omg we're apple and we are way too cool to be selling affordable computers in an emerging market

man, these apple news are starting to become annoying.

apple has the same amount of ego as kanye west.

Well this is a peice of arrogance and snobbery.This COO has expressed what I always knew about Apple and its fanboys in plain english, they really have a dislike for budget and economy and gleefully hold thier noses up to anyone that thinks otherwise.

“We don’t know how to build a sub-$500 computer that is not a piece of junk,”

How f***ing hard is it? All netbooks use the same damn processor and chipset; what a lame bloody excuse.

Since when does Apple not want to max out the number of units sold? Did they abandon the iPod?

Semi-unrelated tangent: Aside from anything else, I'd probably not consider a netbook when I could spend the same amount of money on a good used small notebook and end up with more power and more storage.

Well, this is just proof that Apple is not interested in being a larger player in the computer market as a whole. It is understandable to want to make the best products possible, but if they truly were making the best products possible, they would have more market share, not to mention more interest in creating lower priced products.

“We don’t know how to build a sub-$500 computer that is not a piece of junk,”

That sounds like a personal problem Steve

That's O.k., Macs don't deserve to be connected to my network .

Seriously though it's hard to see a place for an apple netbook. It would have to be a little more robust than current netbooks to run OSX, though I guess a port from the IPone OS would probably be a better choice. Then again why would they do that when they are pushing the iPhone and earn more with those subscriber fees than selling a sub $500 netbook? We don't want to give customers nifty little features and apps without giving AT&T their unfair share right?

I agree that it doesn't make business sense for Apple right now to put out a netbook. I just wish they weren't ELITIST JERKS about it.

Ha! I knew Apple were quite far up their own a**es but I actually think this time they've completely disappeared!

Very well put. I wouldn't expect Mac to put out a netbook. It just doesn't make sense for them to do so.

It's would be like the $50 Steak House down the road coming out with a dollar menu.

it's about them not wanting to make an inexpensive apple because they focus on high profit margin. if they could sell it for $1k they would, but because they have to sell it for $300 they are not interested.

Soooo....Apple can build a $1000 piece of junk..cough(macbook)...and not a $500 piece of junk. If they lower the price of the macbook to $500 then it would be a $500 piece of junk.

The funny thing is that in many PC vs Mac arguments about price/value, the Mac camp always says that Apple goods are premium, luxury items.

Netbooks, despite having moved up in feature sets and prices to the point of stepping into notebook territory, have never been a premium item. The first Eee PC were barebones, utilitarian machines that only promised to run a web browser and other basic items.

Tim Cook's comments, while sounding quite elitist, do reflect Apple's attitudes about the rest of the industry's products -- they're just not Apple. An Apple-designed "netbook" will likely be of a very high build quality (probably with aluminum casing) and most certainly not $500.

A Mac netbook just wouldn't work because they couldn't overcharge for it in a way that would work out for anyone. Seeing $300 Windows based netbooks with the same hardware found in a $900 Mac netbook would just be too much for most people. But I would think that about Macs in general anyway...

Huh. Kinda silly because Sony is similar to Apple. An $800-$1000 netbook. The real problem is they dont want netbooks to cannibalize Mac mini and Apple TV. The netbook market is actually a good starting point for Apple to increase market share. Too bad they can't see it.

Thats one of my biggest problems with the netbooks... I want something nearly identical but with a little bit more processing power and response not to mention graphics...

take your antisemitism elsewhere chaos.

and apple is ridiculous. they only cater to those willing to pay hundred of dollars more than what the machine is worth. those people prefer the sign to the substance. lame.

All that this demonstrates (to me, at least) is that there was apparently some cognitive dissonance left over in the minds of consumers that Apple was some sort of 'free love' all-inclusive brand. Maybe 10 years ago when they were still trying to carve a niche by flooding schools with cheap computers and software, but those days are long gone. Apple is now on the same retail (top) shelf with Banana Republic and Pottery Barn, a significant part of the reason the brand is popular is that not everyone can have one. There is no reason for their product to be 'cheap', in price or in appearance, and that is right where netbooks are: low cost, low margin, low satisfaction.

Tim Cook is perfectly right to say this plainly, and you guys calling him a jerk (among other, less appropriate epithets) is baseless. How dare he be honest!

Netbooks are just a stopgap anyway, right between laptops and usable touchscreen UMPC's. I understand them not wanting to jump on the band wagon, when the next wagon is right down the road. They'll probably come out with a slate type tablet that serves the same function as a netbook. They'll be able to price it higher and keep their precious margins. Seems like good news for current netbook manufacturers to me.

And their market share fell from the same year ago quarter. If Apple doesn't want to have a low cost offering that is fine with me they just won't get my business.

I actually agree with Apple on this one. Apple sells a premium product. Netbooks are by definition subpar, crappy, non-notebooks that sell on the cheap. A netbook from Apple would sell for $500-$600 and that's not a netbook anymore.

Hardware ignorant = Mac customer (99% true!) XD

I do agree that all this Apple news is a little too much, but I also appreciate it when the guy says,

It's nice to see a company work toward quality and not quantity. Even though I don't have a need for their product, that policy is cool with me.

Some people are actually fine with paying more, because they like Macs and hate Windows!!

I can agree with that. That's essentially what apple is saying, but with a little more snobbery.

Maybe they're actually afraid of OS X really getting a substantial market share. It would open up their operating system and Safari to many more malicious attacks. Then that whole "more secure than a PC" nonsense would go out the window, and that's really all they got.

Not necessarily true. I am 90% a Windows user but I own a refurbished Mac-mini and make money selling iPhone apps on the side. There are deals to be had with Apple you just won't find them on the store.apple.com page.

That's why I said 99% true just a little joke for the fanboys XD

Ok. I can buy this. After all why would they. It cost to little and that just does not fit into Apples closed proprietary, charge and/or take advantage of customers and their money.

“We don’t know how to build a sub-$500 computer that is not a piece of junk,”

OH! But they know how to build, imo, a $1200 to $2000 piece of junk.

Interesting point

Well there is a reason I don't buy Apple product