Gottheil dismisses the notion of an artificial premium on Apple products, noting that they often compete well for the features, but is certain that the Cupertino, Calif.-based company has reached a breaking point where perceived quality can’t override genuine financial woes from customers.
“It is too much to ask consumers to pay more than twice as much for a PC in these times,” the analyst says.
Instead, he and TBR are confident that Apple will release a computer in the netbook class within the first half of next year, but one that doesn’t obey many of the rules dictated by the industry. Like the MacBook Air ultraportable, this future system would be at least as thin and light as others in its category but would potentially have a larger surface area to allow a larger display or more comfortable input. Netbook owners carry their systems “in stacks with papers and books” and care more about thickness than footprint, according to Gottheil.
Here’s the kicker:
Crucially, he also takes to heart Jobs’ assertion that $500 systems are typically “junk” and believes that Apple will price the system at $599. The figure would be just low enough to draw customers who would pass over the plastic MacBook but high enough to avoid the risk Apple’s co-founder perceives in dropping the price particularly low.
This guy must get paid $200 every time he says “Apple” and “netbook” in the same sentence, and $500 when he ends up on ForkBombr. (I’m going to need a cut of that, buddy.)
I disagree with his point of “netbook owners… care more about thickness than footprint.” Footprint is what makes the netbook genre special. A netbook can fit easily just about anywhere. Apple seems to have gone for the thickness-over-footprint route with the MacBook Air, which while really, really thin, takes up the same number of square-inches on a desk. Ultra-portable does not always mean ultra-thin.
Really though, I want an Apple netbook, but it’s not going to happen. Not yet, at least.