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I agree with this. It just seems like 7" is better for actually doing things while moving, particularly in the healthcare field. But what do I know?

People who actually work in health care IT can tell you that infrastructure is already set up around smartphones, terminals, and tablets such as the iPad. The question isn't whether 7" is just 'better for moving around' than the other options, it's whether the benefits (to Apple and to customers like health IT) are worth the costs. Right now, a doc can go to an office and bring up your chart on the terminal in the office, and use a smartphone or tablet if they are away. Do you think any additional ease a 7" tablet provides is enough of a benefit to induce sufficient sales to make it worthwhile for Apple? It's not that you're wrong, but do you see why people are skeptical?
 
$299
16GB
same display density as iPad 2
Famous 10 hour battery life

Sounds like a winner ;)
 
They are busts because they are NOT APPLE and do not have the ECOSYSTEM and APPS.

If Apple makes the 7" iTouch, then it's going to do just damn fine. And many people who have and iPhone and iPad will buy it also. It serves a different niche of users.

Me for example. I'll get it and take it on the go as the day to day mobile device. I'll leave the iPad at home for home/couch/content consumption and for vacations.

Just like Audi has a A1, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7 A8...different sizes and types for different users.

So by your thinking many iPhone owners will buy two iPads? And many Audi owners have three Audi's do they? An A1, A3, and A6 all less then three years old?

Different models for different markets does NOT translate to different models all owned by one market.

And in case you forgot, Amazon has a damn fine ecosystem and is a very well known home brand e-reader.
 
Yup, the device Google ARE selling at a huge loss per unit by selling it at $200, essentially having to pay people to buy one as opposed to the tens of millions willingly dropping up to £649 on an iPad. :cool:

Lol stop being a mug and spread crap. They aren't selling it at a loss. Currys here in the UK is selling it at £189 for the 16gb! that is £11 cheaper than the google play store.

They have a small profit margin....SMALL.
 
I say it every time this rumour surfaces:

Make it and I'll buy one and use the hell out of it. The size of the iPad right now is pretty much the only thing keeping me from finally buying a tablet.
 
The magic number 7.85" has been floating around since last year, indicating that Jobs was probably fully aware of this idea.

More importantly a 7.85" iPad is really an 8" tablet, not a 7". It's just a 1" difference in diagonal but makes a fairly significant difference in the size because with a 7.85" diagonal length the iPad mini's touch objects will be identical in size to iPhone's. In other words, if you have no problem using iPhone apps, the iPad mini will probably be usable.

What I'm most interested in is the amount of bezel. If Apple can really reduce the size of bezel on this tablet, it'll look much more attractive sitting next to 7" Android tablets and given iPad's strong app ecosystem, it'll be an easy purchase for many as a Christmas gift. Heck, I can already see many existing iPad owners buying this on top of their iPad, as a second tablet device.

Also it'll make a killer GPS device too.
 
I was hoping Apple would reduce the weight of the iPad to a more wrist-friendly just under 1 pound weight and a 7.85" iPad may just be the ticket. Then again, it could be next year before the smaller iPad comes out which would be a long wait for me.

I just hope a 64GB version is released.
 
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I don't think Apple'd ever venture with the 7" format unless they foresee market domination and so the price if this is true won't be more than 249. I don't understand how relative the iPod touch price to this argument since it is a completely different product.

Nexus 7 is confined to the US, Canada, UK and Australia. Amazon Fire is even more limited. There's a whole bigger market outside the English speaking countries to confront and Apple is already leading there.
 
Yup, the device Google ARE selling at a huge loss per unit by selling it at $200, essentially having to pay people to buy one as opposed to the tens of millions willingly dropping up to £649 on an iPad. :cool:

Excuse Me!! I would NEVER pay that ridiculous over charge for an iPad. I would rather buy the core i5 Microsoft Surface which would eat an iPad!! And yeah, I am more then sure tens of millions of people have ALL gone out and paid for the **("£659")** for the absolute top end iPad PLUS a data contract :rolleyes:

Think you need to re-phrase that comment.

BTW: £659 = $1033
 
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How does you ignoring the use cases for the devices make it clear? The iPhone is clearly different than the iPad, not just in size, but in suitability for functions. It's ultra-portable, fits in your pocket, and runs apps designed for a small size and one handed operation.

The iPad is portable, but less so, but the big difference is that the 10" screen enabled "page sized" interfaces allowing for higher productivity apps.

