As we speak, a clerk is running down the hall at Apple's Cupertino headquarters with a printout of this thread torn from their dedicated MacRumors DecWriter shouting "someone has suggested we do a 7" iPad!" Looks like another all-nighter for Apple engineers.
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I am in market for smaller iPad
- Thread starter PracticalMac
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As we speak, a clerk is running down the hall at Apple's Cupertino headquarters with a printout of this thread torn from their dedicated MacRumors DecWriter shouting "someone has suggested we do a 7" iPad!" Looks like another all-nighter for Apple engineers.
I'm gonna have to disagree... so you are basically saying that no new ideas can come from "regular" people like us?
give some credit to yourself! you can think of a new idea and maybe get rich from it.
It isn't that people lack creativity...its that most people lack business sense. Just because something sounds like a good idea, doesn't mean it makes sense from a business standpoint.....just because a product sells/will sell, does not mean it makes sense!
No, I'm 'basically' saying:
1) there's no new ideas in this thread
2) suggesting ideas in this forum isn't going to make Apple do anything
Answer:
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How often did Steve say something, only to have it come out later?
If Kindel Fire takes off like a rocket impacting iPad sales, you think Apple will not compete?
Apple made the MBA 13".
Then came out with 11" to compete with smaller Netbooks, but also kept 13"
Then I'm glad I can share my thoughts. In addition to what I've already posted, I think your hopes for this device (hopes to which you are entitled) are untempered by actual constraints. I believe here is very little incentive for Apple to produce such a device.
Alongside the issues of whether there is an actual market, and whether it would harm Apple's overall bottom line (by multiplying SKUs and parts), I think there are simply straightforward technical problems:
Either the resolution will be
- the same as the iPod Touch/iPhone, blown up (ugh)
- the iPad resolution reduced (doubtful, but who knows)
- some kind of interpolation (also yuck, and I know some people think it would be fine, that's okay, but don't bother arguing, I've made up my mind)
- a third resolution for developers to work with.
Too much hassle for too little benefit.
There are ways to compete other than matching on price and device size.
Alongside the issues of whether there is an actual market, and whether it would harm Apple's overall bottom line (by multiplying SKUs and parts), I think there are simply straightforward technical problems:
Either the resolution will be
- the same as the iPod Touch/iPhone, blown up (ugh)
- the iPad resolution reduced (doubtful, but who knows)
- some kind of interpolation (also yuck, and I know some people think it would be fine, that's okay, but don't bother arguing, I've made up my mind)
- a third resolution for developers to work with.
Too much hassle for too little benefit.
There are ways to compete other than matching on price and device size.
People only say a 7" iPad is too small because Apple doesnt make one.
Anyway, my opinion is very similar to yours. I own an iPad 2 and will wait in line again for an iPad 3. But I would PREFER a 7" screen because 10" simply is too big to carry without a purse. And as an Air owner then I find myself conflicted because an 11" Air and 10" iPad feel redundant so a 7" iPad would make more sense for me.
So yes, I did preorder a Fire to be my casual carry-everywhere device but IF Apple would ever announce a 7" iPad I'll sell it at a loss and buy a tent so I can be first in line for it. (Edit: I also would be happier if the next iPad simply shrunk the bezel down to give it a smaller footprint.)
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Incorrect assumption.
If the 10" iPad never existed, and only a 7" iPad did, would I want a 7" iPad. Admittedly yes.
But if Apple released both versions initially (at the same time, with no opportunity for me to consider one or the other the real thing), I would still go with the 10".
Is my opinion representative of everyone else? Nope. But unlike you, I don't act like it is.
Oh please. Nobody is trying to infringe on your ability to make personal decisions and nobody is claiming a 10" should be REPLACED by a 7".
My statement only points out the same behavioral pattern we've seen going on for decades and any honest person can admit to feeling it when discussing objects they are familiar with. When something doesn't exist then we sometimes make excuses for why it SHOULDN'T exist. But then when times change and it does exist we change their tune. It happens with ultra thin computers, Microwaves, iPods/iPads with cameras, air travel, the cloud, jet packs, touch screen macs, Cars 2 and iPads that are bigger/smaller than 10". To think that the way things are today is how it will be forever is silly.
Any personal attacks you feel from people discussing alternate sizes of objects are emotions you are creating on your own so don't try pinning it on other people.
So you stand by your claim that "People only say a 7" iPad is too small because Apple doesnt make one", that is to say, there is no other reason for people to say that, and that anyone who disagrees is not 'an honest person'. Ho ho, what a load.
You also have to consider that a small iPad would have to sell at a lower price, and that then cost of the components in smaller iPad would not be proportionately less expensive. As such, the margins on these smaller iPads would be smaller.
Couple that with the fact that a smaller iPad would simply cannibalize the 10 inch iPad (with a higher profit margin) and it doesn't make sense. There are also, as you mentioned, additional costs involved with developing, manufacturing, and marketing multiple devices....and given that a smaller iPad would not necessarily generate a new stream of revenue for apple, I don't see why they would take on the additional costs if there was not a comparable increase in revenue.
I could see this happening, however, if a competitor came in with a 7 inch tablet and started eating apples market share on the basis of the size of the tablet alone. But I don't see that happening either.
They already have a smaller iPad, it's the iPod touch.
7 inch is still too large to stick in your pocket, and too small to surf/work/play. If you really want a tablet that size then go buy one, it's not like they don't exist, but personally I'll just stick to my iPod touch in my pocket and my iPad in my handbag.
