'Apple must do a NetBook, now!'

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 9:07am — Seth Weintraub

Judging by your comments on our previous Hackintosh posts, you aren't going to like this one, one...little....bit. CNet writer David Carnoy insists that Apple needs to roll out a Netbook or bad things will happen. These things include: everyone on the planet will install OSX on a Dell Mini 9, Apple is going to lose marketshare, and Apple customers will defect.

While we certainly fall into this group, except we are rolling our Hackintosh with an HP Mini -- soon to be an ASUS 1000HE, Carnoy is certainly falling on deaf ears in Cupertino. That is not to say Apple lost a sale of a MacBook or iPhone (we have both), it is just that Microsoft lost a sale of XP. More and more, it seems we aren't alone here. Yes, the market has spoken...loudly. People want a small laptop Mac and when we say small, we don't mean "impossibly thin but with traditional footprint - starting at $1800".

Do you really think Apple cares about the rocketing Netbook segment? The bad news for you Apple/Netbook fans is that they don't. They don't follow market pressures. To quote El Jobso:

"There are some customers [Netbook demographic] which we chose not to serve. 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. But we can continue to deliver greater and greater value to those customers that we choose to serve. And there's a lot of them."

This isn't some new thing with Apple either. People have been clamoring for a 'normal Mac desktop' for years. You know, something like a Mini with a 3.5" hard drive and the ability to open 'er up and add some RAM and upgrade the HDD without using a putty knife - for $400. Yes, of course, if Apple had done this, they would have sold millions and gobbled up marketshare - and at the same time slightly cannibalized their high margin Pro, Mini and iMac lines. They would have also attracted more developers to the Mac platform and saved a whole lot of money on lawyer bills fighting Psystar as well. But it isn't to be.

So Apple's answer to the Netbook? They are watching this very closely for now, but if you need something in the next few months, buy an iPhone...or a MacBook. Obviously there is a huge gap between there that the netbooks fits happily into.

The larger issue is: Apple doesn't do 'normal' or 'status quo'. They just don't. Everything they do has to be different in some way. It has to be revolutionary.

Some say it is their DNA, others say it is their CEO - we think it might be something more rational like their insistence on +30% margins. Either way, regardless of what you want, you aren't going to get a Mac Netbook. If you want one, go get a ASUS and get to work and slap some Apple stickers on there to make yourself feel better. You might be able to upgrade the MacOS on it later, you might be stuck with Leopard for the rest of its life. That doesn't seem too bad considering the operating system you are lifting off of there is likely going to be Microsoft Windows XP - which is like six years old already. Especially when you consider that if you get 3-6 years out of a Netbook, you will be very lucky.

That's not to say Apple won't release some insanely cool portable device in the near future. In fact, we expect to see an Apple portable device based on an ARM Cortex processor by WWDC. But this thing won't be a Netbook, at least in the traditional sense. It will be different and of course be revolutionary. It will be impossibly xxxx and amazingly xxxx. And you will want that too.

( Filed Under:

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Comments

Apple Must Do A NetBook Now

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 9:42am — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

Apple just needs to call it a netPODtouch, put in the new ARM, a 120Gb HD fixed and a SD port, and a 9 inch widescreen with no lid. A little flash for speed
link it to the App Store and sell regular and newly devloped software specifically for it, and a little 3G wirless. Charge 699.99 for it let Verizon and AT&T buy it down 300.00 dollars.
BOOM! 30% to 40% profit. BOOM kills the netbook market.

....and I am still looking for that 999.99 MacBabyPro that I can jack up on my own!!!!

Come on Tim, let it rip...you know you can.The market is dying for this and other products that are cheaper for now....Apple used to do that.

open mac almost killed apple a while ago...

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 9:53am — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

Don't you remember? The open, expandable Mac and clones nearly killed Apple in the in-between-Jobs days.
maybe they should stop making macs andsell mac os, since they're doing so well with iTunes and mobile me :P

Apple doesn't follow they

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 9:54am — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

Apple doesn't follow they lead.

Lead in what? They lead in

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 11:28am — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

Lead in what? They lead in styling but not hardware or customer choice.

They are perfect in choosing

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 12:36pm — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

They are perfect in choosing their costumers methinks.

Yep

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 4:57pm — RightOn (not verified)

Exactly right. Apple has chosen their customers and delivered for them. Which is why they have billions in the bank and are essentially recession-proof. Apple will innovate through this recession, just like they did in 2001.

They'll do a Netbook when they're ready...

