More Apple netbook talk
Sure Steve Jobs said not now to netbooks but Kevin Tofel isn’t the only one who wants to see is talking about an Apple netbook. Kevin had three reasons we’d see a MacNet but Apple Matters came up with five reasons we’ll see one soon. Of course they’ve had a lot longer to think about than Kevin. Like Kevin’s they are objective reasons but #5 makes sense. Apple is always looking for ways to extend the reach of iTunes.
What’s the definition of the word netbook? If you go by weight, isn’t the MacBook Air a netbook? It weighs less than an Asus 1000h. If you go by price, the Air is obviously not a netbook.
I agree with Chippy over at umpcportal.com, that were more likely to see a large screen iPod touch than a true netbook.
http://www.umpcportal.com/2008/12/why-an-ipod-plus-is-more-likely-than-an-apple-netbook
A 7″ 800×480 or better screen running an upgraded iPod Touch style OS – with modifications for the larger screen real estate would be nice!
Why you won’t see an Apple Netbook any time soon: Snow Leopard.
All of Apple’s kernel developers are engaged in getting Mac OS X to a 64 bit kernel on 5 different Intel and 1 NVidia chip sets.
The Netbook Atom platform would be a 6th Intel chip set and a 3rd Intel CPU that is presently only shipping in a non 64 bit version (and Apple is all about the higher performance available with the extra registers and opcodes available only in 64 bit mode).
Snow Leopard wants a real GPU and the Intel 950 AKA “Mr. Netbook” chipset doesn’t have a “real” GPU, no matter what an Intel salesman may insist.
As Intel recently pointed out. Designing a netbook that doesn’t get all wilty after an hour of use is a Herculean hardware design effort. Apple relishes such things but they take time. I’m sure Apple is kicking around designs but can’t finalize anything due to a lack of suitable silicon to make the “right” netbook.
And of course Apple keeps making things harder and harder for themselves. At this point they’ll probably have to whittle the netbook out of a solid block of magnesium alloy or something.
I’m skeptical about a Apple netbook. It really isn’t Apple’s style to create a netbook with a cramped keyboard and touchpad. For Apple the user experience is usually more important than functionality.
I also think they are more likely to create a larger iPhone as they have proven it works well with touch on a small form factor.
“and Apple is all about the higher performance available with the extra registers and opcodes available only in 64 bit mode.”
On a netbook, performance is not that important, 64-bitness and the number of registers are utterly irrelevant. Battery life trumps performance.
How about an iPod Touch with a larger screen, about the size of the Nokia N810? 32GB, larger screen, add a slidable keyboard and price it at $499…it would sell in droves.
I’d love to see an Apple netbook or preferably a true sub-notebook PC / UMPC like the Toshiba Libretto / OQO. Of course if Apple were to do something like this, I would hope that it wouldn’t be cheaply made (i.e. plastic).
Stu
I think that the bigger ipod touch (call it the ipod book) is a very good idea. Basically the best would be the size of 4 ipod touch make it a 7in screen with 960×640 resolution (the ipod touch screen * 4). With that resolution you could run that apps that don’t scale running at double pixels very easily. Also bluetooth stereo a2dp should probably be added for wireless headphones and to pair with cellular phones for connectivity in absence of WiFi. And finally have a good ebook reader that can sync ebooks the same way itunes can. Maybe add the functionality to itunes. The ipod touch can do pretty much what you would want a netbook can do, just a bigger screen sometimes would be nice.
Snow Leopard will also be ported to the new 64-bit ARM processor (aka Jaguar). I believe the iPhone/Pod uses 32-bit ARM processor. The next iPhone may actually be more powerful than the fastest Atom processer intel makes while also using less power. 64-bit support is by far the most important task at Apple as it will unleash mind-boggling apps (including awesome games). The iPhone is rapidly becoming the world’s top gaming platform (take note Nintendo and Sony).
I just came around this article, and there seems to be some merit to what Steve O’Hear writes in his article, given what has happened with the iphone and itouch