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I can believe a smaller iPad (heck, I would prefer a 7" iPad to the current one), but it's not going to have an OLED display (in the near future).

Yeah, I agree. My daughter has an iPad and loves it; but it's too large of a device to be useful for me. Yet my iPod Touch screen is too small for enjoyable book reading (not regarding fonts obviously, simply in terms of displaying words per page). Also, while I have used it for remote access, the screen is too small for even a minimal terminal window.

How stupid and a crazy way to fragment your devices even more.

We already have 6 different versions. :mad:

You don't understand the concept of fragmentation, unless you're arguing that designers are currently having to make six different versions of their apps (Hint: They're not).
 
Would you want apps to be different on the iPad midi to the iPad nano (the iPhone)?

No and they need not be. If it is iPad resolution in a smaller form factor then stock iPad and iPhone apps will run like in the current iPad environment. Any phone app would either have to be a version specific to the device or VoIP only.

What's interesting to Apple is it could be the same price points as iPad.

Rocketman
 
Anyone have an idea what the 5.6" and 7" models might cost while fitting in between the $199 IPT and $499 iPad? If both models had an A4 and 256MB RAM, that would keep the price up pretty high, close to the iPad.

I just don't want to regret buying an 7" aluminum Android tablet for $170 in the next few weeks :)
 
More RAM is likely if they get cameras. It is my full belief that the reason the iPhone has extra RAM is because of the cameras.
I haven't checked the camera app memory usage so I cannot confirm this, and I sure hope that Apple adds more RAM (when required) but with new devices coming out... memory supplies will be even more restricted.
 
Wouldn't this pose problems in compatibility with many applications? I'm sure many apps were developed for the large screen, while other were made for the iPhone screen, now there will have to be 4 different kinds of applications that won't be compatible with every other device, it's going to be really messy!
 
Why are different resolutions a problem?

Ok, so you developers out there can maybe clarify this one for me. Doesn't iOS4 run on both iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4? As far as I know they have different resolutions. If you develop apps for iOS4, how do you go about making them look good on both devices? :confused:

Plus, if it's really a problem, the 5-incher could inherit the iPhone 4 resolution, reducing dpi, and the 7-incher the iPad resolution, increasing it a bit...
 
You had me until OLED.
Jobs himself raved over IPS technology when introducing the new iPhone. I don't see them going OLED now.

Exactly. And I can't see Apple having an iPhone/iPod Touch, a 5.6" device, a 7" device, and the current iPad size. Apple is all about supporting as little hardware as possible. The logistics of iOS supporting all these devices with the usual great user experience is crazy. Just as crazy as this rumor.
 
"targets the ebook reader market"

The iPad already does that. A 5.6 inch OLED model is a waste of time and resource.

At that point, it really does become an oversized iPod Touch. The whole point of the iPad was the multitouch capabilities with the large screen.


To those who think this a waste: it is not.

Let me ask:

--How many of you are willing to pull out an iPad in the subway and other public places?
--How many of you use the iPad to listen to music like an iPod?
--How many of you wish you could carry an iPad in your purse/murse/jacket pocket?
--How many of you (students) wish you could have something bigger than the iPod touch to read pdf articles, and even annotate them on the subway?
--How many researchers would love something like this for fieldwork, or away from the office to input data and voice memos, etc.

I am not buying an iPad because I need something I can suddenly pull out anywhere and write down ideas.

I WAS not going to get an iPhone (or iPad touch) because I'm not willing to read pdfs on that small thing.

I have been wanting something about the size of a paperback book and I do hope this is true.

Another point: Jobs wants the term "FaceTime" to be a part of our lexicon. He wants to change the way we communicate just like the way he changed the way we listen to music. Why do you think he is pushing FaceTime in the new ads? The only way to do this is to proliferate "FaceTime" devices so that they gain momentum.
 
To those who think this a waste: it is not.

Let me ask:

--How many of you are willing to pull out an iPad in the subway and other public places?
--How many of you use the iPad to listen to music like an iPod?
--How many of you wish you could carry an iPad in your purse/murse/jacket pocket?
--How many of you (students) wish you could have something bigger than the iPod touch to read pdf articles, and even annotate them on the subway?
--How many researchers would love something like this for fieldwork, or away from the office to input data and voice memos, etc.

I am not buying an iPad because I need something I can suddenly pull out anywhere and write down ideas.

I WAS not going to get an iPhone (or iPad touch) because I'm not willing to read pdfs on that small thing.

I have been wanting something about the size of a paperback book and I do hope this is true.

Let me answer your questions:

1. I use my iPad every day for my morning and nightly commutes on the NYC subway.

2. I use it for games, as well as music. When I'm walking, obviously it's a bit inconvenient, but that's why there's the iPod Touch and the iPhone. When I'm seated, I play music while studying my notes or typing them up.

3. I have something I can keep in my pocket. It's called an iPhone. I'm not expecting to put an entire tablet in my pocket. EVER.

4. Bigger than an iPod Touch = current iPad. It reads PDF's just fine, especially during my class times for lecture notes. Very convenient, not a hassle, not a strain on my eyes.

5. I can tell you from first hand experience, the iPad is a perfect size for the forefront of research and design work. You really think drawings come in sizes of 5.6 inch? Please, get real. I deal with CAD and BIM drawings that are 36" by 48" full plot. Trying to scale that to a tiny little handheld device is utterly POINTLESS. I'd spend forever scrambling around trying to read a few annotations.

