In that sense, I think the MBA is too powerful to be a “netbook.” Even a similarly designed Asus Eee PC running an Atom CPU will be on the high end of netbooks, probably (price not yet announced).

I do think that an Apple netbook needs to have some serious value in order for people to want one, even Apple users. The main difference between the iPod Touch or iPhone and a netbook would be that you use the former while on-the-go, and you use the latter while sitting down. If it’s just a bigger iPod Touch, with no hardware keyboard option and no full desktop Safari with associated abilities, people who already have either an iPhone or a MacBook won’t benefit from owning one. If it just provides internet access in a 10″ notebook form factor and an anemic CPU for $800, it really wouldn’t compete at all well against a $400 Asus.

Apple already produces a thin, lightweight laptop with a 13-inch screen, the MacBook Air. They would only be undercutting themselves with a similar machine priced significantly below $1,000.

In short, it ain’t gonna happen.

I agree with a movable keyboard like on these nice Mac Netbook concept, le MacTab :

http://www.tayasui.com/Other.html

The same with others “futuristic concept laptop designs” :

http://listphobia.com/2008/11/17/10-futuristic-concept-laptop-designs/

And remember a recent Asus protype at Cebit :

http://pcworld.co.nz/pcworld/pcw.nsf/video/90F542366BB25C48CC25756E007A7570

Or One Laptop per child next generation :

http://www.designgeist.org/2008/05/the-xoxo-laptop-from-one-laptop-per-child.html

So a dual touchscreen, Atom dual-core, and a movable keyboard (optionnal), and fanless is a nice concept for Apple iTouch Book !

And i hope some progress around Inkwell for Snow Leopard to provide Inl experience for writing and sketching.

I also second the idea of an ARM processor — not only for battery life, but to isolate the product from the rest of their computer products.

I don’t see the long-term advantage of maintaining much continuity from a multitouch netbook/tablet to a notebook or desktop environment, just as it doesn’t make sense to add a capacitative touchscreen to the MacBook Pro. Add to that the advantages of the App Store as a software distribution platform, which works best when there are no other sources of software for the platform. In particular, if Apple sticks with a standard 10″ notebook form factor, which incidentally displaces the trackpad and adds a multitouch screen, then complete OS continuity (that is, running cross-compatible versions of OSX) is easiest and makes sense. But if Apple goes with a slate design, the UI should be sufficiently different from the UI of a MacBook or desktop that it’s just as well to ditch support for existing OSX applications and promote a new opportunity for the App Store. For a slate design, you would want applications specially designed for it.

My last thought is that it would support tethering to the iPhone via iTunes — in part, because the rumors about $10 per month tethering through iTunes makes more sense this way. It would also sell more apps through the App Store (if that sort of thing happens) by providing cellular data access.

It does make me wonder: if Apple sold a 10″ netbook/tablet to every existing iPhone owner and to no one else, would it be a success? Because IMO, it would be easier strategically for Apple to design and market an $800 10″ netbook to existing iPhone users than to entice the general consumer base, who are looking at $400 for a Linux-based netbook.

I believe it will be plastic, available in either black or white and have a keyboard. Although I also think it could be a convertible tablet.

We will have OS X, likely without iLife (although that will be available as a lower cost upgradeable) We will have access to a new portion of the iTunes store for download able OS X applications.

That’s my take on it anyway.

That statement makes no sense to me. Why couldn’t a virtual keyboard be smaller or resized for optimization? I just held the 10″ display of my MSI Wind but I’m not getting why a 10″ display is too big to one finger type (or hold with two hands and use two thumbs for input) For that matter, why does it have to be one finger? ;)

The trap here is trying to “fit” Apple’s unknown intentions into our preconceptions of a device class. I say again: they will redefine it, i.e.: our preconceptions become moot to a point.

One thing to consider is that they might be striking a deal with intel (like they did with nvidia for the 9400 igp) to allow them to use a dual core atom or something similar, that will be exclusive to them.