Goodbye AT&T and iPhone, hello wimax device...

The Chinese Times is reporting that Apple will release a Netbook in
October. We tend to put a question mark on our rumor headlines, but
there doesn't seem to be any question mark in the reporting here--at
least according to a translation of the article that appeared within
MacRumors.com's forum.

Naturally, this all comes from a "reliable source." Here's the key
quote in the article (again, we are going by the translation that
appeared on MacRumors):

Taiwan's high-tech supply chain companies said Apple will debut
its first Netbook in October; Apple will pose itself to tackle the
Christmas shopping season. Three (Taiwanese) corporations--Foxconn,
Wintek, Dynapack--have received direct orders from Apple. (Wintek will
be producing touch screens and providing relevant technologies for
Apple.) In addition, some supply chain companies have privately
confirmed deals related to Netbooks."

The report also goes on to add that "Apple will not follow the current
market trend (by producing Netbooks with screens about 10.2 or 10.1
inches in diagonal length). Instead, Apple will produce (touch)
screens with about 9.7 inches in diagonal length." As to cost, word is
that it will come in around $800, which is about what we'd expect an
Apple Netbook to cost (if the company decides to make one).

There are also some interesting updates tacked on to the MacRumors
post as additional stories have come out. One update says there are
"unconfirmed rumors" that British reporters pried Apple Netbook info
out of several Foxconn Electronics employees and that although Foxconn
refused to publicly comment on the rumors, the reporters may have
gotten some sort of private confirmation on the rumors' validity from
the company itself.

Again, these are all rumors, and with Apple, you never know what kind
of bizarre smoke screen it might put out there. But in the past, the
company has had some issues with leaks coming out of its suppliers in
Taiwan, so we're thinking there might be some truth to this one--
especially since the same rumor hit back in March. Either way, we do
expect Apple to release new iPods this fall (as it has the last few
years). Whether one of them will be a giant iPod Touch remains to be
seen.

Do you think Apple really will do a Netbook this year?

.....

The Apple rumor mill kicked into high gear again Monday regarding the
much discussed, yet still mythical Apple tablet. But a significant new
piece of information emerged.

Tech blog Venture Beat is reporting that PA Semi, the chip company
Apple bought last year whose specific function within Apple has thus
far been unclear, will be designing the chips for an Apple tablet in
house. Dean Takahashi wrote Monday, "PA Semi's team was split into two
parts, one designing portable ARM-based processors for iPhones and
iPods, and another designing a processor for the tablet device."

The PA Semi team has some renowned chip designers, and there have been
recent Wall Street Journal reports that Steve Jobs has been personally
overseeing the development of a tablet-like device, and that Apple
also has a large chip design project in the works. Taken together, all
three reports seem to make sense.

But the round of rumors regarding the supposed tablet from earlier in
the day point to an October launch time frame for the device. There's
no actual evidence for that. Apple did do a Mac notebook event in
October last year, and it's conceivable it could do another one,
bringing out a touch-screen tablet in time for the holidays.

But October is very soon. Reports from Apple analyst Gene Munster,
beginning in May, have repeatedly pinpointed a tablet launch in early
2010.

Long before Sprint has WiMax all over, ATT will have 4G.

It's easier to borrow money for the build out when you are profitable.