A post on thomas fitzgerald.net serves to remind us that Apple released their first netbook in 1997: the Apple eMate 300:
…next time you see people ranting about an Apple netbook, remember that Apple had something similar long before anyone even uttered the phrase “netbook.”
The device ran Netwon OS 2 with a 20-30 hour battery life (yes, 20-30 hours). I’ve written more than a few posts eulogizing the eMate’s tablet-shaped sibling: Newton Message Pad 2000.