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He disses netbooks, saying most have terrible quality, and gives that as a reason why Apple won't make one. To me, that seems very backwards. If the state of th

He disses netbooks, saying most have terrible quality, and gives that as a reason why Apple won't make one. To me, that seems very backwards. If the state of the netbook is so horrible, wouldn't an Apple "done-right, just works" netbook be an excellent idea? If the competition is terrible, despite demand being high, then it seems like that's the perfect time to enter the market.

elai 18y ago
The big draw of netbooks is cheapness, and apple likes avoiding cheapness.
- swannodette 18y ago
  A more accurate analysis is that they dislike low margin markets.
  - unalone 18y ago
    Apple could make a decent netbook that runs OS X, enter the market, and make a killing. They have the power to let computers run OS X, and OS X doesn't need a lot of RAM to work well. Apple has enough expertise in miniaturization that they could make a pretty good netbook without much of an effort on their part. The problem is that anything Apple makes impulsively will be below Apple's standards. Apple refuses to launch products that aren't either great or potentially great in the future. They sell computers on their reputation alone. So if they ever enter the "small computing" market, they'll do it after a lot of thought, and likely only if they can instantly change the public's perception of netbooks so that they have a chance of creating a potential monopoly like they've got with the iPod/iTunes and like they're angling towards with the iPhone/app store.
hellweaver666 18y ago
I think it's a very typical Apple approach - they say, "we won't make item X, because X is junk" then go on to produce something that fits in the same market arena as X but is ten times better. That's why my money is on Apple bringing out a "NetPad" that sits somewhere between the iPhone and a NetBook. It won't have been rushed out either, they'll have been developing it for at least the last 18 months and it'll be a high quality piece of gear and more expensive than anything else in the market. It's just a matter of time, mark my words. ;o)

elai 18y ago

The big draw of netbooks is cheapness, and apple likes avoiding cheapness.

swannodette 18y ago
A more accurate analysis is that they dislike low margin markets.
- unalone 18y ago
  Apple could make a decent netbook that runs OS X, enter the market, and make a killing. They have the power to let computers run OS X, and OS X doesn't need a lot of RAM to work well. Apple has enough expertise in miniaturization that they could make a pretty good netbook without much of an effort on their part. The problem is that anything Apple makes impulsively will be below Apple's standards. Apple refuses to launch products that aren't either great or potentially great in the future. They sell computers on their reputation alone. So if they ever enter the "small computing" market, they'll do it after a lot of thought, and likely only if they can instantly change the public's perception of netbooks so that they have a chance of creating a potential monopoly like they've got with the iPod/iTunes and like they're angling towards with the iPhone/app store.

hellweaver666 18y ago

I think it's a very typical Apple approach - they say, "we won't make item X, because X is junk" then go on to produce something that fits in the same market arena as X but is ten times better. That's why my money is on Apple bringing out a "NetPad" that sits somewhere between the iPhone and a NetBook. It won't have been rushed out either, they'll have been developing it for at least the last 18 months and it'll be a high quality piece of gear and more expensive than anything else in the market. It's just a matter of time, mark my words. ;o)