7 inch is still too large to stick in your pocket, and too small to surf/work/play. If you really want a tablet that size then go buy one, it's not like they don't exist, but personally I'll just stick to my iPod touch in my pocket and my iPad in my handbag.
You might want to refresh my memory as I cannot seem to come up with a single instance?
But after having played around with a Samsung Galaxy 10.1 today, I could see a smaller device with one of the new 300+ DPI screens work nicely for some people.
Even Steve Jobs would love a smaller (6"-8") iPad if it had the same or better battery life, a 1280 x 960 screen at least, and ran iPad apps without any need for devs to recode them. Why? More portable (pocketable) and same or better interaction experience. The current iPad is the size it is because that's the smallest size they could make that would get 10 hours on a battery. Batteries have improved every year though, and even Samsung suggests 14 hours will be typical from thier 7.7" Galaxy tab.
You might want to refresh my memory as I cannot seem to come up with a single instance?
But after having played around with a Samsung Galaxy 10.1 today, I could see a smaller device with one of the new 300+ DPI screens work nicely for some people.
At least 4 times...
1. No one wants to watch video on an iPod
2. Apple won't make a tablet
3. Apple won't make a phone
4. Apple won't make a touch-screen ipod
http://technologizer.com/2011/04/17/saying-apple-will-never-do-something-always-dangerous/
Add up all the sales of 7" tablets in the last year from every company and it does not equal two weeks of iPad sales.
Consumers have simply not expressed a desire with their cash, which is where the real answer lies.
The Kindle Fire is only going to steal sales from the Nook and the high end Kindle.
Since they are not shipping until the middle of November, that does not bode well for sakes this year. I'd say they will sell 2m if they are lucky - assuming they actually can start shipping two months from now...
Will there ever be a 7" iPad? Perhaps, but it's not a size that appeals to a broad audience - which current sales clearly demonstrate. It won't ever sell for $299, so what would be the point? Would you pay $499 for a 7" iPad? I know I wouldn't
-t
Consumers have simply not expressed a desire with their cash, which is where the real answer lies.
The Kindle Fire is only going to steal sales from the Nook and the high end Kindle.
Since they are not shipping until the middle of November, that does not bode well for sakes this year. I'd say they will sell 2m if they are lucky - assuming they actually can start shipping two months from now...
Will there ever be a 7" iPad? Perhaps, but it's not a size that appeals to a broad audience - which current sales clearly demonstrate. It won't ever sell for $299, so what would be the point? Would you pay $499 for a 7" iPad? I know I wouldn't
-t
I understand your point, but... I never thought about buying a tablet PC, and here I am with my iPad 2
I wonder about that figure. Not that I think it's impossible, but if the tablet can last 14 hours doing the web surfing where most of the screen is white: for now AMOLED really chugs through battery when there's a lot of white. Sometimes I have to avoid opening up black-on-white websites on my phone because I know it'll eat up more battery.
As for smaller iPad/bigger iPod Touch, it's definitely possible. But how will Apple tackle the problem of the developers? Knowing them they'll probably be reluctant to just provide larger iPhone apps, and iPad apps in that screen size is a no-no. Will Apple introduce a 3rd screen size?
I own Playbook and iPad 2.
The Kindle Fire announced today really is a poor mans version of the Playbook since it was designed by the same company.
You can get the Playbook for close to $250 these days brand new with "promos" RIM is running and the new OS to be release will include an Amdroid Player to be backwards compatible with Android apps
I personally got my playbook for $299 (32GB) plus $100 MasterCard rebate sp about $200 for 32Gb Playbook.
For those not knowleable because this is Apple site. The Playbook with it's QNX OS is very fast. It's got GPS, HD cameras, 3d hardware acceleration. 1Gb ram.
Amazon stripped down their tablet and only included 512MB RAM and running Honeycomb is asking for disaster.
The Kindle Fire announced today really is a poor mans version of the Playbook since it was designed by the same company.
You can get the Playbook for close to $250 these days brand new with "promos" RIM is running and the new OS to be release will include an Amdroid Player to be backwards compatible with Android apps
I personally got my playbook for $299 (32GB) plus $100 MasterCard rebate sp about $200 for 32Gb Playbook.
For those not knowleable because this is Apple site. The Playbook with it's QNX OS is very fast. It's got GPS, HD cameras, 3d hardware acceleration. 1Gb ram.
Amazon stripped down their tablet and only included 512MB RAM and running Honeycomb is asking for disaster.
You are all missing the point. The form factor of the device is secondary to what's in the device. It's the content, stupid.
The iPad is successful because of apps, iTunes, and iBooks. It's icing on the cake that it gives you that in styled, but clunkier would work too.
Amazon is a serious player because of kindle content and, increasingly, Amazon prime video. Think of the Fire as the razor that will shave away your money,plus you get free shipping with Prime. I won't be surprised if they wind up giving you a free Kindle with a prime membership.
Netflix, whose brilliant idea is to screen all you can eat across a variety of platforms is bleeding subscribers because you have to pay more for less content. Personally, I feel Apple should buy Netflix, which was one of the main reasons I got my iPad.
The iPad is successful because of apps, iTunes, and iBooks. It's icing on the cake that it gives you that in styled, but clunkier would work too.
Amazon is a serious player because of kindle content and, increasingly, Amazon prime video. Think of the Fire as the razor that will shave away your money,plus you get free shipping with Prime. I won't be surprised if they wind up giving you a free Kindle with a prime membership.
Netflix, whose brilliant idea is to screen all you can eat across a variety of platforms is bleeding subscribers because you have to pay more for less content. Personally, I feel Apple should buy Netflix, which was one of the main reasons I got my iPad.