Update: Apple touchscreen Netbook rumors heat up

Take this for what you will, but the Apple rumor mill is churning with word that the company has a touchscreen Netbook in the works that will hit the market in time for back-to-school sales later this year.

Updated at 4.09am PDT March 10 with new information from Dow Jones Newswire. This story was originally posted at 9.44am PDT March 9.

Citing an article by the Chinese-language Commercial Times, DigiTimes reported Monday that "Taiwan-based Wintek will supply touch panels for Apple's new Netbook, and shipments will start in the third quarter this year". DigiTimes also claimed that Quanta Computer will manufacture the new device.

Now, Dow Jones Newswire has posted an updated story that expands on the DigiTimes report. "The mini laptop computers will likely have monitor screens that are between 9.7-inches and 10-inches," an unnamed source told Dow Jones. Another person added: "Other specifications and functions are still under evaluation." The report also claimed Wintek would make the touchscreen displays and Quanta would assemble the new computers.

Chiming in on the rumor, Engadget posted a mock-up of an Apple Netbook that has a keyboard. Meanwhile, Silicon Alley Reporter stuck with its earlier speculation that Apple will simply do a larger version of the iPod touch (it's calling the device the iPod touch HD).

Personally, I'd rather see Apple go with a more straightforward Netbook approach that simply adds some Apple design flair to 10-inch Netbooks already on the market, with three models ranging in price from US$599-US$799.

Of course, Apple could just bring the price down on the MacBook Air and, indeed, bulk up the iPod touch to differentiate its "Netbook" from other Netbooks already flooding the market.

Thoughts?

Via CNET Crave

Bottle Cap umbrella

Oprah loves it and it could be the next darling for advertisers, too.

Unlike conventional dome-shaped brollys, the Bocap Brella looks like an oversized bottle cap that drops vertically at the edge like a skirt. It's not clear how the wind breaks when it hits the umbrella, though its unique design is engineered to resist brolly inversion, which is a common occurrence for those living in the tropics. The flat top, with a diameter between 16 and 40 inches, also means more real estate for advertising messages or pop art.

More of those incomprehensible patent literature here if you are into the details. Otherwise, surf on to Samm's Umbrellas for the order form.

Something's brewing with the T-Man tea strainer

There's a moment in the movie Shrek that is just hilarious, when Lord Farquaad tortures the Gingerbread Man for names, and he caves in saying: "Okay, I'll tell you. Do you know… the Muffin Man?" Well, do you know the… T-Man? No? Too bad, since designer Jeewon Jung's concept tea strainer just begs to be produced as a quirky addition to an eccentric lineup of dude-shaped accessories. This won't put chest on your hair, but it'll add some manly fun to the next tea party for your Ya-Ya sisterhood of friends.
Read more »

Kindle 2 flaw: Lighter text causing headaches?

Whenever a next-generation version of a product is launched, inevitably you get comparisons to the previous model--and what the older model did better. Well, in the case of the Kindle 2, the nitpicking is in full swing as several blogs have taken up the debate over whether the Kindle 2's text is lighter than the original Kindle's.

On Joe Wikert's Kindleville blog, one reader lodged the following complaint:

Side-by-side, the K1 text is bolder and jumps out at you. It's as if the low fidelity, dot-matrix-like typeface of the K1 is better suited for the reading experience than the feathered, crisp, 16-shades of gray of the K2. After 30 minutes of reading on the K2, my eyes get tired and I actually experience mild dizziness, headaches. Never experienced that with the K1.

In the Mobileread forums, a reader posted that he had decided to return the Kindle 2 after he noticed "low contrast on text as compared to kindle 1... text on kindle 1 is really good it is dark and somewhat thicker than kindle 2 at the same font size, menu is normal on kindle 2". He said he spoke to a Kindle representative (we assume a customer service person), who said he'd heard complaints from other Kindle 2 users as well.
Read more »

White chocolate keyboard

Some people love white chocolate. Others think it shouldn't even be called chocolate because it insults the category. Whatever the case, I think the white chocolate keyboard as shown is super-cool just for the geek factor alone.

This isn't an actual product you can buy, but rather a digital rendering. Nonetheless, companies like Hershey and Cadbury should really capitalize on the idea and bring us a line of nerd confectionary shaped like this. I personally wouldn't eat this keyboard because I prefer real dark chocolate though I wouldn't mind a chocolate mouse (the pointing peripheral, not the rodent) instead.

Via Boing Boing Gadgets

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