Introducing what we very much hope will be a new addition to the apple family. There have been rumours about a lightweight netbook from Apple for a long time, many think it would be a sensible expansion of Apples current line up.

Analyists see the device as both a smaller version of Apples MacBook, but also with the addition of a touch screen it could function similarly to the iPhone and iPod touch with multitouch gestures.

Possible leak / mock-up of a new netbook from Apple

According to readers of 9to5 this screenshot came inside a Russian magazine. Gizmodo have deciphered the specifications to be listed as follows…

• 10.4″ WXGA display.
• 1280 x 768 pixel with LED backlighting.
• NVIDIA MCP79
• Intel Atom Z740 1.83GHz with 1MB L2 cache.
• 2GB DDR3-800.
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M
• 64GB Solid State Drive.
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n
• 1 x USB 2.0
• 1 x Mini Display Port
• Battery Li-Ion 5100mA

According to them, it will come sometime in 2009 for $899.

These specifications seem to fill a gap in Apples current line up, one that users have been complaining about for a while. The suggested price however, leaves a lot to be desired. Windows and linux netbooks are readily available for under £400, take the Asus EeePC 701 reviewed by tech rant a while ago. It just depends whether mac users consider the extra price to be worth it, or not!

Rumors have also been ripe about a “premium” app store from apple, now many may think this has been delivered on with the iPhone 3.0 software update, however there is an opportunity here for Apple, if this netbook is released, to sell full price desktop applications through the app store. This would make sense for Apple and developers alike.

To conclude, the netbook would be a welcome addition to the Apple family, given a touch screen along with the specifications above and a much lower price. We really think this could be a winner!

Via [Gizmodo]