Why wouldn’t Apple play in the netbook sandbox with everyone else? Probably because everyone else is already there. Apple does its best when it comes out with a product that is distinctly different from the products being produced by the rest of the pack. Going the direction of a netbook would not involve being different enough. Besides, a netbook-style Macbook would essentially be a cheap version of the Macbook, which might risk the sales of their high-priced laptops.

Instead, Apple might come out with a tablet device. Right now, there are very few players in the tablet field, and the existing tablet technology has so much potential. Apple intends to be the pioneer. It just makes sense. Already, Apple holds multi-touch patents that would revolutionize tablet technology. Why not grow it on a new line of tablet products? In addition, the tablet choice is natural because it furnishes the expected link between Macbook and iPhone. From a price-perspective, too, it would fall between them, coming in around $700. Unlike the iPhone, the new tablet will utilize a far more powerful OS, possibly even OS X. The device would be sized at 7 x 10 inches, and boast a multi-functional touch screen.

A tablet-device could also give Apple a foot in the door of the ‘reader’ market. With the kindle warming up, Apple could stock iTunes with e-books, and ramp up sales for a Kindle-competitor device that could do oh-so-much-more. Don’t expect it until spring of 2010.

First off is Apple prognosticator John Gruber, who recently wrote — almost as an aside — in post to his popular Daring Fireball blog:

Whatever they’re cooking up for this space, it will not be a Mac. I’m thinking iPhone OS (perhaps renamed) and a touch screen keyboard. (There must be some reason why the keyboard in iPhone OS 3.0 now appears to be rescaled dynamically i.e. rendered resolution independently.)

Gruber attached this parenthetical note-within-a-note to a link to a bit of speculation regarding Apple’s second-quarter conference call, in which Apple COO Tim Cook noted that the company saw no value at present in the netbook market segment.

While such a comment from another company might mean that the company simply isn’t interested in the netbook/tablet area, anything from the notoriously tightlipped Apple is going to get spun and speculated endlessly. The Apple Blog’s Darrell Etherington has a roundup of what’s been going around the blogosphere, including an intriguing (and probably fake) mockup of a possible tablet device.

Mac bloggers have been arriving at a rough consensus about this device: it will be based on the iPhone OS, will be bigger than the current iPhone/iPod touch, and will not have a physical keyboard. Since Apple already sells a small-sized Bluetooth keyboard, it’s within the realm of possibility that an Apple tablet would be able to pair with one to enable typing. At least, that looks like what’s going on in MacFormat_UK’s image. Of course, this summer’s iPhone update might bring the capability to pair with Bluetooth keyboards to the iPhone as well.

The phenomenal success of Apple’s App Store is another reason the company might consider expanding the iPhone OS into a tablet-type device. With an established application base, the company can expect to continue to have the sort of developer support they’d need to attract customers to such a device. The only potential downside is that, at tablet size, this supposed device loses its easy iTunes media portability features.

Apple isn’t a company to sit back and wait, so it’s likely the company is cooking up something. The success of the App Store makes it even more likely that the company will focus on the iPhone OS (or whatever they choose to call it) as the platform of the future. Time will tell, however, if the current frenzy of tablet speculation pans out, or if it will prove to be incorrect like all such speculation before it.

The latest rumor comes from BoyGeniusReport, who apparently has leaked information from someone high up in the world of AT&T. Here are some of the possible things to watch out for in the future…

* New iPhone announcement around mid-June
* New iPhone will be faster and have a more seamless experience unmatched by any device (could be just talking about 3.0, but we think it’s also a new iPhone)
* U-Verse iPhone application; will allow control of your home DVR (play, pause, rewind, etc.)
* The annual iPhone launch is “becoming a tradition.”
* Nothing official is being confirmed, but they said that people should prep for an exciting time this summer.
* AT&T is said to be working with Apple to create a unified product with an unparalleled experience across all their products and services.
* Apple’s 3.0 software should tell us where the iPhone platform is going… uh, k?
* They said customers shouldn’t need to choose from AT&T’s high-end devices because of features, they should choose based on preferences. The gap in capability should be filled with the new iPhone. Ok, bets on slide out QWERTY, autofocus camera, video sharing, blah blah?
* Seems like the higher speed HSDPA (7.2Mbps) is being hinted at too which should confirm the earlier rumors of the new Infineon chipset.
* The $99 3G netbook will start selling this summer, and the first one won’t be a Windows OS.

