2) Having only a little knowledge before pontificating on a topic can make one seem foolish. So you really should learn more about the iPhone OS before you offer to school us on it.
The Newton targeted note-taking as a key application and failed pretty badly.
Actually, the later versions of the newton software were quite good! I could take notes almost as fast as pad and paper. With the bonus that the newton would translate my chicken scratching into something readable. Yup, the earlier versions of the software were pretty bad, but the later versions, esp. after you used it for a while and it "learned" your handwriting were very nice.
I still have mine around here somewhere - it's a lowly 110. I thought about picking up a 2000 off of eBay and sticking a wifi card in it so I could surf the web with it. There is quite an active Newton users community to this day, so most of the used Newtons go for more then I am willing to pay \
And I'm still waiting for an assisted drawing/sketchpad that like the Newtons, will take doodles like circles, squares and triangles and "straighten" them - it made making quick drawings that didn't look like doodles a dream.
Bottom line, after all this time I don't think it's too much of a stretch to think that quality handwriting recognition is impossible.
Actually, the later versions of the newton software were quite good! I could take notes almost as fast as pad and paper. With the bonus that the newton would translate my chicken scratching into something readable. Yup, the earlier versions of the software were pretty bad, but the later versions, esp. after you used it for a while and it "learned" your handwriting were very nice.
And I'm still waiting for an assisted drawing/sketchpad that like the Newtons, will take doodles like circles, squares and triangles and "straighten" them - it made making quick drawings that didn't look like doodles a dream.
Bottom line, after all this time I don't think it's too much of a stretch to think that quality handwriting recognition is impossible.
I really do believe that note-taking is one of the last remaining challenges for a computer. Since the Newton, we have not seen anyone even attempting to do note-taking.
But the hardware is a problem, the ideal note-taking device would offer:
Handwriting - and drawing input (stylus ?)
Stylus-free multi-touch - (capitative ?)
Optional keyboard text entry (silent membrane keyboard?)
Very long battery life
And I think even Apple would struggle to get all of this hardware into a single device.
Not to mention that that world-class note taking *software* is the other big ask.
Large desktop sized tablets that are around now are not practical. However if you think about it the iPodTouch and PSP are essentially mini tablets. Even Kindle is a tablet with one function. The question is do we need/want a bigger iPodTouch. I think people are satisfied to stay with smaller footprints when it comes to tablets and iPods but if they want to be mobile and productive with hardware that can rest on a desk then this is either a waste of time or they will come up with something that somehow is able to function as a netbook at the same time. You'll have to purchase an optional mobile keyboard. Which really is going in circles...so...You know the nice phones with a hidden keyboard that slide out? Apple needs to make a touch netbook that has one of those hidden keyboards. [which would then serve as a tablet AKA bigger iPod because really a tablet and netbook CAN be thought of as the same monster. The only difference is one has a keyboard.
So....where was I going with this
EDIT: Just thought of something. The NintendoDS is actually in the form of a wannabe Mac netbook. A tad bigger for graphics and slap Snow Leopard on there and it's essentially what most people are looking for me thinks. The PSP is a tablet. So function aside what is a better form?
- it will be presented in a special event this summer by Steve Jobs, celebrating his return to the public
- it will be available in time for the holiday season
what do you think?
Quote:
I think that is a very savvy observation considering the rumors that have been floating around..
i think you have predicted the most sophisticated consumer electronics product introduced since the ipod.
I think the form factor you predict is right on with being the perfect alternative to a screen too small on the phone and a device too big in a computer. This is what i will have with me on all of my trips - from overseas to the coffee house.
I think it is a no brainer it is coming, and that they have been working on it for well over two years. It will have proprietary components designed by apple. it will be a leap year ahead of everything else just like the ipod and iphone were when they were introduced.
I think it will be software rich .. for free.. and hardware cool for $.. it will bottom out at 499.
i think the phone providers like ATT, Verizon and Sprint will all sell this product along side retailers selling computers..
I think small business and institutions will use this device with with their own apps designed just for their own day to day operations. Nurses, doctors, salesmen, contractors and students will all have unique applications suited to them personally and their jobs when using this device..
I think this product will re-define Apple in the rest of the world as the unquestioned leader of consumer electronics just like Sony in the 80's..
Couldn't have typed it better myself... thanks for saving me the time
Just an observance:
Since I've been living outside of the US as an expat for almost 20 years now... it's hard for me to state or say with certainty... however in generalization, why is it that it "appears" that in America... in this day and age... everything and every opinion has to be an extreme?
