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Huh? How does this jibe with your "For the umpteenth time" post above?

Because 1.)he was using the iPod touch and iPhone as an example (ignoring the fact that iPhone apps are different from iPad apps), and 2.) this 7.85" display is 36-40% larger than the 7" displays in competing devices.
 
Because 1.)he was using the iPod touch and iPhone as an example (shrinking an iPad app to that size would render it completely unusable), and 2.) this 7.85" display is 36-40% larger than the 7" displays in competing devices.

Incorrect as far as I'm concerned ... but I think I'll let him answer whether or not he was talking about shrinking to iPhone size (which he obviously was not :p...).
 
Incorrect as far as I'm concerned ... but I think I'll let him answer whether or not he was talking about shrinking to iPhone size (which he obviously was not :p...).

It doesn't matter. The point is a touch driven interface is sensitive to screen size. Make your buttons too small and they became unusable. Android is a bit more flexible in this area than iOS, and yet Google still put the small screen "phone" interface on their 7" tablet. That says something.
 
It doesn't matter. The point is a touch driven interface is sensitive to screen size. Make your buttons too small and they became unusable. Android is a bit more flexible in this area than iOS, and yet Google still put the phone interface on their 7" tablet. That says something.

So you're saying that there's nothing inherently wrong with a 7 or 7.85" tablet size, as long as you make the touch targets an adequate size?
 
So what ? Steve wasn't just criticizing 7 inch tablets, he was saying the iPad was the minimum size. So anything smaller than an iPad fit his rant.

In other words, Steve again was bashing what Apple didn't have, like Books, like Video iPods, like App Stores for their mobile platform. This is Steve. He does this. Then he turns around, spins on a dime, and tells you Apple "nailed it". They "made it Just work!". And now it's good for consumers because Apple sells it, ie, Books, Video iPods and App stores for their mobile platform and now the smaller iPad.

Steve would have stood on that stage were he alive and he would have presented the iPad Mini/Nano/Air whatever with a big smile on his face and told you how this was the only small tablet that worked and mattered. Anyone who thinks otherwise and that we're getting a "Cook" product that is completely against an idea of Steve just doesn't want to face facts.

1. It was sarcasm.

2. My post didn't anywhere near warrant a reply of that length or depth.

3. I wasn't slating Steve.

4. The iPad mini won't be a 7 inch tablet, so I'm even agreeing with your comment about how Jobs would proudly present it, even before you made it.

5. Where did I mention that we're getting a "Cook product"?

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but 8 inches isn't 10 is it?

Depends on the weight behind it.
 
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So you're saying that there's nothing inherently wrong with a 7 or 7.85" tablet size, as long as you make the touch targets an adequate size?

Yes. However 7.85" is basically the limit if they want to keep this iPad mini compatible with current iPad apps.
 
And 7" would also work for other devices that aren't dependent on scaling iPad apps?

If you're willing to live with either scaled up iPhone apps or waiting for app developers to produce versions specifically for that screen size.
 
So you're saying that there's nothing inherently wrong with a 7 or 7.85" tablet size, as long as you make the touch targets an adequate size?

I don't know what he was saying, but I agree with this statement. So then the question is, when you shrink current iPad apps down to 7.8 inches, will all touch targets remain usable, or will some get too small? I think what people are saying is that, yes, at 7.8 inches, they are usable, but when you shrink them to 7 inches, they cross the line into being too small.
 
I don't know what he was saying, but I agree with this statement. So then the question is, when you shrink current iPad apps down to 7.8 inches, will all touch targets remain usable, or will some get too small? I think what people are saying is that, yes, at 7.8 inches, they are usable, but when you shrink them to 7 inches, they cross the line into being too small.

7.85" is obviously the best size for shrinking down iPad apps for a couple of reasons. That still has nothing to do with a categorical dismissal of any tablet under 10" being usable, regardless of the OS, as Steve tried to do here.

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Well then unless you've hacked your Nexus 7 you're using the Android Phone UI, not the tablet UI.