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 9:56am — Ron R (not verified)

As has always been the case, Apple follows the beat of their own drummer, not some CNET "talking head". And their track has been pretty good following this philosophy.

Now I just wish that drummer would tell them to hurry up with an upgraded Mac mini... :-)

Ron

BTW, great website Seth. One of the few I follow on a daily basis...

Thanks Ron :D

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 10:05am — admin

Thanks Ron :D

As if this would stop people

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 10:22am — daPrinz (not verified)

As if this would stop people from installing Mac OS on their Net Books. I'm pretty sure Apple's new OS will have some little tweaks to prevent that in future and will be tougher to install, even on Macs.

who cares? We'd rather have

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 10:32am — admin

who cares? We'd rather have 10.5.6 than Windows 7. If Apple chooses not to let Snow Leopard run on Netbooks, then Netbook owners will be stuck with Leopard. Just like PowerPC users.

I guess you haven't seen the

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 9:05pm — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

I guess you haven't seen the snow leopard install screen with the PPC support check box.

For people who have Apple

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 10:32am — drewmac (not verified)

For people who have Apple notebooks already, what is the point? Is it really that hard to carry around a unibody macbook, or a plastic one for that matter? This is just a technology fad; Apple needs to just ride the fad out.

Some of us don't have a grand

Mon, 03/02/2009 - 12:04pm — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

Some of us don't have a grand (or more) to blow on a simple laptop that can do simple tasks. For that... you buy a $400 Dell netbook or a USED Apple laptop with no warranty. Seems like a no brainer, yet people STILL want to defend Apple on this stance. I for one will GLADLY buy a nice $400 netbook and put Leopard on it. I just think some of you hard-core Apple fanatics are missing the point... so of us WANT a cheap computer that can run the best OS out there. And believe me, the iPod Touch is NOT a netbook.

don't compare the missing

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 10:42am — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

don't compare the missing "reasonably priced not all in one" desktop with a piece of crap called netbook! I perfectly agree that you can't sell a laptop for 500 that isn't crap!
how big is that market anyway? of course they're booming, but that's easy when you're really small.....
you know that apple stands for high quality products? that's why there's never gonna be a netbook or a iphone nano....

I find it amusing that many

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 10:47am — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

I find it amusing that many people here assume the sub $500 netbook is automatically "crap". The fact is, some are and some are most certainly not.

Apple won't make a sub $500 netbook for one reason and one reason only: It would cannibalize their upstream laptop sales. Apple's market is *totally* artificial in that they control the prices of everything and are not subject to market pressure for pricing. Apple could totally produce at sub $500 netbook that was quality if they so wished. But then again, they could also produce quality but cheaper laptops and desktops if they wanted to, they just won't.

In the meantime, I'll enjoy OSX on that nice little mini 9 I picked up yesterday and so will a whole lot of other people. So sit and rage in your corner fellas.

I find it amusing that many

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 10:48am — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

I find it amusing that many people here assume the sub $500 netbook is automatically "crap". The fact is, some are and some are most certainly not.

In the meantime, I'll enjoy OSX on that nice little mini 9 I picked up yesterday and so will a whole lot of other people. So sit and rage in your corner fellas.

Admins, your captcha is

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 10:50am — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

Admins, your captcha is broken. It's returning invalid captcha messages even when it apparently accepts them..leading to the multiple posts like above.

sign up (bottom right of the

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 11:11am — admin

Awesome sauce.

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 2:02pm — N

It's about time. I haz a one letter name :D

Apple needs a truly

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 11:02am — Stephen (not verified)

Apple needs a truly successful Apple TV also. By leaving the current model as some weird hobby they are giving away the living room!

Admins: All of your comment

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 11:21am — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

Admins: All of your comment pages are ~90% 9to5mac Noobs, clearly people don't want to have to sign up to post comments. You should do something with the horrible CAPTCHA. If people wanted to sign up they would have already. That is the reason I don't leave any comments on Macrumors

I love the "There is a lot of

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 2:18pm — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

I love the "There is a lot of demand for this" argument. Oh there is a lot of demand for something that is really small, really powerful and really cheap? Wow. Shocking.

Apple makes money. They would rather grow market share slowly and HIGHLY profitably than going after dirt cheap netbooks.

So what?

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 2:35pm — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

Apple has hundreds of very smart people that ONLY study the PC marketplace and its opportunity for a sustainable profit.

I'm surprised that a guy from CNET thinks that he is more expert about the finances and logisitics of that market than the guys who made Apple, and who continue to make a top selling computer manufacturer.

This guy must be some genius. What powerful tech companies have invited him onto their board?

