Rumors that Apple is working on a netbook are back.

It all started Monday when DigiTimes read in the Chinese language Commercial Times that Quanta, which knocks off Apple's MacBooks and iMacs, will make the thing, and that Wintek will supply the touch panels for shipments that are supposed to start in the third quarter of this year.

When cornered by DigiTimes, Taiwan-based Wintek would apparently only admit to developing some new products for Apple, feigning any knowledge of what the stuff's for and claiming "no shipment schedule has been worked out yet, but shipments are likely to begin in the second half."

The Dow Jones then reported being told by a couple of nameless sources "close to the situation" that that the screens would be between 9.7 inches and 10 inches and that the specs weren't set in stone.

CEO Steve Jobs has previously said, "We don't know how to make a $500 computer that's not a piece of junk."

Jobs' temporary replacement, Tim Cook, acknowledged in January that the company was watching the space and observed that "right now we think the products are inferior and will not provide an experience to customers they're happy with."

Netbooks are, of course, where the PC action is these days.

Apple fanboys suggest the gismo could be a large-screen iPod touch or a Newton-style tablet that runs about $600-$700.

Neither the Commercial Time nor the Dow Jones has much of a track record anticipating Apple.