Orange France loses its iPhone exclusive
Published: 18 December, 2008
Continued ...
Meanwhile, there isn't likely to be a major new iPhone launch at MacWorld, traditionally the platform for Apple's big announcements, though the company is expected to unveil its first netbooks - low end, mobile optimized laptops - tied to the App Store in the same way as the iPhone, but with prices likely to be well above the sub-$500 level seen in the PC world.
This is to be Apple's last year of supporting MacWorld, and even in 2009, CEO Steve Jobs' keynote spot will be taken by Philip Schiller, Apple's senior VP of worldwide product marketing, raising new fears about Jobs' rumored poor health. In a statement, Apple said new and expanding relationships in its retail stores and its Apple.com web site have made trade shows a "very minor part" of its customer relations effort.
On the netbook front, Ezra Gottheil of Technology Business Research is the latest analyst to stimulate speculation that Apple will follow the PC makers down the low cost route - despite previous denials by Jobs - and will seek new deals with operators. In a research note, Gottheil concluded that Apple would enter the netbook market because of slowing consumer spending, which make the highly priced MacBook vulnerable. He believes a Mac netbook would, like the iPhone, live in an Apple controlled "closed system" where software is delivered via the App Store, device restore is done from iTunes, back-up is available through an optional online service such as MobileMe, and peripheral and add-on choices are limited.
Gottheil predicts that Apple will unveil two netbooks, one about the size of the MacBook Air, the other a $599 machine similar to the smaller Linux or Windows models on the market. According to research firm Gartner, 5.7m netbooks were sold in the third quarter, despite the downturn. The US is starting to follow Europe into offering subsidized laptops with operator contracts - Radio Shack just announced a $99 netbook with an AT&T subscription.
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