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Credible Reports of a 7.85 Inch iPad Mini Emerge
An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from Network World: "For months now, rumors of an iPad with a 7.85-inch screen have been circulating through the blogosphere. And though Steve Jobs once said that 7-inch tablets are 'dead on arrival,' the relative success of the Amazon Kindle Fire and other smaller tablets suggests that consumers are more than willing to accept a smaller screen size in exchange for a cheaper buy-in point. Indeed, you might remember that Apple CEO Tim Cook recently said that Apple saw a tremendous uptick in overall iPad sales once it lowered the price of the iPad 2 down to $399. That said, a chorus of credible reports over the past few days have all claimed that Apple is currently working on a slimmed down iPad and that it may be set for release as early as this Fall."
only has a little one.
Apple granted patent for head-mounted display tech. Clearly these two stories are related, right? Sounds totally awkward.
I wonder if it will have the same aspect ratio as the iPhone, or the iPad.
I can't imagine them setting up yet a new aspect ratio for developers to have to deal with.
Poor people need to die. No welfare, no medicaid, no food stamps. Just forced labor followed by swift justice of death. We could solve so many of the problems of crime and resource overutilization we have in this country if we just used Darwin's law of strongest survive.
Or do they have different shaped corners than the Samsung models?
Cause really, what they need is more lawyers involved. its legal stimulus in a crappy economy.
What are we going to do tonight Brain?
Nano's not as good as an Ipod touch, but Apple sometimes sees the utility in going for the lower end market.
If Apple brings a 7-inch pad to market that outperforms Fire and Nexus 7 I'd be interested.
And I always thought the rumor was for a 7.625-inch screen.
We all know that the market will accept nothing less than 7.95 inches.
And though Steve Jobs once said that 7-inch tablets are 'dead on arrival,'
steve jobs knows all about 'dead on arrival', eh?
I wish I could have multiple devices with the same SIM card address and just tell the network which one I am using at the time. Then I'd use this 7" device at home and leave the iPhone on the charger, and vice versa when I'm traveling.
I do not respond to cowards. Especially anonymous ones.
I have a 10" tablet, and I find it too big for any kind of natural handheld use. And a laptop is a much more natural form factor for non-handheld (tabletop, lying down & watching a movie, etc) uses. I haven't used a 7" tablet, but I have used e-readers a lot, which are about the same size, and they are very comfortable to hold. I don't get why Jobs would have thought it was 10" or bust.
Well of course credible reports have emerged. The market needs some uncertainty injected into it since the Nexus 7 is soon to be released, and Apple certainly doesn't want anyone to buy that when they could have an iPad in a few short months.
Just a marketing ploy. It's a shame how complicit the media is when Apple wants to do it versus, well, any other technology company ever.
More Twoson than Cupertino
It was called the iPad Nano. Mine can make phone calls.
Yes, if you sell the device below cost then scalp the customer when selling them content for the device, I guess that's being relatively successful. lol
scrambling to justify the purchase of a iPad Mini to compliment their Macbooks, iPods, iPads and "iPad nanos" (iPhones).
#1 - Look less idiotic when using tablet to take photos at a sports event.
#2 - Less arm fatigue while trying to force friends to view your favorite examples of the latest Internet meme.
#3 - profit???
"Here Lies Philip J. Fry, named for his uncle, to carry on his spirit"
What does this signify?
This seems like a good move, but I keep waiting for Apple to misstep and return to the dark ages it was in in the 1990s before Steve Jobs returned.
Always someone has power over you. The thing to consider is this: Is the power good, or bad?
What if the smaller iPad wasn't intended for end users but for another OEM?
With the announcement of "Eyes Free" and a Siri button for automobiles how great a leap is it to put an iPad in your car too? Instead of those pricey in dash nav screens that all of the auto manufacturers make, what if a few of them designed an in dash dock instead? It could come with a detachable iPad capable of replacing the nav, the entertainment system, and provide a platform for new apps. And you'd be able to take it with you when you parked. Or not--Apple could always make a non-detachable model too, but I don't see that as being quite as useful.
Either way, we'll know if there's a 7 inch model coming or not soon enough.
in 2010 we were saying that an ipad was just a big iphone. Now they're gonna sell a small ipad?
