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Apr 12, 2001
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Forbes reports on a research note from Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White, who reveals that he has spoken with a component supplier for Apple's iPad who claims that Apple appears to be poised to ship 45 million iPads next year after moving in excess of 16 million units this year. The predictions exceed even the rosiest expectations published to date and come on top of a report earlier this week predicting the iPad to represent the fourth-largest consumer electronics category in the United States next year behind TVs, smartphones, and notebook computers.The contact, says White, shipped more than 6 million parts to Apple during the third quarter of the year and expects to ship 7 million more in the fourth quarter.

Since Apple uses one unit of this particular component in each iPad, that adds up to shipments of 13 million iPads in the second half of 2010. For 2011, the contact believes Apple will sell as many as 45 million iPads, adds White.The supplier's report of 13 million iPads for the second half of 2010 comes on top of Apple's announced sales of over 3 million iPads for the launch quarter earlier this year.

101737-ipad_mini_mockup.jpg
Previous mockup of 7-inch iPad based on current design
White follows on the recent theme of predicting a smaller iPad, but also offers additional details about the specs he believes will make an appearance in the smaller model.As others have already speculated, White's contact says the second-generation iPad will be smaller, with a screen that measures about seven inches, compared to the first iPad's 9.7-inch screen. The new iPad will also include the high-resolution "Retina" display that the latest version of the iPhone (4) boasts, a micro or mini USB port, a camera and greater capacity of up to 128 gigabytes. The amount of storage in the current generation of iPads tops out at 64 gigabytes.We believe these listed specs to be rather optimistic, however, given Apple's desire to keep iPad prices relatively low. In particular, a 7-inch high-resolution Retina display would appear to be a challenge for Apple, both in implementation and in pricing. High-resolution displays in dimensions approaching that size are just beginning to appear, but pricing for the new products is unknown and are likely to be rather high for a company that will almost certainly have to bring a 7-inch iPad in at a starting price under the $499 entry-level price for the current iPad.

Article Link: Component Supplier Predicts Shipments of 45 Million iPads in 2011, Speculation on Smaller Model
 
After owning the original iPad, weight is a huge concern. A smaller device will fix this.

I'm also betting 399/499/599 since the device itself will be considerably smaller.
 
If they're going to nix the 9" iPad in favor of only making a 7" regardless of what features it has I'm not buying... I personally love the 9" screen...
 
At first I thought the 9.7" ipad was too large... until I used one for a while. Now, I can't really see a spot in the product lineup for something smaller. I don't really see the point. It will never be a pocket device.. and anyway, that segment is already fulfilled by the iPhone or the Touch. So if it won't fit in your pocket, why make it a few inches smaller? It isn't like the 9.7" is huge... e.g. like a 17" notebook that people would rather replace with something smaller.

I would be extremely surprised if a 7" model appeared to *replace* the 9.7".
 
Higher res screen and USB slot? I'll surely trade my current one in for one of those.
 
A retina display is a display where the pixels aren't distinguishable at typical viewing distances.

The iPhone 4 is 326dpi because it's used at close proximity.

An iPad will be used a bit further away, say 24 inches instead of 12. At that distance you might only need 240dpi.

It would still require a very high resolution display (e.g., 1600x1200), and that could only be done if the device is using Apple's next generation core, with improved graphics and CPU (possibly dual core A9 and PowerVR SGX 54x).
 
I still cannot understand the smaller-size iPad concept. Why? As an iPhone owner, I've yet to justify the need for an iPad, so I'm sure a smaller iPad will be less enticing.

Do I think they're cool, practical, fun, and appealing? ABSOLUTELY. However, having a very portable 13" MPB at home eliminates the need for an iPad when I'm there (I'll always prefer to use OS X vs iOS, when possible) and when I'm on the go, the few sites, games, and emails I like to keep up with, my phone does the trick perfectly (isn't that the very reason I paid premium price for the device PLUS AT&T's outrageous monthly fees?). I feel owning an iPad would sort of defeat the WHOLE PURPOSE of owning the iPhone.

