As rumors about Apple Computer Inc’s forthcoming consumer portable continued to circulate this week, interim CEO Steve Jobs said the product would not be launched at the company’s trade show next month. Speaking at an education conference in Seattle, Jobs said the portable, code-named WebMate, would not be shown at the January 4-8 Macworld Expo in San Francisco as expected, adding that the product would be launched some time in the first half of 1999. The fact that Apple has stayed so tightlipped about the new product has spawned a barrage of industry rumors and speculations over the past couple of weeks. Although we don’t know for sure, the general consensus is that the WebMate will weigh less than four pounds and come with a variety of built-in wireless communications features. It will feature a 300MHz PowerPC ship and a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port, according to numerous press reports. Like its desktop consumer counterpart, the iMac, the new laptop will be designed in translucent plastic. Pricing will also be similar at around $1,000 to $1,300. While Apple refuses to comment, we do know that the WebMate fits in with its previously announced hardware strategy. At the company’s MacWorld Expo show in New York in July, Steve Jobs said that Apple would concentrate on four main product lines from hereon in (CI No 3,448). The G3 desktops and portables fulfill its business offerings; the iMac fits into the desktop consumer space, and that leaves one gap, for the WebMate.