Black vs. White, Red State vs. Blue State, Apple vs. MS-Win, Obese vs. Vegan, Love vs. Hate, Socialism=Communism vs. Capitalism=Corruption, TechStud-ItalianKid vs. Virgil2B-Solopsism, High-Gloss vs. Flat-Matte, etc. etc.
Is there no such thing in America as constructive critisism and civilized debate anymore? Is there really only absolute winners, and total losers? Is there anybody, or any thing in the middle anymore? Tolerance for differing opinions?
Or is it just unfortunate that I frequent the only blogs & forums where only the extremists show up to blow steam, turds and cookies at each other?
"Curious Mind(s) Would Like To Know."
My apologies if that is copyrighted, out of style, or just too "gray", considering "curious" means I have not stated my undying belief, or written in stone opinion. Just trying to figure you guys out.
There is nothing Muster has predicted that wasn't suggested here first at AI some weeks ago. He gets paid large sums of money to read AI and plagiarize peoples' ideas? I'll bet his parts supplier contacts are no more than what has already been published vis a vis the screen orders leak.
The only factoid in all of this is the rumor that Apple has ordered a 10" display component.
Apple has also said that the current generation of netbooks are unsatisfactory,
Gruber has suggested that the Aluminum MacBooks are all going to become "Pro" - and while I can't quite accept a MacBookAirPro, I do think Apple may want to refresh its line of consumer portable computers - currently represented by the veteran white plastic MacBook.
So Apple is looking to produce a 10" portable which is more satisfactory then the already very satisfactory MSI Wind.
1) They tear-off the keyboard to create a tablet format device?
2) The re-design the software and interface to make it do stuff better than other netbooks?
I must admit that is absolutely brilliant, but I don't think the report stated the screens were OLED, or flexible, and I'm pretty certain the touch technology used by Apple cannot be used in a flexible screen as of yet.
We may still be several years from this type of offering.
What's that supposed to mean? Can you point to an example from Business Week to the contrary? (I don't work for them or have anything to do with them, btw).
Gruber has suggested that the Aluminum MacBooks are all going to become "Pro" - and while I can't quite accept a MacBookAirPro, I do think Apple may want to refresh its line of consumer portable computers - currently represented by the veteran white plastic MacBook.
That seems like bullocks, except that there are reports that the MacBooks have been shipping with a much improved display more inline (if not the same on) as the MBA.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MacFinder
They will not install Mac Os on this device,
because don't want to create the competitor for their MacBook.
It would be "advanced iPhone OS" or "degraded Mac OS", something in the middle.
That sounds like an Apple tactic. Make a supplemental device for Macs while marketing the UI as being built around the device, which does make sense.
What's that supposed to mean? Can you point to an example from Business Week to the contrary? (I don't work for them or have anything to do with them, btw).
I will search to satisfy this.
My point was that it is a periodical and most if not all periodicals have moved to sensationalism, influenced coverage, and misinformation.
Even periodicals such as the Huffington Post are not immune to this trend.
My point was that it is a periodical and most if not all periodicals have moved to sensationalism, influenced coverage, and misinformation.
Even periodicals such as the Huffington Post are not immune to this trend.
But I will search to satisfy this challenge.
IMHO, there is no comparison between BW and HP. While I am sure HP is high quality and such, BW (and its serious competitors such as The Economist, Fortune, Wall Street Journal etc) has been around for decades. Their very existence rides on credibility.
This is not to say that they don't get things wrong, but it is highly unlikely that an editor in a publication like BW would allow a word such as "confirmed" to be used casually.
please allow me a prediction from all we have heard and read:
apple's next new product will be spectacular, it will define a new category of products and it will cannibalize neither the iPhone business, nor the MacBook sales. it will be the next, the fourth pillar of Apple's success.
it will be a MacTouch.
- a 10 " tablet, nine times the screen size and resolution of the iPhone, resembling the iPhone from the looks an being roughly as thick
- thus immediately working with every existing iPhone app
- combining everything from the iPhone (3G, WiFI, Bluetooth, AppStore, iTunes synching) with everything from the mac (iLife and iWork will work with new preinstalled specialized versions for touch control) - OS X Snow Leopard is the key - that's why they focus on performance.
