Apple, Inc. (AAPL) has not yet joined the netbook PC race, even though that segment of the personal computer industry has been on fire in the last year in terms of overall sales. Apple, as usual, has derided the category as older machines with cramped keyboards and limited usefulness. Consumers apparently are not listening, as netbook PCs continue flying off the shelves.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) may be planning a touch-screen netbook computer, according to several sources. Apple, which has had a ho-hum stance on the rapidly-growing netbook market in the past, may be close to deciding that it could indeed enter into the fray and probably take some sales away from the $500 or $600 netbook (and notebook) market.

Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) makes amazing machines with the best design and the most clever marketing. However Apple does it, the company wraps the entire package from conception to post-sale in a way not many other companies can. Dare I say, no other company. That does come at a price, however. Apple prides itself in not making commodity equipment, even though the hardware used under the hood of many of their products is indeed commodity goods.

Apple retail prices are significantly higher than the competition (if you want to call it that). In other words, Apple's products demand higher prices based on what I referenced in the first paragraph. Somehow, the company is so successful that it can grow its business - with higher prices in most cases - than the competition, and even in dire economic times. But, the company is not superhuman. Apple's Mac sales are nosediving just like the rest of the PC industry, signaling that even Apple is not immune to the incredibly harsh recession we're all in at the moment.

We've all watched as laptop PCs sold like hotcakes over the last few years and gradually take market share from the desktop PC. Customers are finding out that the computing power they need is plentifully supplied by an all-in-one portable laptop and the cables, desk space and noise of a desktop PC simply isn't needed any longer.

For the first time, laptop PC sales outranked desktop PC sales during last quarter. Brands like Hewlett-Packard Corp. (NYSE: HPQ), Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL), Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Taiwan's Acer sold an astounding 38.6 million portable PCs, compared with 38.5 million desktop units, according to research firm iSuppli.

HP continued dominating laptop PCs, with 18.8% of sales during the last quarter. Dell was quite a bit behind the leader with13.9% of sales. Acer took in 12.2% of sales. Although the desktop PC is far from dead, the consumer market is slowly abandoning them for cheap and powerful laptops as time goes by.

When is the last time you saw a perfectly-equipped laptop PC for under $600? Look in the ads from any Sunday newspaper -- they are there. And, customers are buying them like crazy.