Apple iPad 'Mini' Rumors Heat Up; Launch Seen By Year's End

[webfact]

Apple iPad 'Mini' rumors heat up; launch seen by year's end

by Zack Whittaker

Two reports suggest Apple is cranking up its supply chain partners in preparation for a fall debut of a long-awaited and highly-anticipated smaller iPad version.

Rumors of an Apple iPad "Mini" are starting to get some credible backing.

Apple's component suppliers are gearing up for mass production of a smaller-sized iPad in September, said The Wall Street Journal's MarketWatch, according to people familiar with the matter. Bloomberg, meanwhile, similarly reported that a 7 or 8-inch tablet is in the works, and will debut by the end of the year.

The Wall Street Journal's two sources --- who asked not to be named --- claim the new tablet will "likely come with a screen smaller than 8-inches," compared to the iPad's 9.7-inch screen. Since its launch in 2010, the iPad has not seen a screen size change, though the iPad 3 boasts a high-definition, pixel-packed Retina display.

Full story: http://news.cnet.com...n-by-years-end/

-- CNET 2012-07-06

[nikster]

Just read an article of how they'd do this - it's actually very simple, keep the pixel count the same (so all apps will just work), but shrink the screen. That way you'd get a 7.85" screen at 163 DPI which is the same DPI that the original iPhone had. Meaning not too small to be usable.

http://castirony.com/post/26466421254/the-case-for-a-7-8-ipad?585c4890

[drdoom6996]

Who cares about owning anything with a rotten apple on it.

[richard_smith237]

Who cares about owning anything with a rotten apple on it.

A significantly greater number of people than those who care about a pointless opinion....

The smaller iPad could be handy for many, but is perhaps a direct competitor to the Samsung of a similar size, I suspect that if Apple do take this route they'd make a phone out of it too.

[lomatopo]

The smaller iPad could be handy for many, but is perhaps a direct competitor to the Samsung of a similar size, I suspect that if Apple do take this route they'd make a phone out of it too.

Adding GSM, and even 3G, capability does add a lot of cost. If Apple is looking to address the Fire, Nook, Nexus 7 space then this mini-Pad (perhaps not the best moniker ) would likely be WiFi only.

Steve Jobs is spinning in his grave - not sure if he was cremated - as he was strident in his belief that smaller tablets were idiotic.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/technologybrierdudleysblog/2018609892_apple_may_launch_smaller_ipad.html

July 5, 2012 at 12:05 PM

Apple may launch smaller iPad; Jobs rolls in grave

Posted by Brier Dudley

Sources are whispering to Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal that Apple is gearing up to release a smaller iPad, closer in size to the Kindle Fire. If the reports are correct, the mini pad will go on sale around October, presumably for less than the $399 entry price of the 10-inch iPad.

Steve Jobs famously dismissed smaller tablets as a bad idea, saying that they should come with sandpaper so people can sand their fingers down to use them. But that was before Amazon found traction with its Kindle Fire and Google jumped in with its 7-inch Nexus Android tablet.

A fall launch would also give Apple a chance to steal some thunder from Microsoft's launch of WIndows 8 and its larger Surface tablets.

Although Microsoft's first branded computers are completely different products, some consumers and pundits will no doubt lump them in the same category as 7-inch web tablets.

In the meantime, Amazon's expected to release a new version of the Fire with a higher resolution screen later this month.

[bkk_mike]

Who cares about owning anything with a rotten apple on it.

A significantly greater number of people than those who care about a pointless opinion....

The smaller iPad could be handy for many, but is perhaps a direct competitor to the Samsung of a similar size, I suspect that if Apple do take this route they'd make a phone out of it too.

The competition would be the Google Nexus 7 and, in the US, the Kindle Fire as they're a lot cheaper than any of the current-gen Samsung tablets (especially as the Samsung tablets are currently banned from sale in the US - ironic that Apple wins a look and feel lawsuit. Maybe Samsung should ask their compatriots LG to sue Apple, after all the iPhone looks very like the LG Prada phone which came out before the iPhone...)

[nikster]

The smaller iPad could be handy for many, but is perhaps a direct competitor to the Samsung of a similar size, I suspect that if Apple do take this route they'd make a phone out of it too.

Adding GSM, and even 3G, capability does add a lot of cost. If Apple is looking to address the Fire, Nook, Nexus 7 space then this mini-Pad (perhaps not the best moniker ) would likely be WiFi only.

Steve Jobs famously dismissed smaller tablets as a bad idea, saying that they should come with sandpaper so people can sand their fingers down to use them. But that was before Amazon found traction with its Kindle Fire and Google jumped in with its 7-inch Nexus Android tablet.

Well he did have a flair for the dramatic. He was also known for having no issues changing his opinion. Saw the AllThingsD interview with Larry Ellison (Oracle chief, Apple board member, and close friend of Jobs) recently, where they discussed Jobs' life and work. Steve Jobs was famous for dissing people's ideas, but then, when these people defended their ideas well, accepting them and moving on - he had an ego-less drive for perfection. It didn't matter to him who came up with an idea or if he himself was right or wrong, the only thing that mattered was to build the best product.

Jobs himself also said that Apple wasn't always right - rather that if they got it right, people would buy their products, and if they didn't, people wouldn't.

I think the iPhone is a good lesson in that - they nailed the product, it was incredible and years ahead of its time, but they also completely botched sales and marketing, initially tying it in with AT&T and sharing revenue (imagine that!), selling a full price phone with a 2 year lock in contract. Soon thereafter they chopped the price, and later went to exclusive deals only, before finally selling it the way all other phones are sold - it took them years to get there, and it was a 100% reversal on how they started out.

Anyway Jobs would probably now say, look, people are buying $200 7" tablets, there is merit in these products, and we're going to sell them.

It's also a different proposition now than it was a few years ago - a few years ago the Samsung 7" Galaxy cost $500. Not exactly setting the world on fire. So the most interesting aspect about 7" remains the price.

As for sanding down fingers, Apple's own Human Interface Guidelines say that a finger-touchable button should be at least 44 pixels square. They left this in for the iPad even though the iPad has a lower DPI than an iPhone, so a 44 pixel button on an iPad is bigger than on an iPhone. And now for the interesting co-incidence: A 7.8" iPad with the exact same number of pixels as the iPad 2 would have the same DPI as an original iPhone, so a 44 pixel button on this smaller iPad would be exactly the same size as it is on the iPhone - perfectly usable!

That's the strongest case for a smaller tablet I've heard (and never mind whether it's retina or not, just talking about logical pixels here)

[mjj]

I hope the iPad mini rumours are true. I will buy one for my 3 year old son. He has been using an iPod touch from 1 and a half then the iPad from 2. If any of you have children, I believe an iPad type thingy is an excellent learning tool for them, be it from YouTube vids or apps. Plus with his little fingers, no sandpaper required!

Edited July 20, 2012 by mjj