I probably can’t justify $600 for a netbook. Which is why the RAT [Rumored Apple Tablet] will be as unlike a netbook as you can possibly imagine. A netbook is a device that you haul out to do a little writing, or check some email, or goof around on some blogs.
The perception of the RAT will be that it’s a conduit that pipes the digital world down to wherever you happen to be. The iPod Touch is “a device that plays music and video files.” The RAT will be “access to music and video.” The Kindle is “an ebook reader.” The RAT will be “the ability to find and read any written material anywhere in the world.”
A netbook is “a stripped-down Windows XP subnotebook.” A RAT will be “a way for all of my projects and documents, and communication with my social world, to follow me wherever I go.”
If Apple does announce a new product this month, and if it is a “tablet”, then you can rest assured that it will be quite unique and very, very special.