- it will be touch controlled with a large visual/virtual keyboard, but of course the existing sleek Apple wireless Keyboard will work immediately using Bluetooth
- it will have 1 or 2 (micro)USB-ports making it the ideal device for storing, presenting and basic editing of photos and videos while on holiday, for watching videos with the family (for eventually it will be possible to import our DVDs in iTunes just like our CDs ...)
- it will have a front camera and microphone for video-conferencing or for putting your face into games or for making fun photos with photo booth
- it will be THE new gaming device for groups, playing all the famous board games on a screen large enough lying in front of you and sitting on every side of it (like chess with touch control and animation)
- it will be THE new book reader (though i have some doubts concerning readability in sunlight and battery life when compared to e-ink devices like the kindle), especially making it possible to produce "books" with integrated video and sound content
- it will have a stand to work as a notebook screen when typing with the keyboard or to use as small display to watch videos or digital tv or for presentations (maybe a protective cover doubles as a stand when flipped over ..)
- it will have a bluetooth remote control, reasonably good speakers and - hopefully - a SD-card reader built in
- it will be gorgeous, lightweight and affordable without being cheap and crappy like the windows netbooks
- it will be priced between the iPhone/ iPod touch and the MacBook - let me guess: somewhere between $ 499 with 8 GB and without iWork and $ 799 with 32 or even 64 GB and including iWork
- it will be THE product to present your creative work on the go, to watch video and photos in a group, to work on documents with basic editing while sitting in the bus or on the plane, to check and write emails and much more
- we will be allowed to use our existing apple software on this product without an extra fee
- it will work and synchronise with iTunes on a PC, thus being the entrance to the real mac world for old time PC-customers (they simply will want to buy an OS X-system next time a new notebook or desktop will be needed)
- it can be used like the iPhone, but it can't replace it (because of size), it can be used like a MacBook but it can't replace it (because of lack of keyboard, processing speed, lack of large storing space, limited display resolution, limited connectivity)
- it is simply the perfect companion in between.
- it will be revolutionary
- it will be presented in a special event this summer by Steve Jobs, celebrating his return to the public
- it will be available in time for the holiday season
what do you think?
What do I think? I think you've had too much LSD.
But seriously I think this has great potential. If Apple can make the tablet/netbook mac as big a splash as the iphone and iphone 3g, yes this will be great. I would buy one. And I didnt even buy an iphone. I think there is a mraket for such a device and at a good price point for consumers this device may be a hit. I can see a new void of computer users with this type of device and seamless connectivity with iphone/itouch mac and cloud computing. I believe we are seeing the future and apple may just again be the company that will bring it to us.
Lets hope its just as big an impact as the iphone.
Would a netbook device really compete with Macbooks? Netbooks are not intended as a main machine, merely a highly mobile device that you use to complement your main computer. They lack the storage and processing power to do all the things a "proper" computer can do.
Care has to be taken to make the device as functional as a normal netbook, because for all its faults Windows XP is a complete operating system, not Vista lite. Merely expanding the iPhone OS wouldn't provide similar functionality, but installing Leopard might provide sluggish performance. I know that enthusiasts have installed OSX on netbooks, I don't really know what sort of performance they get.
Would a netbook device really compete with Macbooks? Netbooks are not intended as a main machine, merely a highly mobile device that you use to complement your main computer. They lack the storage and processing power to do all the things a "proper" computer can do.
Yes, they do compete with a Macbook, because with netbooks, you don't need to have a big, heavy laptop. If you have a (relatively cheap) desktop in the office and a (cheap or not so) desktop at home, and while away from both all you do is email, web and book-reading, then a netbook is all the mobile device you need (other than a phone).
If buying a netbook means you don't need a laptop, then yes, they do compete with them.
I really like the look of HP's latest netbook. It's nice looking. They keyboard looks good. The trackpad is not as cheap-looking as the MSI Wind and as a package it's not bad.
But if you look at the business model, it's a disaster! HP are making about a 5% mark-up on its consumer products. Microsoft probably makes more on the netbook than HP. And now that HP are recalling most of its portables, any profit they did make, has probably gone.
Contrast this with when Apple sells an iPod, it knows most purchasers will come back to Apple. They come back to buy songs, games, movies and even accessories. When HP sell a netbook, that's it. Goodbye forever consumer, thanks for the 20 bucks.
Perhaps Apple's strategy has some way to lock consumers inside Apple's app-store, MobileMe and iTunes infrastructure. If Apple sold a netbook-like-device in the same way it sells the iPhone, it could afford to...
