Lets not forget that ASUS built the iBook for Apple so their quality can't be that bad
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=1642&commentid=19308&threshhold=1&red=3320
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Jobs on Mac Netbooks: Not Yet, But...
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Lets not forget that ASUS built the iBook for Apple so their quality can't be that bad
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=1642&commentid=19308&threshhold=1&red=3320
I'm ordering a netbook to give a disabled sibling a computer to type up all their short stories. 
I really wish it was a Mac.
I really wish it was a Mac.
I would love to see Apple make an app store for Mac OS X. I think there would be quite a boom in Mac programming. If they're getting serious about games on the Touch... maybe they can finally get serious about having the major PC game developers developing for the Mac? Boot Camp would become truly useless if Valve began making their games native on the Mac.
There are fully featured sub notebooks (optical drive and all) out there that matches the air in portability such as the Vaio Z series. Nope, its not paper thin but it does have similar price, better specs (probably except for the GPU), optical drive, better battery life, aluminum/carbon fiber enclosure and has a smaller foot print then the air. Of course, the only problem is, it runs Vista.
Also. One of the reason I always fail to bring my PC subnotebook/netbook friends into the Mac fold is simply because they want a computer with a smaller foot print rather then being wide and super thin.
For game developers to come more willingly to mac, apple needs a much higher marketshare. Give it time....
Exactly. I have been looking at a netbook, and a desktop. They have different functions and I don't want to be unplugging everything when I want to use my netbook.
I guess the waiting continues!
So Steve Jobs isn't impressed with the number of netbooks sold?
http://blog.laptopmag.com/asus-ceo-...or-touch-eee-pcs-and-more-eee-family-products
http://blog.laptopmag.com/asus-ceo-...or-touch-eee-pcs-and-more-eee-family-products
I think he sees them as cheap and in a way, gimmicky.
Or that may just be my thinking....
Glossy screens and photography
As a photographer, I strongly disagree with you. I have found the glossy screen easier to use and bright enough both before and after calibration to make photography work easier and more accurate. In fact, simply because of the polished glass, the clarity of the screen is far superior to the semi-translucent anti-glare displays.
As a photographer, I strongly disagree with you. I have found the glossy screen easier to use and bright enough both before and after calibration to make photography work easier and more accurate. In fact, simply because of the polished glass, the clarity of the screen is far superior to the semi-translucent anti-glare displays.
No to NetBook but yes to Tablet/Newton2
I think you are wrong about a divice between an iPhone and an AIR. But that device won't be a NetBook but rather a tablet about the size of a Newton or a little larger. The device would still run mobile OS and hopefully network as well.
Dave
I think you are wrong about a divice between an iPhone and an AIR. But that device won't be a NetBook but rather a tablet about the size of a Newton or a little larger. The device would still run mobile OS and hopefully network as well.
Dave
We can all hypothesise about why Apple won't enter the market yet but chances are, they have good reasons for doing so and probably have information that we don't. Maybe they don't like the way they currently sacrifice power for portability so although they're running XP or even Vista, it's not like running an OS designed for the platform. It could be a case of another OS X derivative like the iPhone.
There is only one reason for Apple not to enter an emerging market: Too low profit margins.
Or maybe they just wantto get the bugs out!
I honestly believe that the reason we haven't seen new portable Touch based devices is that Apple doesn't have Mobile OS up to speed yet. Lets face it if you are familiar with iPhone App development you would realize that it has a ways to go yet. There are weak spots, bugs and simply missing pieces. If Apple can get all of that sorted out then we ought to see a new portable device. The interesting thing is, it is rather obvious from the SDK that there are plans for different devices in the future.
If only we could get a NDA possessor or Apple engineer drunk we could sort all of this out.
dave
I honestly believe that the reason we haven't seen new portable Touch based devices is that Apple doesn't have Mobile OS up to speed yet. Lets face it if you are familiar with iPhone App development you would realize that it has a ways to go yet. There are weak spots, bugs and simply missing pieces. If Apple can get all of that sorted out then we ought to see a new portable device. The interesting thing is, it is rather obvious from the SDK that there are plans for different devices in the future.
If only we could get a NDA possessor or Apple engineer drunk we could sort all of this out.
dave
I 100% agree with you. Most netbook users are thrilled with their little machines. After all, they're much cheaper than conventional notebooks and way more portable.
But if you watch the presentation on the MBA (Jan 08), jobs makes it clear that in making a notebook smaller, tehy didn't want to sacrifice on processing power, screen size, or keyboard. The MacBook Air (which is definitely not a netbook) is very portable but at the same time has a big screen and big keyboard. That's where Apple wants to be right now. A problem with many ultraportables is that while they are thin and light, they compromise on keyboard, screen size, and power.
Who knows though? I don't have a crystal ball, but it looks like Apple is trying to capture the higher end/higher price space right now. There can't be that much profitability in netbooks (compared to MacBook Pros, for example).
I disagree. I think producing a netbook would give Apple a fantastic "in" to build its customer base. Lots of people are buying netbooks, but it would be foolish to assume that it's their only computer. If Apple sold an $800 netbook, they could attract new customers who would (in theory) eventually buy a higher-end Mac with a better profit margin.
I doubt the iPod Shuffle has a very good profit margin, but I'll also be many Shuffle buyers eventually upgrade to a better iPod. The cheaper products get people in the door, which is a very important step. The hardest thing to do is attract customers...
I think the lack of an Apple netbook has more to do with it detracting from MacBook sales than it does the market not being profitable.
And I hope to god if Apple does make a netbook, it's not "Newton-sized". A netbook needs a decent keyboard, something you won't get on a product that small. A netbook running a version of the iPhone software but with a full keyboard would be fantastic... especially if it were touch screen.
Oh! lol, I overlooked that. I had assumed that it was the app store that made gaming on the iPod Touch so popular. No... it's the complete monopoly. No other company offers such a popular device that's so cheap to develop games for. The app store just makes it even easier for the beginning programmers (myself included,) to distribute their apps... the big companies (like aforementioned Valve,) don't need such a bait. They made Steam for Windows and could probably do the same thing for Mac if they were so inclined (which would require, as you stated, the Mac to have a higher market share.)
So... how high does the market share have to be before they'll start doing it?
lakaiordie said:
Really? $25 Billion in the bank, most cpu's sold in a quarter in the company's history, surpassed established handset maker RIM in handheld sales, iPod's own over 70% market share, and you think NOT licensing the OS will be the biggest blunder in history? Are you aware of Apple's first foray into clone-dom and how it failed?
OS X on non-Apple hardware is NOT a Mac.
Well, the halo effect obviously works but in the end nobody but the person in charge knows the reasoning behind Apple's lineup, and he isn't talking. I realize Jobs likes to give his spiel about Apple making products they themselves would love to have but I'm not buying that hook and sinker, although I do believe there's some truth to it. I've been continuously unimpressed by the build quality of Apple computers for a while now, although it looks like they might have turned a corner.
I would think that the shuffle is dirt cheap to produce and that the profit margin is more than decent, but who knows?
Although I would love to get my hands on an Apple produced netbook I think Apple are doing the right thing by focusing on the high quality market. As long as they deliver I think it is a very sound strategy - even with the financial situation in the US being uncertain. Apple's product might be luxury items but they are still affordable - a few years ago everything was priced above Apple's current price points.
Wrong characterization.
He eschews the low cost NOTEbook market, and has ideas about the NETbook market but notes the iPhone itself is an entry in that space.
Clarified.
Rocketman
I see a mini-tablet from Apple. 5" display, iPhone OS, iLife, and iWork mobile. Add background apps and better specs in general and we have a winner.