With the advent of iPhone 2.0, Apple’s App Store has made it easy for users to find, purchase, and install software on their iPhone anywhere - adding programs is no longer dependent on a “host computer.” Macworld’s Ryan Faas ponders what could be next for the App Store:
Since netbooks essentially fit in between a smart phone and a full-featured computer, they’re a logical step for App Store-style software distribution. In fact, many of the constraints on netbooks and smart phones are the same: small screen size, limited memory and processing capabilities, and restricted storage for the applications themselves. Since many netbooks are designed to be easy to use and carry and often serve as a second computer, making app installation simple is an excellent idea.
[…]
Apple is probably in the best position to deliver a netbook with an App Store. The company is no stranger to creating stripped-down versions of its flagship Mac OS X operating system, and its upcoming Snow Leopard OS X update is designed to be more streamlined. In fact, the iPhone and iPod Touch both run a version of Mac OS X, as does the Apple TV. It wouldn’t take much for the company to create an operating system, the developer frameworks and an extension of the existing App Store for an Apple-based netbook.
Brilliant idea. My new HP Mini 1000 runs XP fairly well, but I am thinking of dumping Windows for Ubuntu (which is by far the most popular build of Linux for end users) but the lack of applications (and the work involved with compiling and installing applications) is worrisome. Apple could really knock it out of the park with a netbook attached to an App Store.