1) Keep the initial unit cost relatively low.
2) Control functionality on the device - preventing it from cannibalizing MacBook sales.
3) Provide an ongoing revenue stream throughout the life of the product.
Such a strategy would make shareholders gleeful and would make HP's fire-and forget model of selling computers look outdated and pointless.
Software developers and content producers might also like a platform like this. With minimal piracy and a generous share of revenues.
But I can't see consumers embracing a locked-down *computer* with the same enthusiasm they embrace the locked-down iPhone.
Unless, that is, it isn't sold as a computer at all. We do tolerate pay-to-play from computers that pretend to be something else. We tolerate pay-to-play from the Kindle, and from XBox Live Arcade. Perhaps the device is going to appear in a guise which is not a general purpose computer at all. Like the original Mac, this could be an appliance.
Would a netbook device really compete with Macbooks? Netbooks are not intended as a main machine, merely a highly mobile device that you use to complement your main computer. They lack the storage and processing power to do all the things a "proper" computer can do.
Care has to be taken to make the device as functional as a normal netbook, because for all its faults Windows XP is a complete operating system, not Vista lite. Merely expanding the iPhone OS wouldn't provide similar functionality, but installing Leopard might provide sluggish performance. I know that enthusiasts have installed OSX on netbooks, I don't really know what sort of performance they get.
My netbook has a bigger HD then the current white MB and has the same size as the entry-level alu MB (160 GB) - I'm not exactly hurting for space on it. And with "only" 1 GB of RAM, it runs XP, Win7 (beta), and Linux just fine.
And the things that people probably usually do on a computer, would also suffice on a netbook. other than Flash. which isn't GPU accelerated, and the Atom CPU will choke on HD or full-screen content. For most mundane things, it works well enough, and certainly more portable than my 15.4" Toshiba.
But for internet, e-mail, Office, it's fine. The main issue with the majority of netbooks, are because their physical size. like the KB, but some of those largely disappear, with the 12.1" 1280x800 models from HP, and soon, Lenovo.
The HP uses an ATI HD 3410, while the Lenovo will have a Nvidia 9400M GPU. The HP is the most expensive at $700, but it has 4GB of RAM, a AMD Neo CPU. and Vista 64-bit, while the Lenovo will be around $500 with the Atom.
As far as Leopard on current netbooks, I've read it performs like an older iBook G4.
Comments
1) You keep dropping your "L"s on Multi.
2) Having only a little knowledge before pontificating on a topic can make one seem foolish. So you really should learn more about the iPhone OS before you offer to school us on it.
Thompson
where the hell are the L's ??
The Newton targeted note-taking as a key application and failed pretty badly.
Actually, the later versions of the newton software were quite good! I could take notes almost as fast as pad and paper. With the bonus that the newton would translate my chicken scratching into something readable. Yup, the earlier versions of the software were pretty bad, but the later versions, esp. after you used it for a while and it "learned" your handwriting were very nice.
I still have mine around here somewhere - it's a lowly 110. I thought about picking up a 2000 off of eBay and sticking a wifi card in it so I could surf the web with it. There is quite an active Newton users community to this day, so most of the used Newtons go for more then I am willing to pay
And I'm still waiting for an assisted drawing/sketchpad that like the Newtons, will take doodles like circles, squares and triangles and "straighten" them - it made making quick drawings that didn't look like doodles a dream.
Bottom line, after all this time I don't think it's too much of a stretch to think that quality handwriting recognition is impossible.
Actually, the later versions of the newton software were quite good! I could take notes almost as fast as pad and paper. With the bonus that the newton would translate my chicken scratching into something readable. Yup, the earlier versions of the software were pretty bad, but the later versions, esp. after you used it for a while and it "learned" your handwriting were very nice.
And I'm still waiting for an assisted drawing/sketchpad that like the Newtons, will take doodles like circles, squares and triangles and "straighten" them - it made making quick drawings that didn't look like doodles a dream.
Bottom line, after all this time I don't think it's too much of a stretch to think that quality handwriting recognition is impossible.
I really do believe that note-taking is one of the last remaining challenges for a computer. Since the Newton, we have not seen anyone even attempting to do note-taking.
But the hardware is a problem, the ideal note-taking device would offer:
Handwriting - and drawing input (stylus ?)
Stylus-free multi-touch - (capitative ?)
