Quote Originally Posted by TinCow View Post
Netbooks and laptops are already gigantic product sectors. There's no market niche missing from that picture for Apple to exploit.
Netbooks make up less than 10% of the notebook market, or at least they did as of the end of 2009. e-book readers, by way of comparison, are estimated at a $1.2 billion market, as opposed to the $109 billion portable computer market.

I'm not going to look for the smartphone numbers 'cause I'm getting statistical fatigue.

Anyway, if Apple provides an e-book reader/netbook/phone replacement all-in-one device, and does its usual job of exposing the 10% of functionality most users need in a slick interface, well ... it sounds rather more like your formulation of "creating a new market" than "the market already exists via netbooks and laptops," as you put it.

I know full well that Apple makes flops. Seen 'em, touched 'em, steered friends and relatives away from 'em, repaired a few in my time. But this does not fit into the classic mold of the Apple iFailure.