The Netbook Air

[Arcadie]

Ok if apple came out with say a netbook air. assuming it had the atom processor mentioned people are speculating is for a mini or apple tv.. with similar specs to the new sony netbook, How much would you pay for one? if it was priced at say, $1,799, would you really buy it?

What would you think it should be priced at:
A) $1,799
B) $1,499
C) $1,199
D) $999

Note: Obviously we would all want it to be as cheap as possible, but what is the most you would actually pay?

My really bad PS design:

 

[gjw4u]

Apple is not really known for doing cheap.

 

[Arcadie]

Apple is not really known for doing cheap.

True, BUT if you noticed, netbooks are cheaper in general than a laptop. So going by that theory, a netbook from apple chould be cheaper than their macbook air.

 

[maestrocasa]

if it's going to be a netbook, presumably meaning reduced processing power, lower graphics capacity, less HD storage, etc. Then apple would have to get way below $999. Heck, you could by a MB for that price and have a lot more power in a still small form. Apple netbook could be at the high end of netbooks, but if you get much over $599 it'd be hard to sell as a netbook.

the iPhone, iPT are pretty close to netbooks already. maybe finding a way to add an easier keyboard and then office-type application support.

 

[coupdetat]

I still think netbooks are a fad. Sure they sell well, but who does real work on them? I know lots of tinkerers who have gotten netbooks to play around with different OSes, etc., but how many people are going to be comfortable doing important work on a 9-10" screen? Also, each company has its own unique (and uniquely unusable) keyboard layout. Think about doing big spreadsheets on one. Or writing a paper with references and other resources in the background. I'm not going to spend $400 on a "cool" toy that doesn't help me get my work done, even if it lets me carry a smaller bag on airplanes or around campus.

 

[Sesshi]

I wouldn't actually mind seeing a giant iPod Touch.

Seeing as Apple is apparently more competent at producing trinkets like the iPod instead of serious working tools, perhaps meeting in the middle wouldn't be so bad.

 

[twoodcc]

if apple really did make one, i bet the price would be around $1199-$1299. knowing how they make all their products more expensive than you think they would/should be, and you know that they would market it as the best "netbook" out there.

that's if they made it as a smaller macbook air. if they made a giant ipod touch, then the price would be around $799-$899 i think

 

[GroovyLinuxGuy]

I still think netbooks are a fad. Sure they sell well, but who does real work on them? .

I use my netbook for the same things that I use my 15" MBP for. Coding, sysadmin tasks when I am away from home/office, research online, reading manuals (word docs/pdf/whatever).

Granted, I replaced the original operating system with a more robust version of Linux, but I love the size of my netbook. Keyboard is nice as well.

I bought mine and within a couple of months, all the sysadmins (Windows and Linux) at my work have one too. We all have different brands depending on our preferences, but we all agree that they are great for when you have to do "serious" work away from the office.

Cheers

 

[Arcadie]

They are also great for college when you go class to class and dont want to lug around a full size laptop.

 

[nissan.gtp]

if the rumors of a mac mini powered by the Atom are true, that make a mac netbook more likely IMO. it would be a great move by apple to get OS X into more people's hands by putting it in a $499-$699 system, maybe a bit less for the lowest-end system.

I'd buy one day one.

 

[Hrududu]

They are also great for college when you go class to class and dont want to lug around a full size laptop.

Thats what I use my 12" Powerbook for. I think its interesting how the small notebooks seem to be coming back into popularity after Apple got rid of the 12" iBook and Powerbook.

 

[andreab35]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5G77 Safari/525.20)

Sorry, but I'd nver buy one. The current MBA size is perfect for me. Since I'm as blind as a bat, I don't think I can go any smaller for a laptop.

 

[puffnstuff]

Apple doesn't need a more stripped down version of the Air which is what a netbook would be. Apple just needs a smaller 12" Macbook dropped in the $999 slot. A 12" Air would cost 1299 or more.

I would like to see a widescreen mini notebook like the Sony Vaio P

 

[kastenbrust]

Maybe a Macbook Mini but never a netbook

 

[talkingfuture]

It definitely won't be like the mock up. That has no room for a trackpad in the style of the Sony Vaio P, Apple will include a multi touch trackpad if they do one. Unless it is a tablet of course.

 

[wonderbread57]

computers suck. why would anyone buy a computer

 

[Theophany]

I still think netbooks are a fad. Sure they sell well, but who does real work on them? I know lots of tinkerers who have gotten netbooks to play around with different OSes, etc., but how many people are going to be comfortable doing important work on a 9-10" screen? Also, each company has its own unique (and uniquely unusable) keyboard layout. Think about doing big spreadsheets on one. Or writing a paper with references and other resources in the background. I'm not going to spend $400 on a "cool" toy that doesn't help me get my work done, even if it lets me carry a smaller bag on airplanes or around campus.

QFE. My thoughts exactly

 

[Marx55]

Sign the petition for a new and smaller MacBook Air, with a 10.1″ screen:

http://macbookair10.net

 

[*LTD*]

Sign the petition for a new and smaller MacBook Air, with a 10.1″ screen:

http://macbookair10.net

iPad.

 

[roadbloc]

iPad.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Marx55]

The iPad is great, but it is not a Mac. That is the petition: a lighter and smaller Mac.

 

[KingYaba]

$300 netbook please. Atom-based would be nice.

 

[*LTD*]

$300 netbook please. Atom-based would be nice.

LOL, not gonna happen.

But asking for it for the umpteenth time on some Apple fansite is sure to help!

 

[Fraaaa]

Sorry but what is the point of this thread?

If you want an Apple netbook you have the MBA. That was their choice of a lighter laptop but with great feature. Not a cheap in anyway tho.

Their second choice was the iPad. Cheaper. Aimed to some key feature that can replace the use of a netbook. But is not Mac.

These are the two choices that Apple gave you.

PS: Forget the atom, they hate it.
PS2: They think that they cannot ship anything that is not junk for less than $500.

 

[TSE]

Apple releasing a cheap laptop? LOL.

Apple claims to be a premier highend computer company.