A report from Piper Jaffray is adding one and one together and making three, suggesting Apple will enter the netbook market.
In the note written to its clients, Piper Jaffray appears to think that the acquisition of PA Semi, certain patents it’s taken out and chip designers that Apple has hired make it likely it’s decided it needs to be more in the mobile sphere.
In 2010 it could release a 7-inch to 10-inch tablet with a touch screen interface and will cost between $500 and $700 – which puts it in the high end netbook realm. Piper Jaffray further speculates it may use a proprietary CPU design.
Would Apple need to develop its own CPU? Even if you don’t have fabs, this is a serious commitment to design and engineering. Currently Intel now dominates the market for netbooks with its Atom family, with plenty of design wins. Is it necessary to re-invent the mouse trap?
This, naturally, is all sheer speculation and none of it may transpire. The client note suggests that Apple may want to get into products that compete with Kindle and that also use 3G wireless.
