As forecast 9 months ago on the SmartHouse web site Apple is close to launching a touch screen Netbook type computer according to new sources in Asia. We can also reveal that Apple has been exploring the use of flexible OLED display technology for both a screen and a keyboard.
The new 10-inch screen device has been contracted out for manufacturing to Taiwanese PC maker Wintek Corp and Quanta Computer who is the world’s largest contract notebook maker, and currently builds Mac Book and iMac systems for Apple claims Dow Jones.
Insiders have told SmartHouse that Apple is using a new version of their PC software which includes a mix of iPhone and Mac Book capabilities and that recently they held discussions with Sony about licensing OLED technology into notebooks.
“There are some new features” said a Taiwanese source.
Initially apple said that they would not enter the popular Netbook market however sources have told SmartHouse that Apple had a change of mind after they improved the capability of their touch screen software and because they had been able to get new patents that allows them to deliver new features to a “small notebook”. We are also told that Apple is looking at using SDX Flash memory and OLED display technology however pricing could be restrictive unless Apple wants to release a premium high end product.
Taiwanese sources have also claimed that the new device will not be ready for release until at least the second half of 2009 with some analysts tipping a mid October release in time for the peak Xmas New Year buying period.
Ezra Gottheil, an analyst with Technology Business Research told computerworld in the USA that he doesn’t see a traditional Netbook from Apple, assuming the reports out of Taiwan are accurate. “It’s looking less likely to me that Apple will do a keyboard Netbook,” he said Tuesday. “What we’re hearing is consistent with an iPod Touch on steroids. With Apple’s hostility to keyboards in general, I think this will be a touch-based device.”
See original story at SMARTHOUSE.Apple