Foxconn Electronics, one of the world’s largest contract makers of electronics, will make netbooks for Apple, a media report from Taiwan claims. Earlier some analysts already predicted that a netbook from Apple should emerge on the market sometimes in the middle of 2009.

Taiwan-based Commercial Times news-paper (which article was partly translated by DigiTimes web-site) claims that Foxconn will land orders to make netbooks for Apple. However, the report lacks any details apart from this fact. Considering that Foxconn is the largest manufacturing partner of Apple, it is hardly surprising that it has chances to land orders to a new product.

Neither Apple nor Foxconn have commented on the news-story and the latter has not even made a usual filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange saying that it does not comment on relationship with its customers.

Late last year analyst firm Technology Business Research said that Apple would announce the new product at MacWorld in January 2009, to become available around mid-year. Apple has not formally introduced any netbooks so far. TBR believed that Apple’s ultra-portable computer would come in two sizes, one much like the MacBook Air and one similar to a netbook, with the smaller unit priced at $599.

There are several problems that Apple has run into and which it needs to solve better sooner than later. Apple needs news customers to increase its market share and revenue level, however, it needs to maintain its profit margins and also do everything to sustain sales of expensive Macintosh offerings.

Netbooks – which are based on either Intel Atom processors or Intel Celeron M chips – are not what Apple has traditionally offered to its customers. However, tough economic times require unusual decisions and a launch of ultra low cost Mac may be that decision for Apple, although the company has always said it was not interested in low-end PCs. So, maybe Macbook Net is just around the corner?

Tags: Apple, Foxconn, Intel, Atom, macbook