Is Apple Prepping A Netbook, A Tablet Or Both?

Is Apple Prepping A Netbook, A Tablet Or Both?

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By Andrew R Hickey, ChannelWeb

8:03 AM EDT Tue. Jul. 14, 2009

All eyes are on Apple as the rumor mill yet again predicts that the computer giant to roll out its first-ever netbook. Better yet, there's even an expected release date attached to Apple's so far non-existent netbook: October.

Problem is, Apple isn't doing a netbook; it's doing a tablet, according to reports. Is Apple looking to build the best of both words, and combine the two? Or is the rumor mill finally combining the Apple netbook rumors and Apple tablet rumors into one easily digestible piece of speculation?

Yes, netbooks are popular of late, with everyone from Hewlett-Packard to Lenovo honing in on the sub-$500 miniature notebook market, which is expected to see 33 million netbooks shipped this year. What's not to love? They're cheap, compact and do what you need them to do.

They're just not the right fit for Apple, which focuses on the higher end of personal computing.

Apple honcho Steve Jobs himself has even clarified Apple's stance on netbooks, essentially saying there's no chance Apple will do one, so stop the rumors before they start. According to CEO Jobs, Apple doesn't know how to build a $500 notebook that wouldn't be a glorified paperweight.

Jobs' netbook opposition, however, as led to speculation that if Apple isn't churning out a netbook, then it is likely to spit out a touch-screen tablet -- think a giant iPod Touch -- sometime this year, a theory that would make more sense.

But news sites like the China Times contend that an Apple netbook is happening, and it will happen as soon as October of this year. China Times also indicates that a touch-screen tablet is on the way. Wait a second. Does that mean Apple is doing a touch-screen tablet that's also a netbook? That's essentially what China Times is saying.

Leave it to Apple to take two widely popular form-factors, combine them and make them their own hybrid as a touch-screen tablet netbook.

Of course, as Apple does with everything, it's changing the rules a little bit. China Times indicates that Apple's touch-screen tablet netbook will measure about 9.7 inches, a departure from the standard 10.1-inch netbook size. Additionally, Apple's netbook, or tablet, or tab-book, or whatever the heck it'll be called, will scrap the traditional clamshell format of netbooks for a tablet format.

And, Apple's expected tablet-style netbook will change the rules on netbook pricing, which typically hovers around $500 on the high end. Reports indicate that Apple's touch-screen tablet is going to hit the roughly $800 mark.