Why not a full 8?
After buying a nook tablet, I have found that 7" isn't big enough to read a tech manual comfortably, but a 8" isn't bad and is still a bit more portable than a 9.7"/10"
6" e-ink is still good for novels.. but id rather ditch them both and get a 9.7"/10" color e-ink at a reasonable price.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Because Android was there first. Samsung ICS devices have no home button.
I'd guess an 8" tablet would have to be $300. Argument for it over the Nexus and Fire is "larger screen" and "access to the best apps through itunes, blah blah blah".
iPod Touch starts at $200.
iPad Mini starting at $300.
iPad 2 starting at $400.
Plugs the hole, fields a device to stop any potential competitor's beachhead in tablets, and they still get the premium over the alternatives.
What measure of performance are you interested in? Whetstone? Dhrystone? Linpack?
Does anything other than the software library really matter? Assuming it hits the same $200 price point that Google and Amazon have hit, then the iPad wins hands-down.
I ordered a Nexus 7 because, at $200, I'm not risking much. If the iPad Mini comes in at $200, it will easily own the 7" market.
What I hate about these rumors is that they are just that - rumors. Has anyone checked the track record of the suppliers "sources" of late? There will not be a 7 inch iPad and there never will be. The form factor will not accommodate a finger properly, and the app library will not work on a 7.85 inch screen. Apple is and never will be interested in the low end market. This is a fact. If anything, this is a smokescreen to keep competitors making seven inch screen tablets. Apple's brand loyalty department is notorious for issuing these kinds of statements and crap to media outlets to throw people off the trail.
Help me, help you. - Jerry McGuire
I must surely be one of the lone dissenting voices with this idea, but - as a long-time iPad owner - I often found myself wishing Apple (or anyone else) also offered a hand-held touch-screen model that was twice as large, where reading books and magazines didn't feel so constricted and one could actually enjoy this wonderful portable medium for the experience it should be able to deliver around the household or elsewhere.
Probably won't happen until we have paper-thin computing devices.... but I can't fail to observe that this whole digital revolution keeps manufacturers bringing a lot of their smaller/cheaper/lighter 'innovations' at the expense of a certain comfort and quality standards we all sort of were taking for granted, and which had to do with basic ergonomics and functionality rather than cramming features into something that sacrificed the very essence of the user's experience with the device in question.
[/rant_off]
Yeah, I've actually been holding out hoping for a smaller iPad. It's not about money - I just prefer the smaller size. And, having used various iOS and Android devices (mostly phones, but stiill) - I decided I wasn't interested in the Android options out there.
#DeleteChrome
", then the iPad wins hands-down."
Why would the less diverse library win?
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
If Apple adds voice/phone to this device, I may consider buying it when I've run my 4 year old iphone into the ground; I want ONE device that serves both as a phone and as a mobile micro-workstation... I'd also prefer it was made (not necessarily by an American but) by someone making a good prosperous living (i.e., unlike now.)
If Apple brings a 7-inch pad to market that outperforms Fire and Nexus 7 I'd be interested.
It's possible that Apple could bring a better performing 7-inch tablet, but it will not beat the price/performance ratio. You're forgetting Apple's market - they never compete on price. My guess: they charge $250-$300 for something very similar to whatever's going for $200 in Android land at the time, but they add some trivial feature and play that up in the marketing as being worth the price difference. Siri 2, for example.
An Ipad mini needs to be ~ $200-225. If they get too close to $250-275 there are 10 inch screens that begin to compete.
Apple sues Samsung for stealing their idea before they came up with it....
There will not be a 7" iPad Mini b/c: 1. the screen resolution will match up to the iPhone not the "retina display" iPad 2. it would cut into iPad sales 3. Nobody would buy a $200 iPod Touch w/ 3.5" screen for only $50 less than a $250 iPad Mini or an iPhone if they wanted a small screen I am very much looking forward to upgrading my 3.5" iPod Touch to the New iPod Touch w/ 7" screen.
Seriously, the entire news industry is having a shit fit over this rumor.
Is news so slow that this needs to be announced multiple times at each news source I read??
