Will Apple join the Netbook fight?
Summary: News today from CultofMac (via MacRumors) noted that the relative popularity of recently introduced Netbooks from Asus, Acer and Dell may force Apple's hand to compete in the sub-$1000 price range.According to the report, Amazon's most popular laptops list is now dominated by the $400-$600 devices, with Apple's $1299 MacBook being the lone exception in the top 10.
News today from CultofMac (via MacRumors) noted that the relative popularity of recently introduced Netbooks from Asus, Acer and Dell may force Apple's hand to compete in the sub-$1000 price range.
According to the report, Amazon's most popular laptops list is now dominated by the $400-$600 devices, with Apple's $1299 MacBook being the lone exception in the top 10. Problem is, that's more than double in price for Apple's lowest-end laptop.
Since Netbooks are tiny, lightweight and cheap -- we're talking 9- and 10-inch screens for as low as $329 -- analysts are saying that worsening economic conditions are only helping their popularity, and therefore, "it has been suggested that Apple may drop the price of the upcoming MacBooks to try to counter this trend."
(Deeper analysis by colleague Sam Diaz: Will netbook growth hurt Macbook sales?)
It certainly doesn't help that Intel is pushing the form factor with the recent release of the low-powered Atom processor, which Apple has been rumored to eventually adopt in an upcoming device.
Sure, we've got the Macbook Air. But what about a Macbook Helium?
Tell me, readers: Do you think Apple will introduce a lighter, smaller, cheaper Macbook? And would you buy it? Tell us in TalkBack.
UPDATE: And, what's more, Asus has just introduced 3.75G connectivity to its Eee PC notebooks.
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Talkback
Maybe - in some fashion
like this. They tend to leapfrog to something different and
better. The Iphone is a good example. People were
expecting just a phone that would compete with all of the
other phones on the market. What did Apple do? They
totally leapfrogged "just a phone" to something really special
- the Iphone. If Apple does want to get into the sub $1000
market, I'd bet that it's not going to be anything like what's
on the market now.
The other example is what?
Apple made a music player with a nice interface, and they did the same with a phone. Historically... they didn't do that anywhere else.
Apple is far from having a monopoly on creativity and innovation, if they make an netbook they're just stealing from the Eee PC.
Given how long Apple has been around they could have done far more, but with closed architecture's they've only limited innovation.
A few examples
Newton (ahead of its time)
Imac
Itunes software
Mac Air
Excellence in industrial design in all their products
Apple stores
"Given how long Apple has been around they could have
done far more, but with closed architecture's they've only
limited innovation." - This is just dumb.
Apple's innovation
[b]1)[/b] Speaking strictly of interface designs and
GUIs, Apple has the best documented and best thought-
out interface strategies out of any other software
maker:
High Performance
Ease of Use
Attractive Appearance
Reliability
Adaptability
Interoperability
Mobility
http://developer.apple.com/documentation/UserExperienc
e/Conceptual/AppleHIGuidelines/XHIGCharGreatSoftware/c
hapter_4_section_1.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40002720
-TPXREF101
[b]2)[/b] No one claims Apple has a monopoly on
creativity and innovation. In fact, it is a good thing
for Apple to have competition. "stealing it from the
EEE PC" ?? The EEE PC is an innovation in form factor.
Your statement is just absurd.
[b]3)[/b] Closed architecture and limited innovation?
Apple? buddy, you got your companies mixed up. You
just described Microsoft and their severe lack of any
creativity. Apple is the most innovative companies on
the planet.
[i]Apple wins World's Most Innovative company for the
3rd time in a row:[/i]
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/07/05/0503_innovativ
e_co/index_01.htm?chan=innovation_special+report+--
+2007+most+innovative+companies_2007+most+innovative+c
ompanies?sr=hotnews.rss
[b]4)[/b] And guess what? they leverage a huge portion
of their resources from open source technologies:
http://www.apple.com/opensource/
http://developer.apple.com/opensource/index.html
Microsoft will never even come close in innovation and
MS is fundamentally opposed to open source.
RE: Will Apple join the Netbook fight?
You're Probably Right, Unfortunately
continue to do well, even in the face of the crumbling
economy. So, where's the incentive for a cheap netbook?
I say "unfortunately" because I really really really ( x a
million more reallys) want a small footprint Mac notebook
or netbook or whatever. I'm getting by just barely with my
trusty old 12" Powerbook, the last generation of that line
up.
I don't mind paying a premium for a 9" - 12" screen form
factor, as long as it isn't ridiculous. In other words, if it's
slightly cheaper than a Macbook. Flash Storage would be
nice but isn't a necessity, especially if it keeps the price
low. The ability to plug in my Cinema display is a must. A
card slot would be nice, but the lack of one isn't a deal
breaker.
Apple already went one better
a HSPDA modem built in.
You wouldn't use a netbook as a production tool nor the iPhone,
both are general use only. I would be so bold to suggest the
iPhone is also faster, not due to spec but user interface. I can do
a wiki search in one click with instant wake from sleep, we are
talking parts of a second here. I doubt any netbook is that fast and
more so, it wouldn't be in sleep and in your pocket. It would off
and in your bag.
What does a Netbook do...
already? As far a I have seen and heard on the
Internet, netbooks are really nothing more than an
overgrown iTouch with a keyboard. None of them
are even comparable to an iPhone, because they
don't make phone calls.
Most people I know would NOT want one of these
netbooks as their only computer any more than an
iPhone as their only computing device. For reading
email and getting stock quotes, the iPhone is
certainly the way to go. Anyone who wants to rip a
CD or DVD for their iPod could not use a netbook,
but would still need a full fledged notebook or
desktop with a CD/DVD reader and enough
processing power to do that in a reasonable
amount of time.
Anybody that already has a cheap cellphone for
only making phone calls, might buy a netbook
instead of an iPhone or iPod touch to get web
related information, such as receiving and sending
email.
It's certainly doable...
on an MSI Wind as an academic exercise. Got picked up by
Slashdot, Make and LifeHacker. Over 55,000 reads in 12 hours.
There's a ton of interest in this type of product (Mac Netbook).
Article is here: http://www.planetx64.com/index.php?
option=com_content&task=view&id=1419&Itemid=14
Economic sense
runs OS X as well. The key question actually is if
makes economic sense.
Does it make economic sense for Apple to enter and
compete in this market?
Historically, sub-notebooks have served their
manufacturers as tools to increase their market share
but do little to nothing to make monkey. Apple doesn't
play that game and if the trends stay that way it's
likely that Apple will not jump in.