It still works pretty well even without sandpaper.:p
 
People say 7" because that's what rival tablets are. They ignore or are otherwise unaware of the pretty significant difference between the two screen sizes.

But the Nexus 7 is wide-screen, with more pixels than the rumoured 1024x768 Ipad Mini.

Since when have Apple fans defended large pixels?
 
Surprised that everyone seems to have already forgotten what was revealed at the Samsung trial:

Eddie Cue, Apple's Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services, wrote this email to Cook, Forstall and Schiller in Jan 2011:

Having used a Samsung Galaxy, I tend to agree with many of the comments below (except moving off the iPad). (NOTE: this is referring to a website review)

I believe there will be a 7" market and we should do one.

I expressed this to Steve several times since Thanksgiving and he seemed very receptive the last time.

I found email, books, facebook and video very compelling on a 7". Web browsing is definitely the weakest point, but still usable. - Cue

So we know that at least one Apple exec liked the 7" Samsung Galaxy, and that apparently Jobs was starting to listen to him.
 
As brilliant as Steve was, sometimes he was... drumroll... WRONG.

Sometimes he thought things like the Cube would be a good idea. Sometimes he thought removing features such as Firewire on the 13" MBP was a good idea, only to be persuaded to bring it back.

Some people apparently like to hold a tablet in one hand, and operate it with the other, like this.

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Evidently this is difficult to do with the 10" iPad, considering the plethora of accessories attempting to alleviate the problem:

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... And then there are plain retarded ones like this, er, BabyBjorn?

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Who knows, maybe Steve was so absorbed initially in an "OMG we have a tablet!!!" sort of way that he assumed everyone would happily and ceremoniously devote both hands to holding the device and sit there awestruck forever. Maybe he was convinced that there must be a single sweet spot for this device type. Either way, he might have been -- gasp -- wrong.

So, let me get this straight; you're using the fact that there are accessories available to expand the usage methods of iPad as a point against it. Sorry, but that's just as vacuous as claiming the opposite. I can comfortably hold my iPad with one hand, as can every single person I know with one. Of course, a smaller iPad is easier to hold with one hand, but that doesn't preclude the ease of holding the 9.7" iPad. The average human being is not so limp-wristed.
 
Bottomline, Cook is ruining Apple. Jobs is dead. We're just going to have to accept that he's not coming back and no amount of 'feel good' remembrance videos on Apple.com is going to change that. Apple is dead... again. With or without Steve's blessing. I, for one, will be keeping my current mid 2011 iMac with 32 GB of RAM and 2008 Macbook Pro running the last great Apple OS, Snow Leopard until they fail, then I will be switching to a Hackintosh that will run Snow Leopard. Screw Apple and Microsh#t. I'm not moving to a cabin in the woods with a shotgun... but pretty damn close. Screw the future. I've already experienced the worst, and the best of modern computing and I'm sticking with... the best...
 
But the Nexus 7 is wide-screen, with more pixels than the rumoured 1024x768 Ipad Mini.

Since when have Apple fans defended large pixels?

If it doesn't have a retina display, then it'll rely on the other points it has in its favour; it just won't have as many points in its favour as we would've hoped. I personally think that it would have been ideal to have the same aspect ratio as pre-5 iPhones while doubling the pixel dimensions (1920x1280). But oh well, I won't be buying one anyway; iPhone 5 is now large enough to negate the requirement for a slightly larger display IMO, as is the new iPod Touch. My 4S was too small to read books, but the 5 is just that little bit extra that's required for comfortable use.
 
So, let me get this straight; you're using the fact that there are accessories available to expand the usage methods of iPad as a point against it. Sorry, but that's just as vacuous as claiming the opposite. I can comfortably hold my iPad with one hand, as can every single person I know with one. Of course, a smaller iPad is easier to hold with one hand, but that doesn't preclude the ease of holding the 9.7" iPad. The average human being is not so limp-wristed.
Good for you and your imaginary friends, but given that "hold the ipad with one hand" and various variants on that are suggested search strings on Google that turn up tons of discussion threads, articles on tech sites etc it appears that there are lots of people who find it awkward to hold with one hand. "ipad too heavy" (23,000+ hits) and "ipad too heavy for reading" are other popular search terms.

