Well, it looks like Apple has finally figured out how to make “a $500 computer that’s not a piece of junk.” Why? A new report from the Chinese-language Commercial Times is said to contain info regarding an upcoming Apple netbook. It cites companies WinTek and Quanta, besides Apple, as among those involved in the making of an Apple netbook. If this report is to be believed, then we will be seeing a touchscreen-equipped little notebook from Apple by the second half of this year. There isn’t really a definite release date for the product, but that is when it’s expected to start shipping. No word on any specs or pricing, either, but that should come once Apple finally announces the thing. Unless someone else leaks all the info ahead of them, that is.

Digitimes Via Electronic Pulp

DigiTimes has breaking news on Quanta’s completion of a new 1-2cm thin notebook that it should be delivering to consumers within the year or so. It is said that Quanta still hasn’t started on mass producing this sleek new notebook, but the work on it is done and what’s more, it will have an entry level price. No additional details were given out by DigiTimes, citing their industry sources, but we should be hearing about it in the next few weeks once its maker (Asus? Apple? Acer? Dell?) comes out from the woodwork.

Via DigiTimes

With the impending launch of the 10.1-inch Acer Aspire 103, Acer is said to be considering phasing out its currently existing and much-loved 8.9-inch netbook, the Acer Aspire One. This move is said to be scheduled for the second quarter of 2009, according to a report from DigiTimes citing notebook industry sources.

Quanta Computer is the company responsible for producing the 8.9-inch Acer Aspire One netbooks, and if the same report referenced above is correct, the company will receive an order for another netbook, an “enterprise model” that will have a 10.1-inch screen. Could this be a separate model from the Acer Aspire 103? Seems so, since it was specified that the 10.1-inch Acer Aspire one will be manufactured by Compal Electronics. But what exactly this “enterprise model” netbook with a 10.1-inch screen remains a mystery. Perhaps we’ll learn more about it in the following weeks.