Would you buy an Apple Netbook? To some, this might seem like an extremely stupid question. After all, the company is one that can sell anything--from phones that cannot MMS or even copy and paste to MP3 players that can transfer songs only from one computer. Though there has been speculation that the Cupertino, Calif., company is in the process of producing a minilaptop, we feel a Mac OS X-based Netbook will probably never happen. One of the key selling points of a Mac lies in its usability, and a Netbook will not be able to deliver the full Mac experience with its small screen and slow single-core processor. Moreover, an Apple minilaptop will be unlikely to compete in price cuts and may cost as much as another premium Atom machine, the Sony Vaio P. Does this mean a no-go for a subportable Apple PC? One possibility is that instead of Mac OS X, the company may create a Netbook based on the iPhone interface. This makes a lot of sense, as not only will a mobile platform require less processing power and battery drawn than the full PC operating system, it will also provide access to the App Store and possess instant-on features. Such a machine will likely come with 3G access for mobile broadband, since the code is already available in the iPhone 3G. With Android-based Netbooks soon to hit store shelves, an iPhone OS-based minilaptop doesn't seem all that far off. Perhaps things might change when the Intel GN45 and dual-core Atom processors hit the scene. For now, this is what we expect to happen should Apple announce a minilaptop in June at the Worldwide Developers Conference.

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