VAW: Where is Apple's Sub-Notebook?

Constant rumours of Apple's impending return to the sub-notebook market by June 2007 has prompted many to ask, "Well time's up, where is my sub-notebook Apple?" Sites like AppleInsider were confident in their predictions that Steve Jobs would announce a sub-notebook at WWDC07, but no new hardware was introduced at that time. AppleInsider later discounted this prediction and revised the release timeline for the new sub-notebook until later this year, possibly in early 2008. Apple has not sold a true sub-notebook since the company discontinued the short-lived PowerBook 2400 in early 1997 and many Apple fans, present company included, would gladly buy one as soon as they hit the Apple Stores.

A sub-notebook is a class of laptops that offers extreme portability. They are lightweight, compact, and usually do not have an internal optical disk drive. There is room to innovate in the sub-notebook class because sub-notebooks are by definition, "geek" gear. Sub-notebooks have to be cutting edge because if they didn't offer potential buyers something unique, many would opt to purchase a larger and more capable standard laptop computer because the price differential between a low end laptop and sub-notebook can cloud the decision to go with the sub-notebook for many potential consumers.

Apple's first true sub-notebook was the PowerBook Duo. The Duos did not have standard connection ports and required a dock or adapter to connect to peripherals. The Duos had an internal hard drive but did not have an internal CD-ROM or floppy disk drive. The Duo Dock was a docking platform that hooked the Duo up to expanded storage and connection capabilities. The Duo Dock had a built-in floppy disk drive and monitor connector as well as other common Mac ports of the time. The Duo could be used as a regular computer at home and then detached from the Duo Dock to be used as a small laptop away from the home or office. There were many connectivity options offered by both Apple and third party companies.

Apple retired the Duo line in early 1997. The Duo concept had run it course. Newer technology antiquated the Duo Dock system. Apple replaced the Duo line, ending with the PowerBook Duo 2300, with the PowerBook 2400. The PowerBook 2400 was an ultra-compact notebook that did not have an internal floppy disk or CD-ROM drive. The 2400 was produced for barely a year before Apple cancelled it. In early 1998, Apple was fighting for survival. The company discontinued many product lines in an effort to cut costs and increase efficiency. Along with the PowerBook 2400, Apple also cancelled the Newton and the Newtonian sub-notebook sold primarily to schools, the eMate.

The eMate was introduced March 7, 1997, for $800 US and sold to the education market as a low-cost laptop running Newton OS. Like the PowerBook 2400, it did not have an internal floppy disk drive, but unlike the 2400, the eMate used a tiny solid state flash drive for user storage. However, the eMate only had a few megabytes of available storage compared to the 2400's standard 1.3 GB ATA internal hard disk drive.

Apple has been absent from the sub-notebook market for over ten years. It is a glaring hole in their product line. Many would gladly spend upwards of $1,000 to purchase a sufficiently powerful sub-notebook. Any new sub-notebook proposed by Apple should be closer to the eMate in pricing because I doubt anything costing more will be able to find a niche in the market. Potential buyers would either choose to forgo paying more or purchase a more capable, but larger MacBook. The least expensive MacBook currently sells for $1,099 US.

I envision Apple's sub-notebook capturing a niche market currently completely ignored by Apple. The market consists of people who have a powerful Mac or Windows computer at home, but would like a small, inexpensive yet powerful laptop to take to school or use while on the road. Such a consumer doesn't want a full laptop and doesn't need the fastest processor with the largest compact hard drive possible, nor does this consumer really need an internal SuperDrive or Combo Drive. Built-in wireless networking should be standard along with at least one FireWire 400 port and one USB 2.0 port. Ideally, Apple will use solid state NAND flash memory instead of a mechanical hard drive with at least 30 GB available capacity. Such a device would have near instantaneous boot times and be extremely power efficient, thus it will have a relatively long battery life.

If Apple could put together such a package using their typical flair for award winning industrial design, and at the same time keep the price to $1,000 or less, they would have a definite winner. If Apple attempts to position the sub-notebook in the middle of its pricing range, say between a MacBook and MacBook Pro, around $1,500 to $2,000, it will be a failure because its niche falls in the $900 to $1,000 price range. It is difficult to predict where Apple will choose to place the price point, but a $1,000 sub-notebook would definitely give many of us a reason to have a second Mac in the home.

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Reid Sprague :

Posted 452 days ago

I agree - currently using a Thinkpad, but am constantly surfing over to the Apple site to look at the 'Book Pro. I might get one, when the time is right - and it will be well-equipped (therefore not cheap) because I will have to run XP in a virtual machine at least some of the time and I don't want it to drag. But I'd prefer something smaller if it were available.
I'm not afraid to spend a little money on a subnotebook that would allow me to do the VM thing in a snappy manner, which means, to me, a pretty powerful multi-core processor, lotsa memory, and substantial HD or hybrid HD space. Maybe what I'm really talking about is a resurrected 12" with most of the capability of the larger models; a really tiny thing running the iPhone OS wouldn't do it for me.
Anyway, it'll be interesting to see what they come up with. I'm very predisposed to buy an Apple right now, instead of any of the PC models I've seen, mostly because of the Vista OS, but also because I'm just kinda sick of the constant administrative chores you have to do to stay safe in the current Microsoft Windows universe. My XP desktop at work slowed down noticeably after Norton was installed and I bet I spend close to an hour a week keeping my laptop up to date, scanning, etc. Even with all that, had a malware infection last year that scared me enough that I do all my bill paying, etc, on a Linux laptop I have or my wife's black MacBook. Give me a good platform, and I'm out of here - except of course, that I still need full XP support for some of my work stuff. And I don't want a performance dog!
Before Christmas?!
Reid

D. Duccini :

Posted 483 days ago

Gawd! Nothing larger than a 9-10" screen please!!
My only complaint about the 12" powerbook I carry is that is just a little too big :)
Docking stations are now the norm -- if we could just get a wireless video option we'd be golden...

R. Waits :

Posted 491 days ago

Nice bit of history but wrong conclusion. The Mac sub-notebook I am looking for will indeed cost more than a standard MacBook. Certainly for the reason of miniaturization and thin design but also (I can only hope) for the fact that it will have a dedicated (fast) graphics card, a large capacity SSD, a great LED 13" screen (or whatever it takes so the key board can be nearly full size), built in camera/mic, and no optical drive on-board but it will come with the drive included... let's see Apple do this right.. even better than Toshiba or Sony. When I only want a traveling word processor, I can then push for a MacBook Pro Foleo.

The Pick of Destiny :

Posted 505 days ago

I think you got it all wrong. The sub-notebook will be more expensive than a MacBook because you will have to pay for the miniaturization. It will still be a big seller even if YOU don�t buy one.

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