). Sure, they could use a small screen and have a big bezel surrounding it, but that would just be stupid (IMO).
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You don't get it. It will be a 9.7 inch touch screen device and NOT a netbook. That means no mechanical key board in the device It will have an onscreen keyboard like the touch and Iphone but bigger - it is possible that a BT keyboard will be an option.. Is this good or bad? Only time will tell. I would expect it to use the restricted OS in the touch and iphone and run on a cortex ARM device but I don't know for sure so we will just have to wait for more news...
 
If one desires to use an actual keyboard all one has to do is pair an Apple wireless keyboard to it. The keyboard will have a multi-touch pad with the same functionality as the remote app on the iPhone.
 
MikeDTyke said:
Personally i don't think it will have the word Mac in it's title at all. I do however think it will have Touch somewhere in the name.

iPod is too synonymous with music.

I therefore predict: iBook Touch :D

Well it's more likely than all the other bull that's come before on this thread.

Think about it:
i (cos it's every handheld gadget from Apple has an i in front)
Book (It's hardback book sized (width x height)
Touch (It's primary feature is it's multitouch capability, due to the fact it'll be big enough for multihand & greater than 2 finger gestures)

Look at all the other names in the product list either side of were this thing will sit:
iPhone (obviously a phone before anything else)
iPod Touch (A melding of the now infamous mp3 alternative with multitouch)
MacBook (A Macintosh that's notebook sized)
MacBook Pro (A Better Macintosh that's notebook sized)

I've considered all the alternatives:
iPad (Sounds like a ladies sanitary product)
iTablet (Ugly, and i suspect Apple wants zero connection to tablet PC's)
MaxiPod (Never in a month of Tuesdays, and again sounds sanitary)
iPod HD (I do kinda like this, maybe keep it in second place if the display can do 720p)
MacTouch (It's never going to be a mac, so you netbook fantacists can quit whining.)
Macbook nano (Again, nothing with the word Mac in it.)

Anyway that's my prediction, staking my claim right here! :D
Click to expand...

iBook Touch implies that it has a cover and opens like a book.

Why not just iTouch or inTouch?
 
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