Its weight or size doesn't bother me personally. If ultra-portability was something I cared about I wouldn't be typing this on a MBP 17". But if I was an avid iBook reader who liked to sit for hours and hours holding the iPad in one hand I'd probably have a sore wrist. It's a common enough complaint, and if there was no demand for a smaller and lighter iPad, Apple wouldn't be effing introducing one tomorrow.
 
I think what people are saying is that, yes, at 7.8 inches, they are usable, but when you shrink them to 7 inches, they cross the line into being too small.



if apple released an 8inch they would say anything below is too small

if apple released a 7.2 inch they would say anything below is too small

just like how steve jobs said anything below 10inches was too small.

you see where im going with this?
 
if apple released an 8inch they would say anything below is too small

if apple released a 7.2 inch they would say anything below is too small

just like how steve jobs said anything below 10inches was too small.

you see where im going with this?
So which of the two do you think is true:

1. They pick a random number, release their iPad with that size and say anything below is too small?

2. They test out various sizes, including 5", 6", 7", 8", 9", 10" and find out that one of them is the smallest acceptable size, release their iPad of that size and say anything less is too small?
 
if apple released an 8inch they would say anything below is too small

if apple released a 7.2 inch they would say anything below is too small

just like how steve jobs said anything below 10inches was too small.

you see where im going with this?

You left out the crucial part of my statement, that is "when you shrink current iPad apps down to 7.8 inches." Obviously, the 4 inch iPhone isn't too small, because iPhone apps are specifically designed for that size. In fact, for "phablets" around 5-6 inches, a stretched out phone UI would probably work fine. It's around 7 inches where the stretched out phone UI starts looking silly and wasteful of space, but it's questionable if a shrunk down tablet UI would work or not.

Also, note that most desktop websites don't really work on the iPhone, and websites came out with "mobile" versions for phones. Some sites now have tablet versions, which I find mostly annoying on my iPad, because for me, the desktop versions work fine. However, if I had an iPad mini, I could see myself using more of the tablet websites, or even the phone websites, because more desktop sites wouldn't work on a smaller screen like the mini.

Different screen sizes require different looks. This was true even with monitor screens. I once worked on a layout for a website, and what looked perfect on a 15 inch monitor often looked horrible when I looked at it on a 20 inch monitor, and vice versa. Finding a happy medium that looked ok on both sizes was not easy.

All iPad apps so far have been designed for the 9.7 screen size. Some will look and work fine when shrunk down to 7.8 inches, but some will need adjustment. Hopefully most apps fall into the former category.

As for what Jobs said, if he were still alive, he'd be on that stage tomorrow telling us the iPad mini is the next best thing since sliced bread. He may find a way to reconcile that with his previous statement about needing to sandpaper our fingers, or he may just completely ignore his former statement. Either way, nobody would care, and the iPad mini would sell in droves. That was the way he was. I miss him.
 
Steve Jobs always says stuff like this when Apple doesn't ship a product in a category only to turn around and say the complete opposite when they do enter a segment.

Then he makes you believe that Apple somehow "got something" and corrected all the problems that made it so it wasn't feasible until they did it, so that it doesn't look like he's flip flopping.

Steve was the master at flip flopping.

I couldn't have said this better.
 
So which of the two do you think is true:

1. They pick a random number, release their iPad with that size and say anything below is too small?

2. They test out various sizes, including 5", 6", 7", 8", 9", 10" and find out that one of them is the smallest acceptable size, release their iPad of that size and say anything less is too small?

Why just 2?

3. They had a look at the market and saw a 7 inch tablet (Samsung Galaxy, Eddie Cue) and thought "hey there is money to be made, let's do it" and give the consumers BS to make it sound like it's all innovation and evolution or whatever.
 
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