The Dow Jones report doesn’t really provide any substantial sources. They have leads from “sources”, of course unnamed. The sources reveal that the netbooks will sport screen sizes of around 10″.

Apparently, Apple is working with two industry experts. One of them specializing in small-medium notebook screens, and the other focuses on touch screen technology.

Again, this is all rumor for now. Time will tell if the sources behind the leak will be credible to look out for in the future.

[via: Wei Yi Lim]

Of course, it’s all speculation at this point. However, it is convincing picture. 5 USB ports, Firewire 800, a Mini DVI, and Mini Display port look to be quite a significant upgrade indeed.

What do you think? Real or fake?

Multi-touch, is a technology that as of now is exclusive to the iPhone. The idea of the phone being able to pick up multiple points of touch has really added to the value of the handset. Google was looking to provide its users with the same experience, but was asked by Apple to leave it out.

There have been no official reasons as to why Apple made this request. There’s of course the obvious reason that Apple wants to have the only multi-touch phone on the market. But could this in fact hurt Apple in the long run? No one likes a bully, and is the pressure Apple is putting on Google fair?

Of course, right now it’s all pure speculation as to what is really going on between the friendly companies. Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google is on the board of directors at Apple which could have something to do with the decision. It will be interesting to see if there’s a backlash from G1 users, and what will happen when they demand multi-touch capabilities. Quite a predicament indeed.

*UPDATED* – It should be noted that all of this is speculation, and rumor up to this point. Venturebeat cites an anonymous source for their tip, who happens to work on the Android team. This isn’t anything official though. Thanks to Eric for catching this.

[Source: Venturebeat]

This news follows the rumor that Snow Leopard, Apple’s next OS will only support Intel. This of course is still just a rumor, as many details about Snow Leopard are still not known.

So, what do you think about the possibility of Macs going exclusively to Intel? Are you a fan of PowerPC, and will miss it if it’s dropped?

Here’s the company e-mail that Jobs’ sent out about his medical status:

Team,

I look forward to seeing all of you this summer.

So, what does this all mean for Apple? First, you can expect to see Apple stock fall by the wayside for a short period of time. Second, we’ll more than likely be seeing Tim Cook the COO of Apple take over Jobs’ responsibilities. The rest is pretty much left to wild speculation.

I personally believe that Jobs will be back sooner than anticipated. The reason being is that Jobs hasn’t said anything about leaving for good, or turning over the reins to someone else. I’m not a medical expert so I can’t tell you how long ‘food absorption’ problems last, but five months sound like a “worst-case” scenario timeline.

What are your thoughts on the Steve Jobs’ medical leave? Is it really just the five months, or perhaps the sign of things to come? With the little information we have on Tim Cook, what are your thoughts about him watching things while Steve is gone?

It seems that Apple is working on a device, or perhaps upgrading Time Capsule that will allow access of local files over the internet. Steve Jobs has mentioned something along this line before, when talking about what functions could be added to Time Capsule in the future.

Here are some of the features that have been rumored that will be available with Apple’s media server device:

- User’s MobileMe accounts will be directly tied in with the media server, which will be used in accessing the files on the server.

- iTunes database would be shared, not just for music but video.

- Media would be available for access on the iPod Touch, and iPhone.

Some other bits of the rumor were that Apple might offer these services on ‘the cloud’. I really don’t see how it could be done, as storing that much information would take a hefty amount of server space. I do like the idea of adding the function to Time Capsule. It would be a nice addition if they are able to allow the function for existing Time Capsule owners.

A new rumor has surfaced from the same website. Their source, they admit isn’t 100% verified but the news isn’t any less exciting to talk about.

Their source claims that a $99 deal for a 4GB iPhone, with two year contract. When the iPhone first released, the models came in 4GB, and 8GB. Since that time, the 4GB has been scrapped. With the economy the way that it is, it does seem like a good business move to offer cheaper options for consumers. For now though it’s still all speculative, but will find out later this month.