10 inches is too big and bulky...but 7 inches is too small...questions about why we don't just round up to the next whole number...and of course everyone has their own definition of "perfect size" based on usage.
Yes, I'd say there's a few similarities here...
Why is it that Google can release a 7" tablet for $199, but an unlocked Android phone with a 4" screen costs $400 - $800?
Is the cellular chipset (and related testing and integration) really that expensive? is it the miniaturization to make a phone formfactor that makes it expensive?
Consumers will take a chance and/or forgive a lot of shortcomings in exchange for a lower price.
Take Steam, discounting Left4Dead by 50% led to a 3000% increase in sales: http://www.edge-online.com/features/valve-are-games-too-expensive
That's probably where the Steam Summer Sale came from. BTW, where is it this year?
Of course now there are "Credible" sources for this. It's the best way to steal some steam from the Nexus 7.
Nano's not as good as an Ipod touch,
My iPod Nano is controlled by buttons, not a touchscreen (yes, it's not the latest generation). To me, this makes it infinitely superior to the iPod Touch.
Everything is better with chainsaws.
...but yes, I was referring to the most recent Nano.
Touchscreens are more flexible but I appreciate being able to skip a song without turning on the screen and looking.
I sure Apple will eventually kill the wheel on ipods and I think that will be a mistake.
I'm very sceptical, that wouldn't be like Apple at all. I'm half expecting a much cheaper iPad in addition to the existing ones, but not with a different form factor.
Reasons are plenty, one of them is that apps are all designed for this size, from button size to the occasional ruler app. There have been similar rumors for the iPhone several times, and they've all turned out to be wrong.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
“One naturally thinks that a 7-inch screen would offer 70 percent of the benefits of a 10-inch screen,” Jobs said during a 2010 earnings call. “Unfortunately, this is far from the truth. The reason we [won't] make a 7-inch tablet isn’t because we don’t want to hit [a lower] price point, it’s because we think the screen is too small to express the software.”
Not really, they could go $250 for 8gb easy. iPod Touch is $199. 32gb jumps to $299? 64gb is $399 WTF? No pocket device is worth that now.
The market for 7" Apple tablets are people that already have Macs or IPhones and want additional, cheaper devices. Apple can easily grab a premium because you would be buying one to leverage your existing iPhone/touch/iPad apps... I'm pushing $300-$500 in Apps over the last 2 years easily. Apple got 30% of that. They don't want me repurchasing my apps for Android!
Apple won't EVER SUBSIDIZE devices. But they don't have to make "as much" profit if it keeps other streams flowing nicely.
I'm speaking about normal people who account for most tablet computer sales. Slashdot readers may find the RIM Playbook / Windows Surface / Kindle Fire / other Android tablet to be have a more compelling software library and that will make those tablets a better buy.
I have both iOS and Android devices in my house and the holes in the Android library (for normal users) are slowly being filled, but app quality still lags. For now, I still can't recommend anything other than an iPad to people who ask me what they should get.
...I'll be amused as hell, because that's about the screen size of the Newton MP2000 that was often rejected as way too large (the PalmPilot's tiny size being something of a reaction to this).
With the current 8GB Ipod Touch selling at $199.00 - is a 200.00 price tag even in the ballpark?
That implies that 10" is better. I have a 10" tablet. I am likely going to get the Nexus 7". When we got a Fire for my wife, we found that while the 10" is dandy for around the house, the 7" is way better if you actually want to take it with you.
I agree on the price point, but for a different reason. Apple would need to hit the $200-$225 price point because the iPad isn't better than a decent Android tablet. If they get too high above the price of the Kindle or the Nexus, most people won't buy it. They would have think long and hard before going lower than $200 because that could erode their "premium" branding.
Not as good? That really depends on what you need it for. If all you want is to able to play music or listen to audio books why do you need a pocket computer?
Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
"7-inch tablets are dead on arrival" - Steve Jobs
"Steve Jobs is dead on arrival" - 7-inch tablets
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
Slashdot readers may find the RIM Playbook / Windows Surface / Kindle Fire / other Android tablet to have a more compelling software library and that will make those tablets a better buy.