Perhaps if I had an iMac I'd be tempted to get the iPad, for its portability, since I wouldn't always want to be confined at a desk, and the phone's screen size is obviously not gonna cut it for hours' worth of web-browsing.

With that said, I fail to see who the 7" caters to. I think it would cannibalize on the iPod Touch's sales. But we'll see. Many of us often question Apple's decisions and later have to eat our words. Perhaps this'll be a genius move.
 
Screen shot 2010-10-07 at 4.41.18 PM.png

should this "report" come of age

7" ipad........ i am in! :D,

yes for micro or mini usb port, great for traveling and downloading my 4000+ raw camera pix (backups)

my 13" MBP is far too heavy......... but great!

i just LUV the ipod touch but the screen simply is too small for my 50+year old eyes, the current ipad is too bulky for me and i am not interested in gaming with the ipod touch

bring on the 7" "workhorse" and please untether it

simply put, make it more serious than the current offering

f

ps- my wish list?
 
This “report” is obviously bogus. 128 GB and retina display disqualifies it.
And since all 7" reports so far have been nonsense, it seems rather unlikely it will happen.
 
After owning the original iPad, weight is a huge concern. A smaller device will fix this.

I'm also betting 399/499/599 since the device itself will be considerably smaller.

If you think the iPad is heavy, you need to hit the gym. You remind me of these office morons who complain about a 6 pound laptop being too heavy and saying they need a 3 pound one. Seriously if an extra 3 pounds is too heavy for these people (and in the case of the iPad the weight reduction would be 1/2 to 3/4 of a pound at most), you have issues with your health and physical fitness.
 
If the new MacBook Air will be 11,6 inches and a lower pricepoint, the 7" iPad would make sense. But, 7" is indeed to close to iPhone dimensions..:rolleyes:
 
Do I think they're cool, practical, fun, and appealing? ABSOLUTELY.

Heh, I can see many businesses enjoying the prospect of bringing out products merely on the basis of them being cool, practical, fun and appealing ;)

Seriously, I own a MBP and an iPod touch, yet what I use at home 90% of the time is my iPad. It allows me to do things by touch that are not practical with the iPod touch. It's fun. It's personal. I never want to web surf with anything other than a touch device again. And I never, ever want to read books on anything else.

You'd be surprised how much you'd enjoy the cool, practical, fun, appealing iPad.
 
I still cannot understand the smaller-size iPad concept. Why? As an iPhone owner, I've yet to justify the need for an iPad. So I'm sure a smaller iPad will seem less appealing.

Do I think they're cool, practical, fun, and appealing? ABSOLUTELY. However, having a very portable 13" MPB at home eliminates the need for an iPad when I'm there and, when I'm on the go, the few sites, games, and emails I like to keep up with, my phone does the trick perfectly. I feel owning an iPad would sort of defeat the WHOLE PURPOSE of owning the iPhone. Perhaps if I had an iMac I'd be tempted to get the iPad, for its portability, since I wouldn't always want to be confined at a desk, and the phone's screen is obviously not gonna cut it for hours' worth of web-browsing.

With that said, I fail to see where the 7" model falls in. But we'll see, I guess. Many of us often question Apple's decisions and later have to eat our words. Perhaps this'll be a genius move.

Completely agree with you. Except i do have a mac pro and a 13" and i use the 13" when im out of the office or chilled out on the sofa or showing clients work etc and i couldn't use the ipad for the same usage. If i have an alteration to make or the client wants to experiment with the work while mobile the ipad just doesnt cut it. The 13" does everything the ipad does (bar multi-touch) and more! I can use it to make changes to work if i dont want to go to the desk because it drives the same programs. If im out my iphone also does the job for emails etc..

So the ipad is a special item, which in my opinion i wouldn't need, doesn't mean i wouldn't want one, but i just cant justify one. A 7" model would be even worse because i thought the whole point of the ipad was emphasizing the touch screen experience through IOS was by increasing the screen size, reducing it would be going backward?? surely. Like previously said its not really portable, i wouldn't take one out of the house and it would mean again taking two items with you which do the same thing?? the iphone and the ipad.. because i always have the iphone on me!