Optional keyboard text entry (silent membrane keyboard?)
Very long battery life
And I think even Apple would struggle to get all of this hardware into a single device.
Not to mention that that world-class note taking *software* is the other big ask.
C.
So....where was I going with this
EDIT: Just thought of something. The NintendoDS is actually in the form of a wannabe Mac netbook. A tad bigger for graphics and slap Snow Leopard on there and it's essentially what most people are looking for me thinks. The PSP is a tablet. So function aside what is a better form?
.
- it will be revolutionary
- it will be presented in a special event this summer by Steve Jobs, celebrating his return to the public
- it will be available in time for the holiday season
what do you think?
I think that is a very savvy observation considering the rumors that have been floating around..
i think you have predicted the most sophisticated consumer electronics product introduced since the ipod.
I think the form factor you predict is right on with being the perfect alternative to a screen too small on the phone and a device too big in a computer. This is what i will have with me on all of my trips - from overseas to the coffee house.
I think it is a no brainer it is coming, and that they have been working on it for well over two years. It will have proprietary components designed by apple. it will be a leap year ahead of everything else just like the ipod and iphone were when they were introduced.
I think it will be software rich .. for free.. and hardware cool for $.. it will bottom out at 499.
i think the phone providers like ATT, Verizon and Sprint will all sell this product along side retailers selling computers..
I think small business and institutions will use this device with with their own apps designed just for their own day to day operations. Nurses, doctors, salesmen, contractors and students will all have unique applications suited to them personally and their jobs when using this device..
I think this product will re-define Apple in the rest of the world as the unquestioned leader of consumer electronics just like Sony in the 80's..
Couldn't have typed it better myself... thanks for saving me the time
Just an observance:
Since I've been living outside of the US as an expat for almost 20 years now... it's hard for me to state or say with certainty... however in generalization, why is it that it "appears" that in America... in this day and age... everything and every opinion has to be an extreme?
Black vs. White, Red State vs. Blue State, Apple vs. MS-Win, Obese vs. Vegan, Love vs. Hate, Socialism=Communism vs. Capitalism=Corruption, TechStud-ItalianKid vs. Virgil2B-Solopsism, High-Gloss vs. Flat-Matte, etc. etc.
Is there no such thing in America as constructive critisism and civilized debate anymore? Is there really only absolute winners, and total losers? Is there anybody, or any thing in the middle anymore? Tolerance for differing opinions?
Or is it just unfortunate that I frequent the only blogs & forums where only the extremists show up to blow steam, turds and cookies at each other?
"Curious Mind(s) Would Like To Know."
My apologies if that is copyrighted, out of style, or just too "gray", considering "curious" means I have not stated my undying belief, or written in stone opinion. Just trying to figure you guys out.
Apple has also said that the current generation of netbooks are unsatisfactory,
Gruber has suggested that the Aluminum MacBooks are all going to become "Pro" - and while I can't quite accept a MacBookAirPro, I do think Apple may want to refresh its line of consumer portable computers - currently represented by the veteran white plastic MacBook.
So Apple is looking to produce a 10" portable which is more satisfactory then the already very satisfactory MSI Wind.
1) They tear-off the keyboard to create a tablet format device?
2) The re-design the software and interface to make it do stuff better than other netbooks?
3) They radically extend battery life?
4) They make it super thin and light?
5) Something else / All of the above?
C.
macbook-touch-maybe-just-maybe/
I like the mock up done by the poster to this thread... However, Iike this one, that was linked to on a previous thread here at AI, even better.
macbook-touch-maybe-just-maybe/
I must admit that is absolutely brilliant, but I don't think the report stated the screens were OLED, or flexible, and I'm pretty certain the touch technology used by Apple cannot be used in a flexible screen as of yet.
We may still be several years from this type of offering.
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight............
What's that supposed to mean? Can you point to an example from Business Week to the contrary? (I don't work for them or have anything to do with them, btw).
because don't want to create the competitor for their MacBook.
It would be "advanced iPhone OS" or "degraded Mac OS", something in the middle.
Gruber has suggested that the Aluminum MacBooks are all going to become "Pro" - and while I can't quite accept a MacBookAirPro, I do think Apple may want to refresh its line of consumer portable computers - currently represented by the veteran white plastic MacBook.
That seems like bullocks, except that there are reports that the MacBooks have been shipping with a much improved display more inline (if not the same on) as the MBA.
