Is A 7-inch iPad Really on the Way Before Christmas?

[Maura]

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I confess I pretty much dismissed recent reports that Apple was planning on bringing out a 7-inch iPad by Christmas, but now MacWorld is reporting the news again, and it does make you start to wonder if maybe there’s a little more substance to the story. According to MacWorld, reputable Taiwanese financial newspaper, the Chinese-language Economic News Daily, is insisting that Apple is in fact preparing to release a smaller iPad with a 7-inch screen by the end of 2010.

Adding further fuel to the fire is the fact that the Economic News Daily has a good track record when it comes to Apple scoops, as according to MacWorld it was one of the first sources to break the news that Apple was working on a project that would eventually prove to be the iPad. It also makes sense that Taiwanese sources would have inside knowledge on the device, as according to the Economic News Daily, the “iPad 2â€, as MacWorld calls it, is being assembled largely in Taiwan, with Taiwanese company Chimei Innolux making the 7-inch screens, using the IPS technology from the current iPad. The paper also says that two other Taiwanese firms, Cando Corporation and Compal Electronics, are also working on the tablet’s components.

As usual, none of the companies mentioned in the article would comment on the story, but that’s par for the course. Meanwhile, in unrelated yet ironic other news, I just tried to check out a preview to MacWorld’s “Complete Guide to the iPad†on their site, and it wouldn’t work because it required Flash to run!

Source: MacWorld.co.uk

 

[gentlefury]

7" would be too small...thats the size of the screen on my car stereo and it wouldn't be good enough for me...the iPad screen is perfect size.

 

[Cosmoglow]

7" would be the perfect size to carry in one hand. It may also be small enough to slip in ones purse or pantpocket.

 

[Madeline]

Any word on what the price will be?

 

[Temp40]

for the longest time I thought this was just a rumor, but it seems like it really could be a possibility

 

[Drag Bunt]

My fingers are way too big for a 7" touch screen.

 

[rwilts]

Ok I dont get the logic in this.

I am selling as many iPads as i can produce for x amount.

Why dilute the market myself by introducing a competitor to my own product as presumably less than x amount?

I know Apple have a range if iPod devices at different price points but they are not £600 devices.

 

[Loccy]

Typical. I was holding out for an Android 7 inch tablet with decent hardware but ended up giving up and getting the ipad, being neither the platform or form factor I really wanted, because I needed a slate for some upcoming travel. The 7 inch size would have been ideal for me, I wanted something the size of my Sony ebook reader but that could also be used for the intertubes and movies. I find myself liking iOS more than I thought I would, despite being something of an Android fanboy (although couldn't imagine using it un-jailbroken) but it's bugging me that a tablet in the form factor I wanted with decent hardware is about to hit the market the moment I've plugged for something else. The iPad is just a little too big IMO.

 

[gentlefury]

Typical. I was holding out for an Android 7 inch tablet with decent hardware but ended up giving up and getting the ipad, being neither the platform or form factor I really wanted, because I needed a slate for some upcoming travel. The 7 inch size would have been ideal for me, I wanted something the size of my Sony ebook reader but that could also be used for the intertubes and movies. I find myself liking iOS more than I thought I would, despite being something of an Android fanboy (although couldn't imagine using it un-jailbroken) but it's bugging me that a tablet in the form factor I wanted with decent hardware is about to hit the market the moment I've plugged for something else. The iPad is just a little too big IMO.

No worries the iPad is still hot and will sell for nearly what you paid for it....just get the 7" when its available.

 

[iVan]

Why isn't Apple focusing on a tablet computer instead? Hasn't the public clearly demonstrated a need for one?:sigh:

 

[newfmp3]

7" is pointless. It is still too big to carry around and too small for a tablet

But if they are trying to release a new pad with camera, new retinal screen without a crazy price point, and sensible storage size, new 512 ram etc this might do it.

Problem is, personally I have zero use for a 7" iPad, and where would this leave the iPod touch

 

[Hasty]

I expect apple knows what it's doing and is building on it's strengths.
Create a new product and then provide variants is a good way of preempting the competition.

Remember the derision when the iPad was announced and how many critics couldn't foresee a use for it. It will gain a niche for itself amongst those who want a more portable machine, rather like the iPod minis and shuttles.
Looking at the teardown photos of the iPad there's a fair bit of space left which would see the same contents fit in a smaller device.

Personally I like the current size of the iPad but could see my kids grabbing a smaller version, but then they have better eyesight and a more mobile lifestyle
Anything that promotes and extends the iPad form factor and it's user base should be of benefit to us current users in the long run.

 

[Loccy]

I don't understand the opposition to the seven inch form factor. Seven inches is small enough to fit into a (large!) jacket pocket while still providing a screen that's comfortable to read off of. The existing 9.7 inch form factor is the one I don't get. Too big to go in anything other than a bag (and thus no more portable than a net book) yet small and cramped when compared to a laptop screen. My Sony ebook reader is the perfect tablet size IMO - even if I don't use it any more now that I have the iPad!

As an aside, I also don't get the point of the Dell Streak's form factor. Five inches? What's the point of that? Way too big for a comfortable phone yet nowhere near big enough for the extra size to make reading the thing any better an experience versus a phone.

 

[Hasty]

They would certainly have experimented with a wide variety of screen sizes and chosen what they felt was the best option for market success.

 

[yanran]

Wow, I saw it too