The only reason i can think of for the 7" is to reduce the cost, but with the new tech like the retina, it will be about the same price as the current 9", and the new 9" with the retina may be more expensive? so to add more choice through cost? i doubt, if there is one thing we know about apple is that they reduce decision making by reducing the amount of products, so if you cant bare the base model you have to shed out an extra £1000 for something that is overkill for 50% of customers. The imac and mac pro is a good example.
 
A 7" one would be even less of a reason to buy the iPad.

Also, I'm happy that MacRumors is posting rumors, but I am sick of hearing about a 7" iPad.

Until Apple announces it, I don't care, hell, I wont care anyway, because I think its a stupid idea.
 
If you think the iPad is heavy, you need to hit the gym. You remind me of these office morons who complain about a 6 pound laptop being too heavy and saying they need a 3 pound one. Seriously if an extra 3 pounds is too heavy for these people (and in the case of the iPad the weight reduction would be 1/2 to 3/4 of a pound at most), you have issues with your health and physical fitness.

Uhh... have you tried holding it like a book to read? It gets very cumbersome to hold.
 
Uhh... have you tried holding it like a book to read? It gets very cumbersome to hold.

Wait, so you hold a book in the air?

Seriously, iPad isn't that heavy, and why would you want to hold it up in the air while sitting anyway?

If you don't hold it in the air and call it cumbersome, you'll be the first...

and you should hit the gym in that case.
 
I just want a smaller iPad to physically take the place of my "cd/dvd/music/gps/anything else" player in my car on the dash.

and the price drop would be nice.
 
Talk of a "Retina Display" at 7" completely misses the practical matter of app design -- all iPad apps are currently designed for a 1024 X 768 screen. A 7" display with the same pixel density as the iPhone 4 would have far more pixels in each dimension (something like 1950 X 1150), which would wreak havoc on apps makers who would have to support a fourth iOS screen resolution, and further fragment app versions. And, of course, such as display would be hugely expensive. There is absolutely no way we will see a 300+ pixel density display on an iPad product in the near future.

And there is no way that Apple will include a mini-USB port. If Apple wants to provide enhanced USB accessibility, it will do it through an adaptor for the Dock Connector.
 
A nice roadmap would be a retina display on a 7" model in 2011 and progressing to a retina display on the 9.7" model in 2012.

IMHO, 128GB seems extreme for an iOS device unless Apple opens it up as a mass storage device.
 
If you think the iPad is heavy, you need to hit the gym. You remind me of these office morons who complain about a 6 pound laptop being too heavy and saying they need a 3 pound one. Seriously if an extra 3 pounds is too heavy for these people (and in the case of the iPad the weight reduction would be 1/2 to 3/4 of a pound at most), you have issues with your health and physical fitness.

And you remind me of those jock heads who can't understand anything that doesn't involve dumbbells. 3 extra pounds on a laptop is a serious thing! Who wants to carry that around? We're not discussing physical fitness or whether it's POSSIBLE to carry such a thing - it's just not convenient or desirable.

Go back to pumping weights and shooting 'roids. Stick with what you know.
 
Uhh... have you tried holding it like a book to read? It gets very cumbersome to hold.

No it doesnt unless you are standing up. Most people will sit and rest it on leg or chest if reclined. If you find it heavy you need to hit the gym.

As for a 7" ipad, that is a waste of time. Its to big for the pocket and to small to be productive.
 
Talk of a "Retina Display" at 7" completely misses the practical matter of app design -- all iPad apps are currently designed for a 1024 X 768 screen. A 7" display with the same pixel density as the iPhone 4 would have far more pixels in each dimension (something like 1950 X 1150), which would wreak havoc on apps makers who would have to support a fourth iOS screen resolution, and further fragment app versions. And, of course, such as display would be hugely expensive. There is absolutely no way we will see a 300+ pixel density display on an iPad product in the near future.

And there is no way that Apple will include a mini-USB port. If Apple wants to provide enhanced USB accessibility, it will do it through an adaptor for the Dock Connector.

And what component suppliers have you spoken with to validate your OPINIONS?
 
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