The muddy part is what the 7" model is designed for. It's not big enough to run productivity apps well and Apple won't simply scale down the UI (the widgets would be too small to touch), and it's too big to run iPhone apps without looking strange. Will there be a new category of apps on the app store? Will we need triple-ultra-binaries for apps native to iPhone/iPod, iPad, and mini iPad?

What am I ignoring?

It's not big enough for productivity? In what? It would be the perfect size for nurses, doctors, restaurants, retail, and so on...not to mention the e-reader size for on the go. The industries are limitless that could take advantage of it. I'd love to have a 7" tablet for production shoots on the go along with checking shots and other things.

The size allows you to still hold it comfortably in one hand. The iPad is not 'comfortable' for single holding use. That is why they have kick stands, holders for it. It's a couch/desk device ideally that is portable.

Hello gaming? Most kids have a iPod Touch. They would love to have something bigger but still portable that fits into their pockets. Car dashboards is another spot.

There is a market and use for a 7" tablet. I can't help it you can't see it clearly.
 
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I would welcome the addition... despite others saying it wont happen.

IMO, it is going to be adopted onto Automotive dashboards.

Mercedes has announced iOS collaboration with Apple, and their A Class prototype that's been at the auto shows has a pad on its dashboard that doesn't look to be full sized.


-hh
 
So by your thinking many iPhone owners will buy two iPads? And many Audi owners have three Audi's do they? An A1, A3, and A6 all less then three years old?

Different models for different markets does NOT translate to different models all owned by one market.

And in case you forgot, Amazon has a damn fine ecosystem and is a very well known home brand e-reader.

Audi, which is considered a luxury car maker makes cars in different sizes. Some of those sizes between them are so minimal, many ask why they they even have that model. To each their own. Some want the smaller A3 vs the A4. But they are so similar that using some of the logic on this board, they would tell Audi they don't need the A3 and the A4...just pick one of the two. And yes, some people do own multiple Audis. If you got the cash.

Look at Hyundai. They have the Elantra which is a smaller Sonata and they have the Azera which is a bigger Sonata. They have their pros and cons to each but they are all similar in the family and all based off each other.

My point is that many Apple users have an iPhone and iPad and Mac Air/MacPro. That's 3 devices and some say they sure don't need an iPad and iPhone.

Let people decide what they want. Many want a 7" iTouch. It fits in between the iPhone and iPad.

Comparied to Apple's eco-system, Amazon's is ****...otherwise why would they need to take a loss on their readers if it was so good? Obviously their eco-system sure isn't selling the devices.
 
No, if there were a 7" iPad that would come out, it probably would be better as far as e-reading goes. The Fire would still sell a lot because, being Apple, the 7" iPad would be 100 dollars more expensive.

If it's $250, I'd say Fire is doomed. It already sold a bit below most expectations and combined with Nexus 7 and 8" iPad, I'd think Fire will struggle even more. Then again, maybe the new Fire will kill Nexus 7 instead.

But it's not really Apple being Apple. Both Kindle and Nexus 7 are(or were) being sold at at cost or even below the cost. It's simply both Amazon and Google didn't care about making money off selling the device but instead to grab users at all cost.

(I'm sure Samsung and Acer are excited about the new tablet market where hardware in Android is sold off below the cost, especially with Microsoft jumping in with Surface)
 
I’m all for a smaller iPad but put yourself in Apple shoes. The BOM (build of material) cost for an iPad 3 16gig was $310 when it first came out. That is a $190 profit just on hardware alone. If Apple releases a high quality iPad 7.85 inch at let’s say $300 my guess is that the BOM cost would be around $200 to $225. Let’s compare. So if Apple was to sale 1000 ipad 3’s they would profit $190,000. And if apple sold 1000 iPad mini’s they would only profit $100,000. And what if Apple is only making a $50 profit on each unit sold? That would only be $50,000.
I don’t believe Apple wants to compete with the Kindle fire or let alone the Nexus 7. Sad to say but it would be more beneficial for Apple to sue the crap out of Google with the Nexus 7 then to compete toe to toe and diminish their money maker 9.7 inch model. I hope I’m completely wrong because I’m tired of seeing Apple sue everything that moves. And with these tablets being hand built I do not see a decrease in time just because the unit is smaller. The factory worker would get paid the same regardless if it’s a 7 inch or 10 inch model; no benefit to Apple.
I strongly believe that a cheap $250 to $300 iPad mini would hurt Apple’s bottom line. Investors want you to make more money; not bring in less. I was willing to pay up to $400 for an iPad mini but not after seeing the high quality Nexus 7.
 
