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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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
It signifies that people would like another choice. Many of us like the 8" form factor better than 7.( i have both, and prefer 8" for reading )
1 inch doesn't sound like a lot, but it makes a huge difference without bloating the entire device when you jump to nearly 10".
---- Booth was a patriot ----
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 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....
Not to feed the trolls, but where does this idea that monetary wealth = strength come from? I'd put Billy Gates' fortune against mine that in a one-on-one deathmatch, I'd eat that scrawny fuck for lunch.
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
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??
Funny - that's what she said.
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
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?
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.
> Not to feed the trolls, but where does this idea that monetary wealth = strength come from?
Probably because monetary wealth == power == strength.
> I'd put Billy Gates' fortune against mine that in a one-on-one deathmatch, I'd eat that scrawny fuck for lunch.
That is silly. Billy's wealth counts as much as your gym time or you weapons collection when comparing survival fitness. So pit your pitiful physical strength and possible sidearm against his legion of doom in a deathmatch and see how well you fare. You probably wouldn't even get past the zero level minions at the front gate.
Now a little less silly and more snarky. His monetary wealth represents the labor and assets of a billion or so people willingly traded for his. That is real, and it has value. The better question is who is more of an asset to the species and our civilization. You or Gates in a reality show faceoff to justify your existence to the studio audence and the loser gets deleted from the genepool. Who would the audience keep? Hell, who would be considered the more attractive mate? Should I continue to attack your very existence or have I made the point yet? Being able to physically beat somebody up hasn't mattered all that much since Sam Colt... or more bluntly, since junior high.
Democrat delenda est
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
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).
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.
Ironically enough it's only through humanity's disconnect from nature's usual evolutionary pressures brought about by "advanced" civilizations that these social darwinists are able to survive. If Darwin really had his way, selfish individuals would be pushed out of / leave the tribe and be promptly eaten by predators. But now that we respect their individual rights and don't rely on safety in numbers, they live long, happy lives masturbating to Ayn Rand and ranting at the rest of us.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
His monetary wealth represents the labor and assets of a billion or so people willingly traded for his.
For certain values of "willingly"...
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
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
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.
So he could have taken pliers to people's fingers the whole time, I bet he feels like an idiot now.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
I assume that we will hear a LOT of that kind of reasoning from Apple fans. We saw that with the iPhone. Claims that anything larger was too big for anyone's hand, and any smaller was too small to see clearly. The fact that different humans had different sized hands was irrelevant to the argument. Apple made the iPhone, so it's screen size was obviously the perfect size.
No doubt that for a limited subset of peolpe the size of the iPhone was perfect. It certainly wasn't for everyone. I see the same happening with an iPad Mini. 7.85" might be better for some folks than 7", but we will be hearing form a lot of Apple fans that it is inherently better, even when it is not for them, and how only Apple could make a table that was a "usable" size.
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.
Wow. I would have thought that he would have liked the iPhone and iPod Touch more than that....
power (i.e., of the sociopolitical variety) != strength, at least, not in the Darwinian sense that I am specifically referring to.
Having all the money in the world won't save you from genetic weakness; just ask Steve Jobs. Oh wait, you can't, because even his vast wealth couldn't make up for the fact that he was, in the evolutionary sense, weaker than, say, you and I.
Which is my point; being able to hire a million people to do your dirty work for you does not make you stronger; in fact, considering that doing so tends to generate a dependence on said army, I would posit that such activity actually weakens the individual.
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
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
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."
For what its worth, i wont be buying one. While i do prefer iOS over android and the quality of the device, i don't like the limitations that come with iOS products so i choose the alternatives instead.
So, I'll be keeping my 8" generic tablet that i replaced my 7" NT with..
---- Booth was a patriot ----
I think you have your nomenclature backwards on the iPad nano.
Apple has released one product in various formats.
iPod.
iPod nano, iPod 3G (they call it the iPhone), iPod 4-3G, iPod 4s-3G, iPod XL (they call it the iPad), iPod 4G (upcoming iPone 5), iPod XXL (if they release a TV), etc...
I'm waiting for the iPod XL-Folder (Mac based on iOS). Then the hilarity will be complete.
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.
In a Darwinian sense the only thing that matters is how many offspring you leave behind. How long you live doesn't count for jack, neither does how many asses you can or cannot kick in a deathmatch. So ask yourself the big question. Billionaires like Gates and Jobs didn't leave a thousand children sired on thousand mothers (each one a smoking hot babe, fittest specimens they could find) behind, all with a free ride through the university of their choice and into a career of their choosing, leaving them all in good positions to spread the royal seed even more; but they COULD if they wanted to. Could you?
