Touchscreen MacBook unlikely as Cook slams tablet hybrids

Apple head honcho Tim Cook has spoken out against hybrid devices like the Asus Transformer Prime, saying that devices looking to act as tablets and laptops end up "compromising in both", the BBC reports.

When asked for a comment on what he thought about mashing together PCs and tablets -- something Microsoft wants to do later this year with Windows 8 -- Cook said that, "anything can be forced to converge."

He continued, "products are about trade-offs, and you begin to make trade-offs to the point where what you have left at the end of the day doesn't please anyone." According to a transcription by Seeking Alpha.

"You can converge a toaster and a refrigerator", Tim said (hey, that's a great idea!), "but those things are probably not going to be pleasing to the user."

Hopes of a touchscreen MacBook Air are dashed as Cook goes on to say, having nattered about the iPad, "I also believe that there is a very good market for the MacBook Air, and we continue to innovate in that product. And -- but I do think it appeals to... someone that has a little bit different requirements.

"You wouldn't want to put these things together because you wind up compromising in both."

Cook may have a point about laptop-tablet hybrids, but it's worth remembering that the iPhone is probably the most famous example of tech convergence there is -- blending a mobile phone and the iPod.

The Apple chief made the comments in a conference call following the company's latest financial results, in which he also stated that he hates litigation. Apple has increased its cash stash by a frightening amount, having flogged a whopping 35 million iPhones, 12 million iPads, 4 million Macs and nearly 8 million iPods in the last three months alone.

Based on Cook's words, we're unlikely to see Apple crafting an iPad with a keyboard dock or a touchscreen MacBook any time soon. But is it wise of Apple to keep categories separate? Or should it embrace convergence? Let me know the answers in the comments below, or over on our Facebook wall.