Apple orders 10-inch touchscreens for mystery product

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
Adding fuel to rumors of a so-called "netbook" under development inside Apple, Reuters is now citing its own sources in saying the touchscreens ordered by the company measure 10 inches diagonally.



In a report published early Wednesday morning, the media outlet pointed to an unnamed source who said the Cupertino-based electronics maker "will take third-quarter delivery of newly developed 10-inch touchscreens from Taiwan."



The source, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to talk to the media, added the screens would come from long-time iPhone touchscreen supplier Wintek, which resides in Taiwan.



As was the case with the sources of a similar article run Tuesday by Dow Jones, the insider speaking to Reuters maintained no knowledge of "what the final product would be."



Speculation that the product at hand would be a scaled-down, budget notebook popularly known as a "netbook" was sparked earlier in the week when the Chinese-language Commercial Times broke the story on Apple's plans to acquire touchscreens much larger than those employed by its iPhone and iPod touch handheld products.



Although the source speaking to the Far Eastern publication similarly denied knowledge of the product for which the screens are destined, the report was syndicated by Taiwanese-based DigiTimes under the title "Wintek to supply touch panels for Apple netbook."



For its part, AppleInsider believes the new screens are more likely to turn up in a final version of the company's much-anticipated Newton/Web tablet, which has been under development for around three years now after facing a number of bumps and hurdles.



Members of Apple's leadership have been clear in their remarks about conventional netbooks which they feel are "principally based on hardware that's much less powerful than [...] customers want, software technology that is not good, cramped keyboards, [and] small displays."



Last fall, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs referred to the segment as a "nascent category" while adding that to the best of his knowledge, "there's not a lot of them being sold."



That said, he noted that Apple keeps a close eye on netbooks, and even went on to tease that the company has "some pretty interesting ideas" should the segment evolve into something bigger.



Those same sentiments were echoed earlier this year by Jobs' right-hand man, chief operating officer Tim Cook, who has assumed day-to-day control of the company while Jobs takes medical leave through June to address a complicated nutritional problem contributing to his rapid weight loss.



"We don't think people will be pleased with those [netbook] products," he told analysts during a conference call. "It's a category we watch, we've got some ideas here, but right now we think the products are inferior and will not provide an experience to customers they're happy with."



For more on the subject, see AppleInsider's Newton topics page, which dates back to September 2007, when we first reported word of a next-generation Newton-like tablet under development at Apple.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 243
    What the heck is is a 10" diameter screen? Is this thing round?
  • Reply 2 of 243
    tazinlwfltazinlwfl Posts: 117member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bloodstains View Post


    What the heck is is a 10" diameter screen? Is this thing round?



    HA! That made me laugh out loud, I thought the same thing



    And I'm sticking with the idea of the Touch Book (Always Innovating). Great design - Apple could do better
  • Reply 3 of 243
    vineavinea Posts: 5,585member
    I'm pretty pleased with my Lenovo netbook...the keyboard is a little small but works. The Samsung keyboard is even better.



    But I still don't expect an Apple netbook. That would really hurt Macbook sales. Okay, I can see an Ion based Apple netbook...for $999.



    Perhaps a higher end ARM one like the Always Innovating netbook someone posted.



    http://www.alwaysinnovating.com/touchbook/



    But that one is DOA despite the nice design. IMHO a linux netbook is mostly useless except for geeks. OpenOffice <> MS Office. Atom is far superior unless MS is willing to do a ARM OSX port. That seems really unlikely.
  • Reply 4 of 243
    I thought Apple said a netbook was not an option?



    Funny how now its important to them





    Maybe they will get Blu Ray when PCs move to something better!



    Apple is always behind in getting on the bandwagon for technology. Maybe this is why they sit under the 10% threshold marketshare.
  • Reply 5 of 243
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Ireland is going to walking to clouds all day after he reads this.
  • Reply 6 of 243
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by italiankid View Post


    I thought Apple said a netbook was not an option?



    Funny how now its important to them





    Maybe they will get Blu Ray when PCs move to something better!



    Apple is always behind in getting on the bandwagon for technology. Maybe this is why they sit under the 10% threshold marketshare.



