I have seen several articles stating that a Digitimes Senior analyst believes that Apple is going to release a 5 to 7 inch version of the iPad in early 2011. The iPad mini should have a price tag of between $300 and $400 and target people who are mainly interested in reading. Do you think that this signifies that Apple is preparing to directly take on all of the other eReader devices and dominate the eBooks market the same way that it did the MP3 one? Any thoughts?
I thought they already have an "iPad Mini," it's called the iPhone/iPod Touch? I don't see the benefit to making an even smaller version of the iPad, but then again, there's a reason they're billionaires and I'm not.
The Touch is an MP3 player. Can anyone really use a 3.5" screen for reading? Just not practical. Apple probably feels that the 7" form factor is better for strictly reading and that the current entry level price tag of $500.00 is too much for people who are debating on just an ereader or a full blown netbook competitor.
While though I can doubt it, I think it might have some merit. Look at the line up of Apple's laptops, there are several size screens. It is possible that Apple wishes to create a range of screen sizes from the touch to the ipad. Again, I still think it's not happening, but who knows? There might be a maxipad too One a lil thicker with a built in card reader and usb port.
I wouldn't doubt there being one between iPod Touch and iPad size coming out....I could also see a bigger one come out. 7", 10", and maybe 13" models then the iMacs start coming out.
I agree, a 3.5" screen is a bit small. There has been A LOT of crying and tantrums thrown over the lack of iBooks from iPhone/iPod Touch users. I've talked to friends who have read books on their iPhones and they don't seem to mind. However, I was just looking on Amazon and it appears they have a 9.7" version and a 6" version of the Kindle, so perhaps a smaller version could be in the works for Apple.
Yeah it was funny, the other day when they announced that my friend said...now I don't have to get an iPad....I was like...yeah, they are still very very different.
I know, I just thought it was funny reading the reviews on iBooks in the app store. People were taking it personal that Apple hadn't released iBooks for the iPhone/Touch and were giving 1 star ratings to the app.