They will not install Mac Os on this device,
because don't want to create the competitor for their MacBook.
It would be "advanced iPhone OS" or "degraded Mac OS", something in the middle.
That sounds like an Apple tactic. Make a supplemental device for Macs while marketing the UI as being built around the device, which does make sense.
What's that supposed to mean? Can you point to an example from Business Week to the contrary? (I don't work for them or have anything to do with them, btw).
I will search to satisfy this.
My point was that it is a periodical and most if not all periodicals have moved to sensationalism, influenced coverage, and misinformation.
Even periodicals such as the Huffington Post are not immune to this trend.
But I will search to satisfy this challenge.
They will not install Mac Os on this device,
because don't want to create the competitor for their MacBook.
It would be "advanced iPhone OS" or "degraded Mac OS", something in the middle.
Apple cannot create a device to compete with netbooks that simultaneously costs more and does less.
If Apple introduce a new class of device, it needs to offer some new ability. Not a dis-ability and not just a form-factor.
C.
I will search to satisfy this.
My point was that it is a periodical and most if not all periodicals have moved to sensationalism, influenced coverage, and misinformation.
Even periodicals such as the Huffington Post are not immune to this trend.
But I will search to satisfy this challenge.
IMHO, there is no comparison between BW and HP. While I am sure HP is high quality and such, BW (and its serious competitors such as The Economist, Fortune, Wall Street Journal etc) has been around for decades. Their very existence rides on credibility.
This is not to say that they don't get things wrong, but it is highly unlikely that an editor in a publication like BW would allow a word such as "confirmed" to be used casually.
please allow me a prediction from all we have heard and read:
apple's next new product will be spectacular, it will define a new category of products and it will cannibalize neither the iPhone business, nor the MacBook sales. it will be the next, the fourth pillar of Apple's success.
it will be a MacTouch.
- a 10 " tablet, nine times the screen size and resolution of the iPhone, resembling the iPhone from the looks an being roughly as thick
- thus immediately working with every existing iPhone app
- combining everything from the iPhone (3G, WiFI, Bluetooth, AppStore, iTunes synching) with everything from the mac (iLife and iWork will work with new preinstalled specialized versions for touch control) - OS X Snow Leopard is the key - that's why they focus on performance.
- it will be touch controlled with a large visual/virtual keyboard, but of course the existing sleek Apple wireless Keyboard will work immediately using Bluetooth
- it will have 1 or 2 (micro)USB-ports making it the ideal device for storing, presenting and basic editing of photos and videos while on holiday, for watching videos with the family (for eventually it will be possible to import our DVDs in iTunes just like our CDs ...)
- it will have a front camera and microphone for video-conferencing or for putting your face into games or for making fun photos with photo booth
- it will be THE new gaming device for groups, playing all the famous board games on a screen large enough lying in front of you and sitting on every side of it (like chess with touch control and animation)
- it will be THE new book reader (though i have some doubts concerning readability in sunlight and battery life when compared to e-ink devices like the kindle), especially making it possible to produce "books" with integrated video and sound content
- it will have a stand to work as a notebook screen when typing with the keyboard or to use as small display to watch videos or digital tv or for presentations (maybe a protective cover doubles as a stand when flipped over ..)
- it will have a bluetooth remote control, reasonably good speakers and - hopefully - a SD-card reader built in
- it will be gorgeous, lightweight and affordable without being cheap and crappy like the windows netbooks
- it will be priced between the iPhone/ iPod touch and the MacBook - let me guess: somewhere between $ 499 with 8 GB and without iWork and $ 799 with 32 or even 64 GB and including iWork
- it will be THE product to present your creative work on the go, to watch video and photos in a group, to work on documents with basic editing while sitting in the bus or on the plane, to check and write emails and much more
- we will be allowed to use our existing apple software on this product without an extra fee
- it will work and synchronise with iTunes on a PC, thus being the entrance to the real mac world for old time PC-customers (they simply will want to buy an OS X-system next time a new notebook or desktop will be needed)
- it can be used like the iPhone, but it can't replace it (because of size), it can be used like a MacBook but it can't replace it (because of lack of keyboard, processing speed, lack of large storing space, limited display resolution, limited connectivity)
- it is simply the perfect companion in between.
- it will be revolutionary
- it will be presented in a special event this summer by Steve Jobs, celebrating his return to the public
- it will be available in time for the holiday season
what do you think?