    I can almost hear Steve Jobs at a Keynote:



    "I once said 'We don't know how to make a $500 computer that's not a piece of junk, and our DNA will not let us ship that'"



    Boy was I wrong. Our engineers at apple are so great we were able to design the new TouchBook ...



    ...and all of that for just $449. $50 less than our target price."
  • Reply 7 of 243
    wobegonwobegon Posts: 764member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by italiankid View Post


    I thought Apple said a netbook was not an option?



    Funny how now its important to them



    Psst, it's a rumor. In addition, a 10" tablet would not = a netbook.



    I'm having a very hard time believing this news though. I figured Apple would replace their glass, MultiTouch trackpads with glass, MultiTouch displays, but 10"!? What the BLEEP are they working on!?



    If they make a 10" keyboardless tablet, I will eat my proverbial hat! Such a thing would not be practical (and one with a physical keyboard wouldn't be either).
  • Reply 8 of 243
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by italiankid View Post


    I thought Apple said a netbook was not an option?



    Funny how now its important to them



    edit: Pipped by Bloodstains.



    Quote:

    Apple is always behind in getting on the bandwagon for technology. Maybe this is why they sit under the 10% threshold marketshare.



    Yes, they are. They weren't first to the MP3 or to the smartphone markets, but that doesn't mean that they won't become the de facto standard of excellence once they enter that market. If Apple does produce a netbook-like machine it won't be a $300 and probably won't even run Atom, at least I hope not.
  • Reply 9 of 243
    minimoeminimoe Posts: 14member
    Aspect ratio? 4:3, 16:9, 16:10?



    Resolution? 100ppi?



    Fluorescent, LED, OLED backlight?



    Touch screen?
  • Reply 10 of 243
    gqbgqb Posts: 1,934member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by italiankid View Post


    I thought Apple said a netbook was not an option?



    Funny how now its important to them





    Maybe they will get Blu Ray when PCs move to something better!



    Apple is always behind in getting on the bandwagon for technology. Maybe this is why they sit under the 10% threshold marketshare.



    1) They never said that, and you know it. They said nascent... get a dictionary.

    2) they'll own download when people are using their blu-ray players for pencil holders.

    2) they wait until the market is right and people have had time to experience really bad implementations.



    Go back under your bridge.
  • Reply 11 of 243
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by italiankid View Post


    Apple is always behind in getting on the bandwagon for technology.



    Debatable, but even if true, so what? Most people want something that works reasonably well, does what it promises to do most of the time, and without a great deal of fuss. And, designed in a manner that pleases the eye.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by italiankid View Post


    Maybe this is why they sit under the 10% threshold marketshare.



    Again, so what? As a shareholder, I am quite happy with a lower volume/higher price and hence, higher margin strategy. And, as a (non-gamer) consumer, I could care less if the other 90% used Apples or not.
  • Reply 12 of 243
    I can already smell the disappointment from people when Apple finally releases whatever this thing is. What? It's not $200?



    Stop thinking that Apple can produce a product with features no other product has for the same price. They can't. If this thing has a touch screen, it will not be sold at a netbook price. End of story.



    I'm still trying to figure out what problem the netbook solves, anyway. I have a laptop. I have an iPhone. What good is an underpowered laptop that is smaller than my current MacBook Pro, but can't run Photoshop or Final Cut effectively? Meanwhile, it can surf the web and send emails a bit better than my iPhone, but it is too large to carry in my pocket. What does this give me that I don't already have?



    I guess I just don't find carrying a 5 lb laptop that inconvenient, nor do I consider my iPhone that underpowered for those times when I don't want to carry a 5 lb. laptop.



    Like many products, the netbook sounds a lot better on paper than it performs in real life use.
  • Reply 13 of 243
    probablyprobably Posts: 139member
    That last tablet patent filing that was attributed to Jonathan Ive depicted an example that was supposed to be 10". It was a much more square aspect ratio like 4:3 or 5:4.



    It also presented hypothetical drawing of it using desktop OS X but with some weird proximity sensor that ballooned interface elements (close/minimize) when your fingers got close to the screen (am I remembering that part correctly)?



    If someone can queue that up for discussion's sake.



