Apple has consistently said it isn't interested in making a cheap "netbook" Mac in the US$500 price range. The retail cost of the simple desktop Mac mini ($599) seems to confirm that. In fact, any foray into the mini laptop space by Apple will most certainly erode the high-value MacBook and MacBook Pro lineup. Apple enjoys some of the biggest margins in the computing industry, and I doubt the company is willing to let them slip, especially considering its financial performance these days is the envy of most tech companies.
At the same time, didn't Apple just turn the aluminum 13-inch MacBook into a "MacBook Pro"? This leaves the polycarbonate "plastic" MacBook to anchor the laptop line's low-end entry. Might this maneuver shift the value proposition of the MacBook Pro so that it retains full "pro" value? Definitely. And doesn't this move give Apple some breathing room to create a smaller Mac device? You bet. September is a big month for Apple. For the last several years, that's when the company has made its important new music announcements. Pick an iPod, and most likely the world first heard about it in September.
If Apple CEO Steve Jobs is going to make a public appearance any time soon, there's a good chance he would do it to help launch a new product from the safety of the company's Cupertino, Calif., campus. The resulting flurry of coverage would be nothing less than astounding, of course.
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