Will Tablet kill mac netbook chances?

[knucles]

I know that were already few chances for a mac netbook but will tablet kill them? ANy chances of a 10" macbook air anytime soon. i would rather prefer a 10hour battery 10" macbook air for around 600$ than a iphone on steroids.......

What do you think?

ps i've seen a fake photoshoped mac netbook but the idea looked great none the less...

ps2 i am not sure if this is the right forum also..

 

[bigjnyc]

Who knows what Apple will decide to do a few years down the line but its pretty safe to assume that if apple releases a 10" tablet that will kill any hopes of a netbook for some time. Especially if the tablet sells well. I think this is apples answer to the popular netbook market.

 

[applesupergeek]

There is an apple netbook and it's known as the air, it's not fugly, cheap, slow, have an ant sized screen, or is thick and crap like other netbooks, but it's slim powerful light weight and ultra portable, it costs a bit more, but you throw all the other netbooks out of the window every year or so anyway.

 

[knucles]

yeah but i will throw out the window 6 eee pc before i spend the same, and i will still not have a 8 hour battery or a 10'' screen.

have you seen the vaio P series? i don't know why but i love it, and would love one with an half eated apple on the back....

i want a computer in my pocket and call me old fashion but i want an keyboard too....

 

[applesupergeek]

yeah but i will throw out the window 6 eee pc before i spend the same, and i will still not have a 8 hour battery or a 10'' screen.

have you seen the vaio P series? i don't know why but i love it, and would love one with an half eated apple on the back....

i want a computer in my pocket and call me old fashion but i want an keyboard too....

I can understand that, unfortunately that is not the direction appl is going, they think pocketable/ie iphone has no keyboard, (although to tell you the truth I dont know how pocketable a netbook is), then there's ultra slim and light in the air, and the tablet as a close to pocketable device.

I think you will be amazed by the tablet and you ll finally prefer it to a netbook. That said maybe not, and you are between the cracks of a category here that never really took off in quality offerings the umpc and was superseded regardless of some clear benefits it might offered.

 

[Alvi]

Absolutely... The smallest notebook you'll see from apple is the MacBook Air or the 13" MacBook (Pro) apple wouldn't make the keyboard smaller than that and those 13" laptops are on the limits of the keyboard, so I'm pretty sure that apple will never release a netbook anyways even without the tablet

 

[n459umb4786ers]

There is an apple netbook and it's known as the air

Technically the MacBook Air is a subnotebook.

 

[applesupergeek]

Technically the MacBook Air is a subnotebook.

Of course it is, or an equivalent category would be "thin and light", but like you said "technically" because these lines have always blended and even netbook manufacturers, buyers and pundits admit that in price and size the lines between netbooks and notebooks are very blurry indeed. What is more the original one laptop per child and asus netbook was a to be very cheap, not very small or useful, that was the intent.

For very mobile and small notebook from factor there was and still is the umpc which never took off really because well the crappie netbooks flooded the market. Of course it's still around in many shapes and forms the umpc.

The lines are very very blurred.

 

[Michael CM1]

Depends on whether you consider any chances of such a thing to be real.

Go look at every netbook made. They are pieces of crap pared down to barely function. Have you seen a nine-inch screen and a keyboard that goes with it? I think the BlackBerry Pearl has a larger keyboard than the netbook I used.

Apple has a history of making good, profitable products. With the low margin on these devices and the fact that Apple would have to charge probably $700 for some netbook, it doesn't seem likely.

The tablet/slate is different because it is something new and shouldn't be much of a pain to use. If it's an oversized iPhone mainly used for media features, then it should work just fine. Multitouch will allow users to easily zoom in on content that needs it, like text. Netbooks don't have any simple, quick way to do that. They also have tiny trackpads, whereas the tablet/slate will be a large touchscreen.

 

[mkelly]

I know that were already few chances for a mac netbook but will tablet kill them? ANy chances of a 10" macbook air anytime soon. i would rather prefer a 10hour battery 10" macbook air for around 600$ than a iphone on steroids

Yes, I think the tablet is going to be Apple's answer to the analysts calling for them to release a netbook.

Why?

Margins on netbooks are low and Apple doesn't want to compete in a segment where the only way to make money is by volume. Apple management prefers volume + good margins.

Most people use netbooks for websurfing and checking their email. A properly designed tablet can fulfill these functions while remaining different enough from netbooks to justify the increased cost. (note: I said most people ... I work remotely and definitely use a netbook for more than that, but I'm not most people

I think John Gruber @ Daring Fireball is right - the tablet is going to be Apple's way of eventually replacing the low-end MacBook. Not right away - but down the road, the product line may just simplify to iPod/iPhone -> Tablet -> 13" MacBook Pro -> 15/17" MacBook Pros -> Desktops ... Apple hates product duplication, and right now, aside from price, there isn't much to differentiate the 13" MacBooks and MacBook Pros.

My $0.02.

 

[knucles]

macbook becoming netbook like

I think John Gruber @ Daring Fireball is right - the tablet is going to be Apple's way of eventually replacing the low-end MacBook. Not right away - but down the road, the product line may just simplify to iPod/iPhone -> Tablet -> 13" MacBook Pro -> 15/17" MacBook Pros -> Desktops ... Apple hates product duplication, and right now, aside from price, there isn't much to differentiate the 13" MacBooks and MacBook Pros.

My $0.02.

well, i would like to see the white macbook become closer to the netbook market, in the last few revisons it's getting lighter, thinner and cheaper.

It would be also a smart way of differentiating the white macbook and macbook pro 13 and macbook air the use of slower clocks and storage disks and so on between the two.

i can't see any reason why there isn't a 600$ macbook. just use 1.86 processors with 120gb disks, 1gb ram and no superdrive. keep the same battery and it's done. i'am not talking about a 300$ asus seashell...

i know bmw doesn't produce small slow cheap cars but they have the mini line to fill the gap, mercedes have the smart. i can't see a tablet filling this gap

 

[MisterMe]

...

i can't see any reason why there isn't a 600$ macbook. just use 1.86 processors with 120gb disks, 1gb ram and no superdrive. keep the same battery and it's done. i'am not talking about a 300$ asus seashell...

i know bmw doesn't produce small slow cheap cars but they have the mini line to fill the gap, mercedes have the smart. i can't see a tablet filling this gap

The reasons are obvious. There is little to no profit in netbooks. People seem to believe that computers should be priced by the gram. The bigger, the more expensive; the smaller, the cheaper. You want to pay a lot less for a netbook than for a full-sized laptop. However, the netbook is at most only marginally cheaper to manufacture. The result is substantially lower profit or even a loss on each unit sold. The netbook phenomenon is a race to the bottom by computer manufacturers.

The other side is functionality. Apple is all about functionality. What can the product do? What can you do with a netbook that you can't do with a fullsize Windows laptop?

 

[shrimpdesign]

What netbook chances?

 

[ucfgrad93]

What netbook chances?

Agreed. Apple has shown no interest in a netbook, midsized tower system, or many other things.

 

[flopticalcube]

As much as I would have liked Apple to build an 11" netbook, it won't happen. If the tablet is 90% of a netbook, I'll probably switch mine (depending on price).

 

[thegoldenmackid]

It seems that the hype about the newest "got to have device" has switched from netbooks to tablets. Apple seems pretty stern about their lack of desire to go into a market where they can't make as much as they'd like; i.e. low-end notebooks, also known as netbooks.

 

[rdowns]

A $600 MacBook Air. LMAO