Apple Still Not Keen on Netbooks

Apple MacBook Air Apple’s acting chief executive officer has reiterated what Steve Jobs said about an Apple netbook back in October. Tim Cook made the comments yesterday during Apple’s first quarter 2009 financial results conference call.

When asked about the netbook market, Cook responded:

“We’re watching that space, but right now from our point of view, the products in there are principally based on hardware that’s much less powerful than we think customers want, software technology that is not good, cramped keyboards, small displays…. We don’t think people will be pleased with those products. It’s a category we watch, we’ve got some ideas here, but right now we think the products are inferior and will not provide an experience to customers they’re happy with.” “

My guess is that they are waiting for NVIDIA’s Ion platform, combined with a dual-core Intel Atom CPU. The Ion platform utilizes NVIDIA’s 9400M graphics chip, which was added to Apple’s low-end white MacBook earlier this week.

Apple knows that people have been installing OS X on various netbooks, the MSI Wind U100 being a favorite, and many have been satisfied with it, but an Apple device based around the Ion platform and a dual-core Atom CPU makes much more sense, given that Apple isn’t interested in offering low-end devices.

Read: AppleInsider