Apple needs to talk more, according to Adobe. So it’s nice to see Apple Chief Operating Officer, Tim Cook, talking turkey in public. Unsurprisingly, he was bigging up the Apple iPad and predicts it will be a nail in the coffin for netbooks…

Speaking at a conference held by investment firm, Goldman Sachs, Cook claimed that the iPad has “a number of things that are appreciably better than anything available today.” He then went on to echo Steve Jobs’s attacks on netbooks.

“The netbook is not an experience people are going to continue wanting to have,” Cook said. “When they play with the iPad and experience the magic of using it…I have a hard time believing they’re going to go for a netbook.”

With rumours that Apple TV could be getting an iPhone OS powered perk-up, Cook discussed Apple’s set-top box. He reiterated that Apple sees it as a “hobby” at the moment but pointed to an intriguing future. He said: “We’re continuing to invest in [Apple TV] because our gut tells us there’s something there.”

Cook wouldn’t be pushed on whether Apple’s future lay in iPhone OS or Mac OS X though. He praised both: “Mac OS is hugely scaleable. That’s a huge competitive advantage…it allows us to innovate at an enormously fast speed with many fewer people.”

So while there’s been plenty of criticism of the Apple iPad, the company’s executives remain pretty bullish. Is Tim Cook right to feel so confident about the iPad’s ability to crush the netbook or will models like the gorgeous LG X200 be able to fight it off?

Due late-March | £TBC | Apple (via PC World)

  • Patrick

    I was going to get a iPad ( already have iPhone 3gs ) but wanted flash support.
    So got myself a nice little HP Dm1 1010sa
    Its only a ULV Dual Core Celeron 1.2GHZ but at least it can do flash ( just ) and has 250gb storage and upto 7.5 hours battery ( around 4-5 real world )
    2gb DDR 1066mhz ( clocked to 800 due to cpu )
    And the Price £350.00 with bluetooth to any device ( note to apple ) and wifi
    Nice 11.6″ tft led backlite and 3 usb 2 and multi card reader and HDMI and vga. great for slapping on to my main LCD for BBC iplayer etc.

  • Mike

    Patrick beat me to it – the lack of flash support cuts out a big chunk of content that the ipad would be great for displaying – unless every major content provider develops dedicated apps to overcome the problem (like youtube) then I for one won’t be looking at the ipad. Apple and Adobe need to sort out their differences as flash isn’t going away any time soon.

    • http://www.gravatar.com James Holland

      I’m really torn over this stuff… On one hand, I’m ultra confident the iPad is going to do well. But it’ll be in ways nobody expects yet. I can see DJs taking to it, with the right apps, because of its monster storage and big screen – perfect for mixing, or just scrolling through tracks. But I really don’t see it replacing netbooks. Honestly, I see people typing on netbooks all the time, and Apple has already contradicted its assertions about the iPad’s keyboard by releasing a keyboard dock!

Hot chat, right here!


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