MacWorld Rumors: Superthin Flash Memory Laptop; 3G iPhone

One month ahead of the MacWorld Expo, rumors are building that Apple (AAPL) plans to announce both an ultraportable laptop and a 3G iPhone. Last week, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said a 3G iPhone will be released in 2008 (full story), but analysts differ on exactly when that will occur. Most were expecting an H2 release, but some are now advancing their target date to May or June. Regarding the ultraportable, an unidentified source "with good connections to Apple's Asian manufacturing partners" told CNBC's Jim Goldman that the new laptop will be 50% thinner and lighter than the MacBook Pro. The laptop will use flash memory instead of a hard drive and is expected to retail for about $1,500, the same price as Apple's 13.3-inch black MacBook. NAND memory chip manufacturers responded well to the news, with Sandisk (SNDK) rising 3.8% to $39.39 and Micron (MU) up 3.5% to $9.26. In related news, Apple is reported to be boosting production of the iPod Touch to 5.1 million units for the holiday quarter in response to high demand. Piper Jaffray had estimated Apple would sell about 3.7 million units during the period.

Sources: CNBC Tech Check, c|net News.com, Apple Insider, engadget
Additional Reading: Eight Predictions for MacWorld 2008

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Comments

[Lieutenant]

3g ipod, doubt it. you meant iphone?

[Lisa]

Any idea how much storage the new laptop with no hard drive will have?