For quite some time now, we’ve been hearing the rumours that Apple are set to enter the netbook markets. We’ve also heard the subsequent denials. Now, Computerworld has quotes from an analyst who says that Apple will unveil netbooks next month at the MacWorld Conference and Expo.

Technology Business Research Inc’s Ezra Gottheil says that the two netbooks he expects Apple to reveal will be tied to the company’s App Store, as the iPhone is. While claiming no inside information, Gottheil cites the slumping economy, the increase in sales of netbooks, and comments by Steve Jobs in October as evidence that netbooks are on the way from Apple. He reckons that it will follow in the footsteps of the iPhone by being shown off at the January conference, then put on the market in the middle of the year.

Apple like to have surprises at their MacWorld Conference and Expos and the announcement of netbooks, after much avoidance and denial, would certainly shock many. People are willing to pay less on computers now that the economy is down in the dumps, so it would be a good time for Apple to introduce some low-cost netbooks on to the scene. Gottheil’s prediction is that Apple will unveil two netbooks, one a similar size to the MacBook Air, and the other a machine priced at around $599 and similar to smaller netbooks.