14 DAY TRIAL // A 3D artist's renderings posted over at MacFormat look very close to what Apple may be working on, Softpedia believes. The “Apple NetBook,” as the mockup is named, would boast a portable home directory (cloud-based), use an uplifted version of the iPhone OS, sit in a docking station, connect to a keyboard (optionally) and have integrated 3G.
Pretty impressive specs, wouldn't you say? Unfortunately, this sleek-looking device is nowhere near reality at this point, even though Apple may be working on something similar as you are reading this article.
MacFormat belives “even that part of the world that has no idea what a netbook is wants Apple to make one [...] Here’s our best guess at what it might be.” Here are some excerpts from the specs list:
A portable Home directory Your entire Home folder – all docs, photos, movies and music – would live ‘in the cloud’ on Apple’s servers. Regularly used files would be cached locally, but the system would enable you to keep files in sync between the tablet and your desktop Macs, whilst getting away with a smaller SSD.
Uses the iPhone OS
We see Apple using the iPhone OS with smaller devices like this. Not only is it better suited to devices that are physically small and don’t have meaty processors and oodles of RAM, but it makes sound commercial sense for Apple, which takes a 30% cut of software sold through the App Store.
Optional keyboard
Of course, it would use an iPhone-like soft keyboard that can pop up on-screen whenever you need it, but for extended periods of typing, you could use an external keyboard. It could connect over Bluetooth, or, since there’s support for external hardware devices in iPhone OS 3.0, plug into the base. Note the iPhone-sized touchpad.
The device would also have integrated 3G broadband, since users would need a way to always get to their files. As such, the ideal Apple tablet would have integrated 3G connectivity (7.2Mb/sec HSUPA), just like the iPhone 3G. Additional hardware includes Bluetooth headphones, although Apple doesn't seem very fond of the respective accessory.