I was willing to pay up to $400 for an iPad mini but not after seeing the high quality Nexus 7.

Ding Ding Ding. Apple would have to make an 7" within 25-50 dollars to compete with the new Nexus. That thing is slick. If they did put one out within the same cost range, I would buy it as well as the Nexus.
 
I wouldn't buy a 7-incher personally, but the current iPad is a bit uncomfortable for reading naturally, which is why I got a Kindle. Even if I wouldn't buy one, I think it would be great from a competitive standpoint for Apple. If it was even $299, I think most people would take a serious look at the $100 more for the iPad. The Nexus 7 isn't directly competing with the iPad, but Apple can surely compete directly with the Fire and Nexus 7.
 
$299
16GB
same display density as iPad 2
Famous 10 hour battery life

Sounds like a winner ;)

but the iPad 2 pixel density is 132 vs Kindle Fire at 169 vs Nexus 7 at 216 vs iPad 3 at 264.

We only have the iPad 3 at home which is beautiful to look at...but if you compare my iPhone 4 (326) to my wife's iPhone 3GS which is 163, the 3GS looks terrible. We are getting spoiled by the improvements (I thought my 3GS was fantastic when it came out, but now...)

My point is, if/when Apple introduces a ~7" iPad, it will need to have a resolution comparable to the latest iPad, or at least the Nexus 7, or it will disappoint a lot of people.
A previous MacRumors article indicated that a logical size for a smaller iPad would be 7.85" and would yield the same 163PPI as the non-retina iPhone, assuming the same resolution as the iPad 2 but squeezed into the smaller screen, better than the iPad 2, the same as the 3GS, but signficantly worse than the Nexus.

If that occurs, I think I would go with the Nexus 7, even though I am firmly in the Apple eco-system. Assuming the Nexus is as smooth as it appears to be, it looks like it can do what I want at the right price point...I am a little surprised that so many people in this thread don't think this will fly off the shelves
 
My point is that many Apple users have an iPhone and iPad and Mac Air/MacPro. That's 3 devices and some say they sure don't need an iPad and iPhone.

Let people decide what they want. Many want a 7" iTouch. It fits in between the iPhone and iPad.

Comparied to Apple's eco-system, Amazon's is ****...otherwise why would they need to take a loss on their readers if it was so good? Obviously their eco-system sure isn't selling the devices.

You said:

If Apple makes the 7" iTouch, then it's going to do just damn fine. And many people who have and iPhone and iPad will buy it also. It serves a different niche of users.

Me for example. I'll get it and take it on the go as the day to day mobile device. I'll leave the iPad at home for home/couch/content consumption and for vacations.

Just like Audi has a A1, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7 A8...different sizes and types for different users.

So basically YOU stated that MANY people who already own an iPhone and iPad WILL buy a 7" iPad as well.
Then YOU used Audi cars in the same comment as an example of this. You said this, not me.

Sure people have 3 or more Audi's all under 3 years old, but they hardly make up the 'many' that you are implying in your comment!
What the many would do is sell the normal iPad and then buy a 7" one, to think many people would have two iPads is daft really and makes no sense, you would have a computer and an iPad, but the majority of people would not personally have two iPads.

As for the eco system, I know PLEEENNNTTTTTYYYYY more people who use a Kindle E-Reader, the Fire has that same access to Amazons legendary books and magazines, and it has a healthy app store, as for the apps IMO Apple has far too much shovel ware pointless rubbish. Many people would do just fine with Amazon's app store.
And since when has Amazon made a loss on it's e-readers? Fire is probably sold at close to wholesale, Kindles no, and when your Kindles are the number one selling device amongst thousands of other items, your doing something right.

Many many many people have stated Amazon can take Apple on because of it's eco system, plus it has house hold names even your mums heard of. I doubt it will beat the current iPad, but a 7" iPad costing over twice as much would find it tough, Amazon can more then match Apple's advertising clout. And I haven't mentioned the Nexus even.....

I am talking about new sales by the way.
 
Why the new rumors now? Could it be that it's true, and that Apple would hope to make some potential Nexus 7 buyers wait for an ipad mini? It's sort of working for me, at least.
 
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