My Requirements for Apple Netbook
The rumor mills are again flying that Apple will release a netbook at the World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. Evidently, some company in Taiwan has reported they are manufacturing large touch screens to be used in an Apple product. I’m skeptical of the news, as rumors about an Apple tablet have been around for years and years. Tablets never took off and Apple wisely avoided that market. But with their touch screen capabilities second-to-none, perhaps now is the time for an Apple tablet/netbook. For me to buy, here’s what is required.
1. Small! I want a 7 to 9 inch screen and no bigger. This has to be something to can hold comfortably in my left hand and navigate with my right. And at that size, it’s perfect for pulling out in the car (onboard GPS, anyone?) to play music. This may seem small for anyone looking for a fully functional, mobile warrior laptop, which brings me to my next point.
2. No physical keyboard. This can’t be a lame netbook+keyboard+touch screen. Then, it’s just a notebook with no special features other than an Apple logo on the lid. No doubt, Apple would make a really awesome product like this, and I would probably really like it. But my main computer is already a laptop, which is pretty darn portable too. To throw another, smaller laptop into the mix means that I’m stuck juggling two machines, which brings me to my next point.
3. Better syncing technology! When I plug this baby in, I want it to fully sync. That means I want my word processing documents to sync. I want my music, calendar, and address book to sync. I want my desktop and bookmarks to sync. I want it to be my computer on the go that never feels like I have to worry about having a document on one machine and not on the other.
4. A careful balance between operating systems. It seems too easy to use either fully functional Mac OS X (Snow Leopard, one would assume) or the same mobile OS on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Instead, there should be a good balance between the two. Yes, it should be able to run revamped iPhone applications. But it should also be capable of editing a variety of documents, managing files, and allow for more customization of appearance (background image, et cetera).
5. More options for output. You’ve heard this one before. I want to be able to broadcast my screen over a projector, so I can use the device to display presentations. If I were to use this instead of a laptop, the ability to display the screen over a projector is absolutely key.
6. Bluetooth keyboard option. I need to be able to link up a full Bluetooth keyboard to the device. Then, I can use the onscreen keyboard (hopefully a little bigger than the iPhone keyboard) when necessary, but could also carry a Bluetooth keyboard for more intense typing (like, for example, writing this blog post).
7. The right price. This is obvious, but the device has to have an appealing price. It can be more expensive than the iPod Touch, but shouldn’t get over $700. I think something right around $600 would be quite perfect. I can then use my laptop at home and take this new device to school. I can get full-fledged internet and the ability to edit documents but don’t have to carry everything with me at all times. If it’s too much, it may still be popular, but won’t keep me from feeling like I really need it. But if you can carry the good vibes from the iPod Touch onto a bigger device, and price it right, it will be popular.
Overall, if Apple can make this work, and I have high faith that they can, they may get me to spend some serious dough. I love my laptop, but I don’t need all pictures, all music, all documents, with me at all times. This is where a netbook/tablet could be quite perfect. C’mon Apple! Make me want to spend some money!
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