In the mean time, the companies that seem to be aligned with his advise, like Dell, seem to be quickly contracting.

My dream Mac netbook

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 2:54pm — Zews (not verified)

My dream Mac netbook:

Get rid of the white 13" MacBook, and replace it with an aluminum unibody 10" netbook with the same ports as the Windows netbooks have, i.e. 3 USB 2.0, Ethernet, Audio in, Audio out. Instead of the VGA out, the Apple Mini DisplayPort of course. No Super Drive. (you can always get the slim drive that works with the Air) A 4-in-1 MMC, SD(SDHC), Memory Stick and MS-PRO flash card slot. 802.11 b/g/n. 1GB RAM, (upgradable to 2), standard 2.5" 160 GB HD (optional 250 or 320 GB, 128 GB SSD)

And charge the same $999 for it. If Apple wants to be extra generous and sell millions of them, charge $899

No way I would pay $999 for

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 4:04pm — drewmac

No way I would pay $999 for that. And the Air Superdrive only works with the Air.

Maybe not you, but many

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 4:36pm — Zews (not verified)

Maybe not you, but many others would. I know I would, and many others who have now put Leopard on Windows netbooks. I am sure that they would have much preferred a genuine Apple product with compatible hardware drivers, than having to jump through hoops to make the hackintoshes work

And obviously if Apple would decide to make such a netbook, the Air Superrive would work with such a computer. And, also obviously, you fail to understand that simple premise.

$999 "Apple Netbook" + $99

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 6:23pm — drewmac

$999 "Apple Netbook" + $99 USB Superdrive = $1098

or...

$1299 for a 13" unibody

...I don't understand any of this netbook business (and yes, I have tried them before).

Same here. I went out

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 7:21pm — PHIL (not verified)

Same here. I went out yesterday and looked at a few available netbooks at costco, best buy, and even Office Depot. I was sad to see how plastic and cheap everything felt.

Sure, brand new, it looked nice and shiny, but when I think of the actual uses for it, I'm not understanding the draw to it, not even for $300.

My only reason for wanting to buy a DELL MINI 9 is because everybody says how easy it is to hack it. I don't think it would be my first machine of choice. It would be a nice travel machine because if it broke I wouldn't care because it was so cheap.

So I think, rather than everybody bash one another about BAD IDEA/GOOD IDEA, you could all chip in and see what the uses would be for this device. Let's assume you already have a computer at work and a laptop.

I'll start and the rest of you can add:

1. Constantly travel and you want a smaller computer bag or something that fits in your briefcase without needing to have a separate computer bag.
(yes you can fit a macbook air in your briefcase, but is that safe, it's expensive)

2. You want a disposable computer to just check your e-mail and browse the internet. (you don't need OS X to make that a reality)

3. ????

My MSI Wind MacNetbook replaced my MacBook 1 month ago

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 4:49pm — cyberhusky (not verified)

I'm happy with my MSI Wind Hackintosh. The forst thing I did deleted Windows. replaced the Wifi card and upgraded RAM by using replacement RAM for my MacBook.

Most times I use my Hackintoshed Netbook. But it's still missing speed when running Word or Excel. Deleted MS Office too and replaced it with iWork 09, works mich smoother than MS Office!

Even copying everything from my MacBook worked flawlessly (Passwords, email accounts, user accounts etc.)

A friend of mine replaced his old G4 iBook for a MSI WInd Hackintosh!

Please Apple do listen:

I want a 10" iPod Touch like Netbook, a real Mac, fast with very long battery power, in aluminium case and IPX7 waterproofed! With integrated GPS.

This would be the ideal navigation platform with GPSNavX/MacENC when sailing!

you know, for being a MAC

Sat, 02/28/2009 - 6:02pm — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

you know, for being a MAC blog focusing on MAC rumors i find it a little odd that you guys are happy to proclaim that you run a hackintosh computer. now, i know there are lots of people who wish apple would allow them to run OS X on infinite generic hardware configs, but a website dedicated to the MAC would probably look a lot more genuine if the writers actually used MAC HARDWARE instead of some generic PC hardware running OS X against Apple's wishes. this isn't about whether you should (or are) legally be able to install OS X on generic hardware, this is about putting your money where your mouth is and supporting MAC hardware. if you aren't willing to do that, you have no business running a MAC rumor site. PERIOD.

that said, i hope apple stays away from netbooks. it's a fad and the hardware does not have longevity. it's disposable crap that no one will find useful in a few years. tablets are another story, but "netbooks" in their current form (tiny, cheap, underpowered POS laptops) are worthless.