Rumorville: Mac netbook to arrive in October, for $800?

The steady drumbeat of Mac netbook/tablet rumors continues, with the latest buzz hinting at an October release, a touchscreen, and a $800-ish price tag.

The most recent leak comes from Chinese-language InfoTimes (via Macrumors), which claims that three Taiwanese manufacturing firms have "received direct orders from Apple" for the netbooks. One of the manufacturers: touchscreen maker Wintek, which was the subject of an earlier Mac netbook rumor back in March.

The purported Mac netbook—or "tablet as many call it," says InfoTimes—will come with a 9.7-inch touchscreen, and will "not follow the current market trend" of netbooks with "screens about 10.2 or 10.1 inches," according to "reliable" sources.

The report wraps up with speculation that the … netbook? tablet? … will "not target low-end consumers" looking for "less-than-500-dollar netbooks," and that the device will "probably" sell for about $800.

It's not clear from the InfoTimes story whether the alleged Apple netbook will come with a keyboard, although if the device is indeed real, I'm guessing no. Why? Because Apple execs have repeatedly dissed existing netbooks in the past, leading me to believe that a Mac "netbook" would boast a radically different design—say, a tablet form factor—than your traditional pint-sized netbook.

In any case, I'll be pretty disappointed if Apple doesn't cough up some kind of netbook, tablet, or "media pad" after the all these rumors. Looks like we'll have to keep our eyes peeled for October, when Apple traditionally unleashes its latest round of notebook revisions.

[Image credit: Axiotron, maker of the third-party ModBook]

Related:
Apple Touchscreen Netbook to Launch in October at $800? [Macrumors]