Trying to doodle and sketch concepts on a 5.6 inch is bogus. You'll never be able to truly convey what you need to, because you don't have the space for it.

One of the bigger selling points of the iPad is it's much larger SCREEN SIZE than the iPod Touch or iPhone, allowing you much more detailed and accurate design capabilities. A smaller screen just makes it moot.


You want to jot notes down on something you can stick your pocket? Get a moleskin and quit griping about how "the iPad needs to be smaller."
 
Another point: Jobs wants the term "FaceTime" to be a part of our lexicon. He wants to change the way we communicate just like the way he changed the way we listen to music. Why do you think he is pushing FaceTime in the new ads? The only way to do this is to proliferate "FaceTime" devices so that they gain momentum.

What does that have to do with a smaller iPad? If anything, a larger iPad screen would be amazing for three-way or conference calls with Facetime.

I remember testing the iPhone 4 in the Apple Store with my friend and we were a bit disappointed that we couldn't use Facetime with a third person.

Imagine the productivity and ease it would be for the office setting. Just an iPad mounted near your desk, and you can have personal conference calls.

Smaller iPads limit severly limit the iPad's potential use.
 
I just don't see it. Apple created the iPad for it's size, it has a large touch screen, a screen that small would be pointless.
 
I just don't see this happening. The iPad's screen size was one of the defining characteristics of the product. All that extra screen real estate allowed developed to expand their apps and add extra functionality, as well as come up with countless new apps in various new categories.
Right now, I don't see the point in a tablet device in between the iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad.
What's going to be the reason to buy one? What will you be able to do on a 5.6 or 7 inch screen that can't be done on either the iPhone or iPad?
I never read on an iPad and thought to myself, "I'd really like this screen to be smaller."
 
EXACTLY.

Not to mention...pockets are only roughly six inches wide. You're telling me, that you want to barely manage to stuff a 5.6 inch "mini-iPad" into your front pocket, and walk around like ET with real stiff legs?

And if you're gonna stick it in your back pocket, you can't sit down, you'd snap the whole damn thing in half.

Seriously people. Get a reality check.
 
If it's something you can't carry around in your pocket, then you'll need some sort of case for it, or you'll put it in a backpack or purse. At that point, why not just use the full size iPad?
 
No camera....noooo dice.

I feel like I'm being shorted if there's no camera in there!
 
Sigh, can't Apple focus on updating the iMacs?, I'm tired of all this iPhone and Ipad crap :p..
 
Not to mention...pockets are only roughly six inches wide. You're telling me, that you want to barely manage to stuff a 5.6 inch "mini-iPad" into your front pocket, and walk around like ET with real stiff legs?

And if you're gonna stick it in your back pocket, you can't sit down, you'd snap the whole damn thing in half.

If only there were a type of pant that had a large-ish pocket down along the thigh... nah, that's a pipe dream, and nobody would ever wear them even if they existed.

And if only there were some sort of apparel with larger pockets that people sometimes wore over their clothes... but no, that will never exist.

:rolleyes:
 
Only reason I'd ever buy these would be if they had the same pixel density as the retina displays.
 
I'd love to see something like an "iPad Mini" running apps and could be easily thrown in a purse or satchel as one is on the go. Put a nice, third party super rugged case on it and you are good to go.

Price wise, if they hit below $200 for the 5.6" iPad, they have a big winner on their hands.

There are a couple of problems. The "iPad Mini" is, to some extent, the iPod Touch. It is going to be hard to position an "iPad Mini" that overlaps with the upper end of the iPad Touch line. You'll have overlapping choicies where one is a 5" screen but less storage versus a 3" screen and more storage. Apple doesn't do that unless there is some other major differentiator ( e.g., has a 3G data radio ) .


One way of separating them is on price. Again there is no large gap between Touch and iPad. The Touch stops a $399 and the iPad starts at $499. There is no gap. Sure Apple could perhaps slide the Touch to the left a $100 ( $99 , $199, $299 ). There would be no room for much "base, best , best" pricing (it would be like Macbook where there is just one basic price ) and have now squeezed the iPod line down into the sub $100 range or have nuked the nano iPod. Apple could use $50 , instead of $100, gaps between the Touch models but still doesn't leave much room to put an iPad product ( $349 , $399 for these "iPad mini" models and $199 , $249, and $299 for Touch models).

Currently, the basic iPod touch costs $200. There is no way Apple is adding a A4, reasonable memory and storage , and a 2+ inches of screen at a $200 price point.

Instead of "shrinking"/"thinner" what may see is the iPod Touch "max".
In other words a growth in Touch basic size. That isn't what they have historically down though.

Before Apple can do a "iPad mini" they will have to merge the "iPod Touch" and "iPod nano" somehow. That would open a gap to stick the "iPad mini" into. Right now there is no gap.
 
There is absolutely no point in making a smaller iPad (7 inch might be acceptable but no less). We already have an expectational "mini pad" in the form of an iPhone or iPod Touch. If anything the scale of the iPad should trend larger. I for one would love to see a 12-15 inch version. Let the phone evolve larger and leave the Pad on the big side of things.
 
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