Here comes the death of the 9.7
This sort of thing is ridiculous. I hope it is sarcasm.
Like water finding it's own level, introducing a new product in the Apple ecosystem, and it's ripples through the industry... things will find a new level.
Why would an ~8" tablet automatically negate a ~10" version?
I don't get why commenters go nuts about market diversification.
So what if you can get a 5", 8", and 10" apple touch device, with or without a phone embedded?
Different people have different priorities, iMagine that...
Soon, as things continue to migrate toward comms over data streams, rather than comms (phone minutes and texting) being treated differently than data, it won't matter which device you have... they'll all be operable communicators with text, vox, or vid modes...
Pick your preferred size, and go.
If the public preference is 3 varied sizes of touch-screen there will be three.
Maybe eventually it will migrate to other sizes, as people try things and buy what they find that they like the best.
Between my iPhone, and the iPad that my wife mostly uses, and loves... she prefers the largest, and more powerful iPad, but the laptop is too bulky for her preference, and she can't draw directly on the screen.
I find myself using my iPhone less and less, but still sometimes when I am away from any other computer... but I prefer using the laptop to compose comments like this one. I don't carry it around the house as much, and it is much easier for typing.
I wish my iphone were bigger for portable internet access, and I really like the iPad Mini's larger screen real-estate, but much lighter weight than the full-size iPad.
I would consider a very small and basic cell phone in my pocket, if I could figure a way to carry an iPad Mini around in a practical sense for internet access, but I don't usually carry a bag, and iPad Mini won't fit in a front pocket, and I would rather not sit on it in a back pocket, even if it would fit. Men usually don't carry bags for accoutrements, either. I don't even like to carry a coat around if I think I can endure the cold for a little while.
So I continue to use my iPhone 4 until I really want something better enough to pay for it. Maybe I'll upgrade to an iPhone 5S, maybe I won't. Maybe I'll figure out how to carry around an iPad Mini with cell network access, in a way that isn't tedious and likely for me to leave it, rather than bring it. I don't see myself finding a way to carry a 10" tablet around everywhere, but my wife will probably get another one in the future.
This is the market at work. This is how it operates for companies to figure out what their customers want.
There is room in the market for all of it... and as the market adopts these products en masse, the growth rate necessarily levels off with fewer people left that have yet to participate.