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Steve Jobs Criticizes 7-Inch Tablets, Says 10-Inches Minimum

Night Spring said:
I know Jobs said he wouldn't do a lot of things Apple eventually ended up doing (video iPod, ebooks), but I can't recall him ever saying Apple wouldn't make a tablet. What I remember him repeatedly insisting is Apple won't make a netbook. Which they still haven't, unless the new Air would qualify as one. Guess we'll find out!
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Steve at all things digital a few years ago.

"[Steve Jobs]: There are no plans to make a tablet. It turns out people want keyboards. When Apple first started out, "People couldnit type. We realized: Death would eventually take care of this." "We look at the tablet and we think itis going to fail." Tablets appeal to rich guys with plenty of other PCs and devices already. "And people accuse us of niche markets." I get a lot of pressure to do a PDA. What people really seem to want to do with these is get the data out . We believe cell phones are going to carry this information. We didnit think weid do well in the cell phone business. What weive done instead is weive written what we think is some of the best software in the world to start syncing information between devices. We believe that mode is what cell phones need to get to. We chose to do the iPod instead of a PDA."
 
I could see a 7 inch ipod but not a 7 inch ipad. I look at the ipad as something for productivity ... hence the iwork tools. I'm not too sure iwork, or other tools like that, would be all that fun to use on a 7 inch device. Then again, maybe the iphone/ipod are going to 4 inches and he figures that is close enough.
 
TMar said:
Steve at all things digital a few years ago.

"[Steve Jobs]: There are no plans to make a tablet. It turns out people want keyboards. When Apple first started out, "People couldnit type. We realized: Death would eventually take care of this." "We look at the tablet and we think itis going to fail." Tablets appeal to rich guys with plenty of other PCs and devices already. "And people accuse us of niche markets." I get a lot of pressure to do a PDA. What people really seem to want to do with these is get the data out . We believe cell phones are going to carry this information. We didnit think weid do well in the cell phone business. What weive done instead is weive written what we think is some of the best software in the world to start syncing information between devices. We believe that mode is what cell phones need to get to. We chose to do the iPod instead of a PDA."
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Thanks for the quote, sounds like this was before I started following Apple news closely. Do you know if this was before or after the release of the iPhone?
 
Considering that many android phones are 4.3" already or there seems to be a trend towards that ... the jump to 7" would seem to be kinda irrelevant ... too small for a significant second purchase ....
 
Night Spring said:
Thanks for the quote, sounds like this was before I started following Apple news closely. Do you know if this was before or after the release of the iPhone?
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Before. It also denied an Apple branded phone. I'm still looking for a more recent quote about tablet/netbook.

Guess I should have included a link in the last post.
 
Phil A. said:
I've attached a couple of images here which illustrate why a 7" iPad would not be ideal with current iPad apps. The first one (overlay) shows how much of a current iPad screen would be visible on a 7" iPad if the UI elements were kept the same size (the green bit would be visible on a 7" device). The second one shows the two screen sizes side-by-side with the whole UI shrunk to fit the 7" display
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To me that actually kind of showed that it would work just fine .. I am used to hit much smaller buttons on the iPhone, so I don't see the big problem. There a certainly apps out there for which this is not true though.

I can absolutely see Apple releasing a 7" iPad .. with the same resolution as the current 10" model. As many people pointed out .. wouldn't be the first time a great product came after a denial. And for people looking for some more portability .. 7" would be just perfect.

T.
 
Nah, I don't need a 7" iPad. I just need one with a retina display, sufficiently powerful CPU and GPU (for the display), similar but preferably longer battery life, FaceTime, and lighter weight... that isn't too much is it Apple? :p
 
A 7 inch ipad will happen, and I look forward to all the backsliding and 'knew it all along' singing of praises when it comes out - probably this time next year.

Steve Jobs has an unerring talent for trashing a concept one day and then releasing and justifying how wonderful it is the next. Apple regularly end up following the market, Steve Jobs just has a knack for convincing people the market followed him.
 
MythicFrost said:
Nah, I don't need a 7" iPad. I just need one with a retina display, sufficiently powerful CPU and GPU, similar or longer battery life, FaceTime, and lighter weight... that isn't too much is it Apple? :p
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I'm waiting for retina too and a bump in RAM.
 
TMar said:
Before. It also denied an Apple branded phone. I'm still looking for a more recent quote about tablet/netbook.

Guess I should have included a link in the last post.
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Thanks for the link, definitely before I got into Apple.

