Rumors are popping up everywhere of a Mac-based netbook coming from Apple sometime this year, but are the rumors to be believed?
Apple fans have longed for ages for a Mac-based tablet computer of some kind, and when rumors started to pop up of Apple ordering 10” touch screens, those hopes roared back to life. Now reports are surfacing via DigiTimes, with a translation from China’s Commercial Times, that Apple’s long-time manufacturing partner Foxconn is set to win the contract to produce these unknown devices. While Foxconn currently produces the 13” Mac Books, we have to wonder if this product isn’t possible a totally different beast than people are expecting.
While a 10” iPhone is certainly out of the question – how would anyone hold that to their head? – we wonder if this is possibly something akin to a 10” iPod Touch?
Imagine if you will a device that plays music, videos downloaded from the iTunes store, would take advantage of the rumored premium application store, as well as normal apps, all on a more sizeable screen than what is currently available. The iPhone and iPod Touch have been huge successes for the Cupertino-based computer company, and one of those success factors has been that it is almost as powerful as a computer, but without all the hassles that are inherent to actually being one: There is no slow start up time, everything is available at the literal touch of a finger, there aren’t a slew of annoying peripherals you have to drag along to use it beyond a recharger cable and it’s so simple that just about everyone can use it.
However, if you ask just about any regular user of either of these popular devices, you will almost always hear, “I just wish the screen was a bit bigger.”
Many Mac rumor sites are speculating that this is some form of netbook, while others are still saying “tablet”, but lets look at both these theories.
Netbooks already exist
With more and more versions coming out every month, it’s a market that already exists, and is fairly well filled. When has Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, ever been one to follow people into a market place unless he can do something radically different from those that are already in the marketplace? Sure, Apple didn’t create the concept of a mobile phone, they just turned it radically on its head and now every company out there is playing catch up to his Alpha-dog.
For the time being, netbooks are essentially mini laptops, and why would Apple want to essentially make an even smaller Mac Book? This isn’t far enough outside of the box for this company.
Tablet computers have a shaky past
The name “tablet computer” has been around for ages, and we have seen numerous iterations. Sadly, almost all of them have failed due to poor execution in the final product delivered to market. There is a stigma attached to this style of product now that would be very hard for even Apple to shake off. This isn’t to say that Apple would deliver a poor product, quite the opposite, I just think it is unlikely that they would saddle themselves with a product division they would have an uphill battle with from square one.
Why I feel it must be a 10” iPod Touch-style device
Unless Apple can completely revolutionize a product niche, they don’t tend to go into it. Making a 10” touchscreen media device would certainly be revolutionary, and would start an entire new product niche. Apple in the last few years has been about starting styles of products, not following in the footsteps of others. The iMac really started the all-in-one computer craze that other companies keep failing at. The iPod totally set portable music on its ear. The iPhone launched the touchscreen phone movement. Why in the world would they do something so mundane as a netbook or tablet computer?
For now this is all speculation on my part, and the rumors of these 10” screens and this contract with Foxconn aren’t even confirmed, but if you add it up, by the 2009 holiday shopping season, I really think we’re going to see something like we have never seen before in the marketplace.