    My biggest problem with this is what the poster above said: what product need is this?
  • Reply 14 of 243
    ivan.rnn01ivan.rnn01 Posts: 1,822member
    If this isn't some special future product, say, for Army (that is very improbable), it's gonna be something like Eee then.
  • Reply 15 of 243
    Reason why this would be quite welcome from my point of view is:



    I do video editing and heavy duty work on my Mac Pro. When I get stuffy and feel like getting out I take the Macbook Pro. The Macbook Pro is great for things on the run. I also like to use it for Aperture and Photoshop while out taking pics.



    I'd buy this "Touchbook" for everything else beyond work. If it's powerful enough to handle Aperture that would be cool enough. I'd love to have something just for cruising around or weekend travels and use it for iWork.



    To have this extra option would be killer if it's $899 to around $1099. I see it as an option for those that have an iMac or Mac Pro or even the mini as a portable that's does just enough to get by. Of course if it costs more than a mini I guess those people wouldn't be the target. But a person who owns an iMac or Mac Pro who doesn't need an all in one laptop. If the price is right this would be far more enticing than an Air. I don't feel the Macbook is at risk, but I feel the Air is more at risk at taking a hit. But it all depends on specs and pricing.
  • Reply 16 of 243
    I guess, they'll be like 699 or 799



    Can't go too high, or it'll kill MacBook White. I'm sure Apple won't phase out MacBook White, after all, there are some people who wants FireWire, right? And don't want to go all the way to MacBook Pros. Besides, Apple need something under 1,000.



    So, if you look at the pricing patterns below, I'm sure they, if they ever launch a Netbook (Hope they recycle the Newton brand), would most likely fall either 699 or 799.



    MacBook White 999



    (+300)



    MacBook Al 1299



    (+300)



    MacBook Al Ilum-key 1599



    (+200)



    MacBook Air 1799



    (+200)



    MacBook Pro 1999



    (+500)



    MacBook Pro 2499



    (same)

    MacBook Air SSD 2499



    (+300)



    MacBook Pro 17 2799
  • Reply 17 of 243
    I've played with a few different-size netbooks, and 10" seems to me to be the ideal screen size. Anything smaller, and the keyboard and touchpad are too smooshed.



    Of course, none of those netbooks had touchscreens, which suggest a tablet device.
  • Reply 18 of 243
    postulantpostulant Posts: 1,272member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mrjoec123 View Post


    I'm still trying to figure out what problem the netbook solves, anyway. I have a laptop. I have an iPhone. .



    Agreed! Netbooks, in their current state, are useless to me. I'd like to see what a netbook made by Apple would look like - I expect them to totally redefine the space.
  • Reply 19 of 243
    monstrositymonstrosity Posts: 2,234member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by italiankid View Post


    Apple is always behind in getting on the bandwagon for technology. Maybe this is why they sit under the 10% threshold marketshare.



    come on use ya loaf. its pretty bloody obvious for over a year that apple have been waiting on CPU and improving iphone touch to fit in a bigger form (netbook). No point in blundering into a market with an OS not fit for the job (like all the other netbooks out there). It's called waiting for the correct moment, not jumping on bandwagons.



    "Maybe this is why they sit under the 10% threshold marketshare"



    Apple are doomed I say DOOMED! hahah



    maybe it's Apple patience that makes them one of the most successful tech companies out there????



    Not long before we find people on this forum saying "Maybe this is why they sit under the 20% threshold marketshare" and round and round and round we go....





    Watch this 'netbook' sell like hot cakes
  • Reply 20 of 243
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by italiankid View Post


    I thought Apple said a netbook was not an option?



    Funny how now its important to them





    Maybe they will get Blu Ray when PCs move to something better!



    Apple is always behind in getting on the bandwagon for technology. Maybe this is why they sit under the 10% threshold marketshare.



    i agree that Apple does not always lead in the "look at how many features I have" league..

    But it depends on:

    1) Apples strategy - some say that the lack of BR is they want to push online services

    2) pricing - again BR licensing issues and cost of actual units

    3) not a volume producer, but sustainable margins (i.e. look at Gateway and Dell, currently low stock prices as no margins)

    4) not just adding features for its own sake - have a friend with a laptop, has builtin card reader. Says its a piece of crap. Slow as hell, had to buy an external card read or uses the SanDisk Ultra 2 USD cards. Crap quality features just add unnecessary costs and cons the buyer.



    But Apple does lead in different/other areas.. most dominately in integration and design.
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