I do agree Jobs has a history of denying he'll ever do something only to end up doing it a few years later, but I think we can be reasonably sure there won't be a 7" iPad in 2010-first half of 2011. After that, all bets are off!
 
Night Spring said:
Thanks for the link, definitely before I got into Apple.

I do agree Jobs has a history of denying he'll ever do something only to end up doing it a few years later, but I think we can be reasonably sure there won't be a 7" iPad in 2010-first half of 2011. After that, all bets are off!
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Just like when he showed off the imac I think it was. He said something to the tone of "who would ever want anything bigger then a 15" screen?". His blanket statements are always funny looking back.
 
wirelessmacuser said:
Smart move, and you've saved yourself some cash in the process. Even though an MBA costs more, it's so much more useful.

I plan on buying a new MBA now too.
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I'm getting a new Mac soon. I hope it will be the Air but i have no regrets over my iPad. With the Air it would be the perfect lightweight companion :D
 
I'd strongly consider a 7" iPad for my middle daughter to use as an ereader. I think she will just end up with a kindle to use for her large print books.

The iPad would just be too much for her for reading at her size. Of course, the minute i buy the kindle and get it all set up - bookshare.org will release their iPad app and I will want that for her...

It's all a waiting game right now - a time I'm thankful i dont have the money handy to buy either!
 
mutantteenager said:
A 7 inch ipad will happen, and I look forward to all the backsliding and 'knew it all along' singing of praises when it comes out - probably this time next year.

Steve Jobs has an unerring talent for trashing a concept one day and then releasing and justifying how wonderful it is the next. Apple regularly end up following the market, Steve Jobs just has a knack for convincing people the market followed him.
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Very well said... :)

Funny how he proclaims his own, the best.

It wasn't that long ago he was aggressively trashing netbooks ... And now he's about to introduce one.

He must be thrilled at his own expertise in waffling.
 
missing the point...

Everyone here is missing the point steve was really making. You make a 7" iPad and then you can put it in your larger pockets. iPads are meant to be out in the open so people can see how technologically apt you are.

Anyway, most of you are idiots that dont understand how these devices work, screen resolutions, button sizes vs touch sensors, scaling. the 10" just makes more sense. Also you loose preformance with a smaller size and i like when my apps launch in the blink of an eye.

but really you dont buy an iPad to hide it away, you buy it to flaunt it and enjoy a great product.
 
7" is enough for some

For those who are cheering the lack of choice and stating emphatically that 7" is too small, why do the iPhone and iPod touch work so well with such a small screen?

A mini tablet would be perfect for some users who don't need/want a large screen but want more than a phone-sized interface.

Jobs has it wrong and will release a 7" iPad in 2011/12.

:apple:
 
if you have an iPad and think the screen size should be adjusted, then speak up. 10" is pretty much perfect for everything i do personally.
 
The Apple story is over. Very clear that the company sees strong new rivals coming to market. The days of being able to string their customers along with once-a-year updates to their product lines are over.

The stock is at its maximum potential value. With Android devices coming on strong and taking market share Apple no longer has dominance over the smartphone space and will soon see the same competition in the budding "pad" space. Lack of competition is what kept the Apple machine going but now that is coming to an end.

The fact that Jobs gets on an earnings call and bashes other devices as being DOA is no greater example of executive panic. It's interesting to see given the success of the company.

But it's clear that the "Apple Decade" is coming to a close which means the stock gets ripped from here forward.

The fact that the iPad is now being sold at Wal-Mart is no better example of how far Apple will go to keep the sales train going. Once you're in Wal-Mart, you are no longer unique.
 
rdstoll said:
The stock is at its maximum potential value. With Android devices coming on strong and taking market share Apple no longer has dominance over the smartphone space and will soon see the same competition in the budding "pad" space. Lack of competition is what kept the Apple machine going but now that is coming to an end.

The fact that Jobs gets on an earnings call and bashes other devices as being DOA is no greater example of executive panic. It's interesting to see given the success of the company.

But it's clear that the "Apple Decade" is coming to a close which means the stock gets ripped from here forward.

The fact that the iPad is now being sold at Wal-Mart is no better example of how far Apple will go to keep the sales train going. Once you're in Wal-Mart, you are no longer unique.
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people said the stock wouldnt go up after last quarter, and away we go!

haters gonna hate, but that doesnt keep apple investors awake at night as they roll in their money.
 
BVeritas said:
The fact that Jobs gets on an earnings call and bashes other devices as being DOA is no greater example of executive panic. It's interesting to see given the success of the company.
Click to expand...

He used the exact same terminology with regard to the Google TV, then produced an Apple branded variant.
 
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