Three related meme's have gathered steam this week: 1. Q4 2008 and 2009: Year of the Netbook 2. The large form Apple Touch 3. Memo to Jeff Bezos: My interest in the Kindle is waning
So what do these all have to do with one another?
Simple: it's a race to be the first great, dominant netbook. After all, that's really what a large screen iPhone / iPod Tablet would be. And to a degree, it's what the missing ingredient for the Amazon Kindle. And the form factor of the Touch and the Kindle are what current netbooks are missing.
I love the prospects of the Kindle (and I love Amazon...), but Apple has the inside edge here. Turning the iPhone or Touch into a tablet is far easier than converting the Kindle or recomposing current netbooks. Furthermore, Apple already has thousands of apps to launch with (adding content and gaming) and can turn iTunes into an Amazon eBooks competitor.