Apple netbook on its way?

The New York Times' John Markoff reported Tuesday that anonymous sources at an anonymous Internet search company (wonder which one that is) have spotted the tracks of an Apple device with a screen larger than an iPhone, but smaller than a MacBook, in their visitor logs.

That is by no means proof that Apple plans to release a small MacBook in the Netbook vein, but could be evidence that Apple's plans for this category are a little more concrete than Jobs suggested during Tuesday's earnings conference call.

Jobs called the Netbook category "nascent" during his rare appearance on the earnings call and suggested that the iPhone is Apple's answer to demand for a small Internet-browsing device. Still, he didn't rule out eventually heading down that road: "We'll wait and see how that nascent category evolves and we've got some pretty interesting ideas if it does evolve."