What do I think? I think you've had too much LSD.
But seriously I think this has great potential. If Apple can make the tablet/netbook mac as big a splash as the iphone and iphone 3g, yes this will be great. I would buy one. And I didnt even buy an iphone. I think there is a mraket for such a device and at a good price point for consumers this device may be a hit. I can see a new void of computer users with this type of device and seamless connectivity with iphone/itouch mac and cloud computing. I believe we are seeing the future and apple may just again be the company that will bring it to us.
Lets hope its just as big an impact as the iphone.
Care has to be taken to make the device as functional as a normal netbook, because for all its faults Windows XP is a complete operating system, not Vista lite. Merely expanding the iPhone OS wouldn't provide similar functionality, but installing Leopard might provide sluggish performance. I know that enthusiasts have installed OSX on netbooks, I don't really know what sort of performance they get.
Would a netbook device really compete with Macbooks? Netbooks are not intended as a main machine, merely a highly mobile device that you use to complement your main computer. They lack the storage and processing power to do all the things a "proper" computer can do.
Yes, they do compete with a Macbook, because with netbooks, you don't need to have a big, heavy laptop. If you have a (relatively cheap) desktop in the office and a (cheap or not so) desktop at home, and while away from both all you do is email, web and book-reading, then a netbook is all the mobile device you need (other than a phone).
If buying a netbook means you don't need a laptop, then yes, they do compete with them.
But if you look at the business model, it's a disaster! HP are making about a 5% mark-up on its consumer products. Microsoft probably makes more on the netbook than HP. And now that HP are recalling most of its portables, any profit they did make, has probably gone.
Contrast this with when Apple sells an iPod, it knows most purchasers will come back to Apple. They come back to buy songs, games, movies and even accessories. When HP sell a netbook, that's it. Goodbye forever consumer, thanks for the 20 bucks.
Perhaps Apple's strategy has some way to lock consumers inside Apple's app-store, MobileMe and iTunes infrastructure. If Apple sold a netbook-like-device in the same way it sells the iPhone, it could afford to...
1) Keep the initial unit cost relatively low.
2) Control functionality on the device - preventing it from cannibalizing MacBook sales.
3) Provide an ongoing revenue stream throughout the life of the product.
Such a strategy would make shareholders gleeful and would make HP's fire-and forget model of selling computers look outdated and pointless.
Software developers and content producers might also like a platform like this. With minimal piracy and a generous share of revenues.
But I can't see consumers embracing a locked-down *computer* with the same enthusiasm they embrace the locked-down iPhone.
Unless, that is, it isn't sold as a computer at all. We do tolerate pay-to-play from computers that pretend to be something else. We tolerate pay-to-play from the Kindle, and from XBox Live Arcade. Perhaps the device is going to appear in a guise which is not a general purpose computer at all. Like the original Mac, this could be an appliance.
C.
Would a netbook device really compete with Macbooks? Netbooks are not intended as a main machine, merely a highly mobile device that you use to complement your main computer. They lack the storage and processing power to do all the things a "proper" computer can do.
Care has to be taken to make the device as functional as a normal netbook, because for all its faults Windows XP is a complete operating system, not Vista lite. Merely expanding the iPhone OS wouldn't provide similar functionality, but installing Leopard might provide sluggish performance. I know that enthusiasts have installed OSX on netbooks, I don't really know what sort of performance they get.
My netbook has a bigger HD then the current white MB and has the same size as the entry-level alu MB (160 GB) - I'm not exactly hurting for space on it. And with "only" 1 GB of RAM, it runs XP, Win7 (beta), and Linux just fine.
And the things that people probably usually do on a computer, would also suffice on a netbook. other than Flash. which isn't GPU accelerated, and the Atom CPU will choke on HD or full-screen content. For most mundane things, it works well enough, and certainly more portable than my 15.4" Toshiba.
But for internet, e-mail, Office, it's fine. The main issue with the majority of netbooks, are because their physical size. like the KB, but some of those largely disappear, with the 12.1" 1280x800 models from HP, and soon, Lenovo.
The HP uses an ATI HD 3410, while the Lenovo will have a Nvidia 9400M GPU. The HP is the most expensive at $700, but it has 4GB of RAM, a AMD Neo CPU. and Vista 64-bit, while the Lenovo will be around $500 with the Atom.
As far as Leopard on current netbooks, I've read it performs like an older iBook G4.