The fact that people who could 'decree a stately pleasure dome' and properly staff it, haven't been doing that since Heff became old news does imply some bad things long term in the Idiocracy direction but that is another story.
> Which is my point; being able to hire a million people to do your dirty work for you does not make you stronger..
And I say that a million people will willingly DO your dirty work in exchange for the obligations incurred by virtue of the goods and services you produce makes you stronger and a more fit specimen. And I further point out the clearly evident fact that females of our species routinely make the same judgement in picking a less physically fit but financially capable mate. Hell, even a few males have no problem marrying into wealth.... including one fairly recent POTUS contender.
Democrat delenda est
In a Darwinian sense the only thing that matters is how many offspring you leave behind. How long you live doesn't count for jack, neither does how many asses you can or cannot kick in a deathmatch. So ask yourself the big question. Billionaires like Gates and Jobs didn't leave a thousand children sired on thousand mothers (each one a smoking hot babe, fittest specimens they could find) behind, all with a free ride through the university of their choice and into a career of their choosing, leaving them all in good positions to spread the royal seed even more; but they COULD if they wanted to. Could you?
Ha, touche, sir! You've got me there!
I mean, maybe a couple hundred, but fuck, not sure I'd be able to stand afterwards...
And I say that a million people will willingly DO your dirty work in exchange for the obligations incurred by virtue of the goods and services you produce makes you stronger and a more fit specimen.
Still disagree, on the merit that you could hand a billion dollars to damn near any human on the planet and see nearly identical result. IMO, if it's something EVERYONE would do, including, say, creationists, then it's not an evolutionary advantage.
And I further point out the clearly evident fact that females of our species routinely make the same judgement in picking a less physically fit but financially capable mate. Hell, even a few males have no problem marrying into wealth.... including one fairly recent POTUS contender.
Well, if that's what passes for evolution these days, then count me out. The way I see it, there's more to life (and the evolution thereof) than pursuit of money.*
We survivalists tend to think that way.
*... and not even something of real value, but little green shreds of paper that the government promises are worth maybe, maybe 1/16th of the precious materials that supposedly exists to back them... Damn fractional reserve... we're all getting screwed, rich and poor alike... mostly poor, tho...
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
> and not even something of real value
I'm as anti fiat money as the next libertarian but I think you are falling into a common mental trap. You are mistaking meta problems with current faith based currencies with a problem with the idea of money in general. Those problems cause huge problems on a large scale but do not perturb the notion that someone with a lot of money has proven themselves to be of value to their fellows.
What is money? I like the 'certificate of satisfaction' definition. If I am holding a one hundred dollar bill it is because I performed a service to someone else or gave them goods that they valued more than the dollars[1]. I accepted the money knowing I can then take that money (proof of service) and trade it to someone else in exchange for them performing to my satisfaction in either services or by giving me some of their goods. It would in theory work just the same if the three of us worked a barter but the econony functions much more smoothly with a common universally honored medium of exchange; i.e. money.
[1] Or I got a welfare check or stole it, neither are a big enough problem (yet) to disqualify that statement of general principle.
Democrat delenda est
In a Darwinian sense the only thing that matters is how many offspring you leave behind. How long you live doesn't count for jack
If you sire 3,000 offspring, but they all die or otherwise end up childless, it's the same thing in the Darwinian sense as having zero offspring.
Issues involved are raising them, training and equipping them so that they can continue on success, how you can protect them during their vulnerable times, or give them a system of security beyond their own solitary struggles. This all ties into whether or not the offspring can continue to be successful even in a survival and reproductive sense.
http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/05/is-this-a-thing-a-business-man-carries-ipad-in-his-pants-through-grand-central-station/
If I am holding a one hundred dollar bill it is because I performed a service to someone else that they valued more than the dollars.
Yeah you did! It's what they like to the 'certificate of satisfaction'. Nothing like a happy ending :).
WTF Slashdot, why do I have to login 50 times to post?
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
> and not even something of real value
I'm as anti fiat money as the next libertarian but I think you are falling into a common mental trap. You are mistaking meta problems with current faith based currencies with a problem with the idea of money in general.
Nah, just a semi-random rant unrelated to the other content of the post.
What can I say, the mere concept of fractional reserve just pisses me off to no end.
Here's to the barter system!
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
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)-
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
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