Then Slashdot readers are living on another planet. Given that the iOS app library 1) is a couple of orders of magnitude larger than all of those others combined; 2) has no major holes relative to the other offerings; 3) has numerous apps--nay, entire app categories in some cases--that the others don't; 4) is price competitive (including vastly more high quality free apps); and 5) is curated to keep the buggiest, most useless, security threatening malware and crap out... ...by what possible standard could anyone find any of the others to have a more compelling software library?
Here's an opportunity--please name the killer apps that exist on those platforms but don't on iOS that by themselves justify buying something other than an iPad. Because let's face it--the number of rational reasons to pick a Playbook/Surface/Fire over an iPad (aside from watching porn) are small and would largely vanish in the face of a 7-inch, price competitive iPad.
I think that if tablets are going to reach maturity, artists and content creators need a 20 inch tablet. It doesn't matter what it costs, just that the tools are there. Sure, it's cool that there's a smaller ipad, but we need bigger ones that you can do actual work on.
This signature intentionally left blank.
Smart investors around the world are investing heavily in cargo pants in anticipation of the gadget's arrival on the tech scene. Basement geeks are re-considering their previous decision to abandon trousers altogether, thinking perhaps that decision was a bit 'premature.'
WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
Two submissions from timothy - one is about "rumors" of a mini iPad and another about Nexus Q misleading about "made in USA". Wow! Slashdot has gone to shits.
All of the apps are tied to the 10" size and 4:3 aspect ratio. That's why the ipad3 exactly quadrupled the resolution. So, will this just be shrunken, maintaining 1024x768 resolution on a smaller screen? Or will developers have to go back and add support for a new form factor, a la android? This is also why I think the rumors about the Galaxy Note2 are false. No way it has 1680x1050 - that's a 16x10 aspect, and all of their prior phones are 16x9.
Since it probably will not have all the limitations of the Kindle Fire it will outperform that one for sure.
I got the KF as a Christmas gift. I live in Mexico. There's a small flaw in the screen that showed up after a month. Amazon is willing to replace the device if I send it to the USA and they ship it to an USA address. After some more pushing they even wanted to refund the shipping cost to the USA (as an Amazon gift card, of course). When I got the KF I had to pay 20+% import duties and other taxes (40 USD). Shipping it within a reasonable time frame and insured will be around 90 USD or so. Or: I can have my KF fixed if I am willing to pay around 130 USD.
Add to that the Amazon store requires a credit card with an USA address, even for the free apps and it's clear that Apple will outperform the KF on both warranty and content.
Don't get me wrong, I love the Kindle Touch I own, and the KF is nice (although I do miss a built in cam and mic, let's hope the iPad 7+" has those). But Amazon is not going to beat content and an Apple store around the corner.
Recently when I checked Google's content for Nexus 7 page (can't recall how it's called) I also got a nice warning that it's not available in Mexico. Smells like the same problem as with the KF.
Perl Programmer for hire
Does it come with sand paper?
you know for your fingertips.... I'll get my coat....
But then, the Playbook I can be bothered to carry around with me everywhere has a definite advantage over the iPad or the Transformer that is really just too big for convenience, either for holding or carrying, given my Euro-weenie size and small hands.
Personally, I have a suspicion that I am going to have helpless bank account leak at the sight of the Galaxy Note 2, but in any case, Jobs was wrong.
From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
The goal was really 1024x768 resolution. A resolution that is quite standard and would allow very effective viewing of regular web pages. It didn't hurt that a lot of PC/Mac developers already had artwork for that resolution and it would make porting to iPad that much easier. 10 inches was just the size required for a display of that resolution.
However the retina type displays change that size requirement. That 1024x768 resolution can be offered in a smaller device. A device that could be entirely compatible, no changes required, with iPad and iPad2 devices from a developers perspective.
http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/05/is-this-a-thing-a-business-man-carries-ipad-in-his-pants-through-grand-central-station/
Argument for it over the Nexus and Fire is "larger screen" and "access to the best apps through itunes, blah blah blah".
These are both reasons NOT to buy it. Everyone seems to assume that people get smaller screens because they are cheaper, but some of us actually just like smaller devices that can fit in a (large) pocket and are paperback novel sized. It is just a nice size for reading and typing. Larger screens are particularly bad for typing because the keyboard becomes too big to comfortably use.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Examples of these holes?
