Some people have no clue when it comes to Apple. First they want
Apple to lower the cost
of its products, then they want Apple to make a cheap netbook, and all
the while they want to predict that Apple is doing everything wrong and
isn't making money.
On Target
If you step back, you can see that Apple is more interested in
targeted growth, not the shotgun approach where you
make a bunch of different products and hope that at least one succeeds.
Apple's approach creates strong product categories that don't steal
market share from related Apple products.
In business, you want to worry about the competition, not your own
products competing with each other.
Along with the targeted approach, Apple separates products into
unique categories. In my opinion, Apple goes so far as to pull out
features just to differentiate products. For example, Unibody MacBooks have no
FireWire, while MacBook Pros and the MacBook White do. The iPod touch
has no camera, but the iPhone does. Apple certainly knows how to
include these features on any product it wants; when it's left out, it
is on purpose.
Each Apple product has the Apple ecosystem - Macs, iPods, iPhones,
OS X, Apple apps (including iTunes, Safari, and QuickTime for
Windows), and the iTunes/Apps Store - as the primary focus. The "halo
effect" is not a chance deal. Since the iPod is tied to iTunes and
QuickTime, Apple creates demand for more of Apple's products. That is
the value of integration. Apple isn't the only master of product
integration, but it had to sneak past its old friend/enemy Microsoft in
order to spread into new markets. (The competition was left playing
catch up.)
Apple Netbook Requirements
Clearly, a netbook from your average PC vendor does not meet these
requirements. If Apple sold one like that, it would steal market from
the $999 MacBook White. Apple has to create something that is both
more and less than a MacBook in order to safely sell one without
loss of revenue from the other.
Too often people clamor for Apple to release a
netbook so they can save on the cost of buying a new MacBook. How
is that supposed to help Apple, except for the naïve idea that you
have to "sell more to make more money"? (Check out
Microsoft financials to see how useful all those new netbooks were
to the bottom line.) Apple would be better off releasing a new product
that you want in addition to a MacBook, not the other way around!
What can Apple do that Asus and Dell can't? For starters, Apple has
its own operating system, iTunes, the
iTunes/App Store, and happy customers who already own a Mac. That
is a strong position to maneuver with to gain an advantage. Apple wants
to sell something that adds to it ecosystem, not something that
competes with it.
Semi-Tethered?
The easy way is to create another semi-tethered device or service
like the iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, Time Capsule, MobileMe, etc. A
semi-tethered device requires a Mac or Apple software to sync but
gives users freedom to roam and work away from their computers. I would
guess that Apple's preference for a single button interface with a
configurable screen would be high on the list of design features.
The question becomes what to leave out? It has to have wireless,
maybe even Bluetooth enabled. Does it need sound output - speaker?
audio-jacks? Does it need to connect to a larger monitor? Not if you
dock it with a regular Mac (or even a Windows PC). Will it be
touchscreen? Yes, but that means touch sensitive, not pen-based like a
tablet. Will Apple go for handwriting recognition? Not unless it is
working a lot
better than the Newton ever did.*
In many ways it will appear that Apple has crippled the device by
introducing these selective limitations. But again, like the iPod
touch, MacBook Air, or Apple TV, Apple will have a purpose in what it
includes and doesn't include. Another company can come along with tons
of features (like the G1 phone), and consumers will either validate
Apple's choices or not by choosing between the two.
Meeting Needs
Apple has succeeded because the majority of customer's actual needs
match what Apple provides without a lot of fluff.
Obviously, I like Apple, and I've generally been happy using its
products. That doesn't mean I will always mindlessly pick them. I still
have no iPhone (but my wife does), because I don't like the AT&T
phone rates, nor have I bought an iPod touch, since it is missing the
built-in camera that I want. I would also rather buy a used MacBook
than get one without FireWire.
When Apple doesn't sell what I want, I wait or buy something
else.
Apple's Appeal
At the same time, I believe that Apple does find a combination that
will appeal to many people even when I may not want it. Apple may be
able to find the right mix of features to make a netbook that isn't
"junk". I may buy one or wait for something better. But you can be damn
sure that it will be something different from what others have to
offer, even if the differences are what it's missing:
buttons,
satellite radio, FM tuner, etc.)
If you want to predict the next amazing device from Apple, don't
forget to include all the things that will be missing and how Apple
will make you buy it anyway.
Personally, I'm hoping for one of those PADDs (Personal Access
Display Device) from Star Trek. But then again, I guess I'm just
on a Star Trek
kick these days. 
