SlashGear

If the auto industry could harness the perpetual motion that the Apple netbook rumor has demonstrated, it could change the world.  Until then, there’s further fuel for yesterday’s speculation with the Dow Jones Newswire reporting “two people close to the situation” who confirm Apple is planning a 9.7 to 10-inch netbook as early as the second half of 2009.

That certainly fits in with yesterday’s talk of netbook-scale multitouch touchscreen panels being sourced from Taiwan firm Wintek for delivery in 2H09, and Quanta Computer to put the whole thing together.  We’re still unclear on whether the Apple netbook – if of course it even turns out to be real – will have a QWERTY keyboard or be a large form-factor version of the iPod touch.

Apple have, unsurprisingly, declined to comment on the further rumors.  Back in October, Steve Jobs memorably told analysts that the company “don’t know how to make a $500 computer that’s not a piece of junk.”  Of course, their wavering economic performance and market share might have motivated them to take a second try.

[via Engadget]