There are massive holes in the iOS library. Don't like Safari? Too bad, nothing else is available. Many Android devices come with Swype pre-installed and I know a lot of ordinary people who use it, but iOS doesn't allow replacement keyboards. Sounds like Apple is going to lose Google Maps, and with it Navigation of which there is nothing comparable at all unless you are willing to pay, and even then not as good.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
They'll call this the Min-i-Pad, to be followed by a jumbo-sized tablet device, the Max-i-Pad. What obvious bullshit will Apple pretend to think of first next?
Please don't forget to tip your waiter.
Don't like Safari? Too bad, nothing else is available.
I don't yet own an iPad or an iPhone, but it looks like you may be wrong about that.
"I'm not sure I like the fugnutish tone you used in your post!" -RogL (608926)-
I do not need a stinkin' iPad Mini. What I need is a damn iPad Maxi. One where a standard sheet of paper can be seen all at once at a resolution I can see without glasses.
How long Apple? Chop, chop, get to it!
Barnes and Noble already brought a 7-inch pad to market that outperforms the Fire. You may have missed it, because it was a second generation device and came out two days after the Fire.
Can you be Even More Awesome?!
http://team-nocturnal.tumblr.com/post/26388747742/proof-apple-stole-from-google-boycottapple
Wait, the iPad is ALREADY significantly above the price point you mention. Is the bigger screen the _only_ reason people are buying it? I don't think so.
Civilization Revolutions.
Hate to admit it but I spent an hour Googling to see if it was available on the Android before making my final purchase decision on a phone last week.
Glonoinha the MebiByte Slayer
I've got the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7, which imho is currently the best tablet (counting out the Note, which is more phone than tablet): beats all other HD tablets (720p display) in slimness and weight, just recently received ICS and offers the largest screens size while still fitting in a (male's) jeans back pocket. This "pocketability" is the main advantage of 7" tablets - they can be stowed away in your back pocket or jacket if you need your hands, whereas the bulky 10 inchers usually need to be placed back in your bag, which in addition to their weight makes them far less useful as truly portable devices.
I'm wondering what resolution these new iPads will have though:
* 1024x768 like the old iPads, would mean a very non-retina ~160 ppi
* 2048x1536 like the new iPads would mean 320 ppi on a 7.8" device, probably not, considering the target price
* 1920x1280 seems the most likely, double iPhone 4 resolution, which would make it easy rendering all iPhone apps as lower res, but would make developers redo their artwork for yet another resolution - 290ppi would qualify as retina, since 7 inchers are held closer to the face than 10 inchers but further away than phones.
I'm quite happy with my 1280x800 display tough, it's good enough for my use cases, e.g. to view most PDFs and non-mobile Web pages without zooming, also for viewing movies (or youtube) which are mostly available at standard 720p/1080p nowadays, so obviously a 7.7" at 1920x1080 would definitely be the optimal solution. Here's hoping for the Galaxy Tab 7.7 II.
Google Navigation was never available for iOS. Google refused to provide it, as it's a big selling point for Android phones.
Apple is abandoning Google Maps so that they can provide navigation. Assuming they do a decent job of it, that's going to be a huge upgrade in the eyes of a ton of people.
Decent 10" tablets are already significantly above that price point. In the 7" size, they are $200 is the price point to hit.
Don't like Safari? Too bad, nothing else is available.
I don't yet own an iPad or an iPhone, but it looks like you may be wrong about that.
I'd say his point is that it's not a viable alternative because Apple gives its browser preferential treatment, click on a link in any application and it will open up in Safari, there is no way to change the default browser to Chrome.
I use most powerfull backlink tool http://backlink-indexer.blogspot.com/ its free mate!
Hadn't considered links from other applications. Thanks.
"I'm not sure I like the fugnutish tone you used in your post!" -RogL (608926)-
Really? I was under the impression that they did just that with the first iPad. There were no ~10" tablets in "Android land" at that price at the time.
"Tablet PC makers shaken up by iPad pricing - Surprised by iPad's low $499 price tag"
Apple iPad: The Low-Price Leader?
Apple iPad Cheaper than Notebook Vendors Would Like