The Web is percolating rumors that a new Apple laptop is in the works with an $800 price tag. Currently, Apple lists its lowest-priced MacBook at $1,099.
The intense speculation was fueled by an Apple e-mail inviting reporters to attend an Oct. 14 media event hosted by CEO Steve Jobs, at which he is expected to tout a notebook lineup refresh. Tech bloggers are abuzz about unconfirmed reports of a new Apple price list that features the $800 product.
Additionally, Fortune magazine pointed photos of a new laptop casing posted by a Taiwan-based blogger. The business publication noted that the images are “consistent with reports that Apple has switched to a new manufacturing process that carves the shells of its notebooks out of a single ‘brick’ of aluminum.”
A Portable PC Boost
IDC noted last month that the global PC market had been able to resist economic pressures due to the rising sales of low-cost portable PCs. “We continue to see a rapid transition to portable PCs around the world, even as economic pressures rise,” said Loren Loverde, director of IDC’s PC tracker program.
The research firm also noted that the market trend through September reflected the increasing importance of computing — not just in the home or office, but also as an integrated part of people’s lives. “Falling prices, more design choice and competition for PC makers to capture this market continue to drive a rapid transition,” Loverde said.
The increasing form factor diversity in notebooks as well as desktops is enabling people to justify multiple PC purchases, noted Bob O’Donnell, IDC’s vice president of clients and displays.
“The right way to gauge the success of consumer PCs is no longer the adoption rate of households with PCs, or even the number of PCs per household, but rather the number of…