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

cutsman said:
With all the competition bringing out 7" tablets, did you really expect Steve to boast about how perfect 7" screens are? To me, the current ipad is simply too big... a 7" ipad really would be the perfect balance between screen size and portability.

Not to mention that Steve's logic makes no sense whatsoever... a 7" screen is too small for a touchscreen device, yet the 3.7" on the iphone/ipod touch is somehow not too small???:confused:? I think the millions of iphones/ipod touches sold thus far is a testament that 7" is not too small for a tablet device, especially one running a mobile OS like iOS or Android. I would agree with 7" being too small if the device is running Mac OSX or some other desktop OS with multiple applications and windows open simultaneously... but this isnt what we're talking about here.

Is anyone else confused about the logic?
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Totally agree. Makes no sense to me either. If the number of pixels on a 7 inch screen match those on the present iPad, I would buy one in a minute. If Apple is touting the iPod Touch as a gaming device, why wouldn't 7 inches be even better?
 
cutsman said:
a 7" screen is too small for a touchscreen device, yet the 3.7" on the iphone/ipod touch is somehow not too small???
Click to expand...
7" is too small for a "tablet", which is a different category from "smartphone" (for which 7" is too big). They are both touchscreens.

There's a minimum size for tablet-specfic UI, and so that you're looking "at" the device, not peering "into" it, as you do a phone. This varies based on a person's characteristics, like hand/finger size and vision. Apple has put a lot of time and effort into picking the two sweet spots, and avoiding the ambiguous middle.
 
Simple,
I need portability and readability.

1. ipad is not portable
(tried caring the 10 inch ipad to work and on the train, its just not portable)
2. ipod touch is not readable
(tried reading ebooks, watching movies, but its not easy)

A 7 inch ipad fits the bill. I personally dont need an ipod touch. If I can get a 7 inch ipad, it will do everything that I need it for.


I guess Steve does not want my money when it comes to 7 inch ipad.
 
I am making universal apps for iPhone and iPad. There is a huge difference in writing for smaller screens. The resolution similarity doesn't mean diddly. A touch point on the iPad is about 40 pixels square. On the iPhone, the same element is 80 pixels square.

Even if they made a "Retina" display 7" iPad, the size of the human finger doesn't get any smaller. The UI design has to be a lot closer to phone-style than tablet style.
 
Steve Jobs said:
Hold an iPad in portrait view and draw a horizontal line halfway down. What's left is a 7" screen...too small. There are clear limits to how close elements can be on the screen before users can't touch accurately. We believe 10-inch screen is minimum necessary
Click to expand...

Yeah. No-one will ever buy a mobile internet device with a touchscreen under 10". It's just unusable. You'd have to be really dumb to bring such a product to market.

Oh, wait... :rolleyes:
 
First one to actually design the seven inch tab was samsung which was based on their umpc q1 model. Apple started to design a seven inch model about 45 days after the launch of the ipad after noticing samsungs actions (they were purchasing 7 inch screens). Samsung was already developing its galaxy phones before the tab was developed but they quickly ported it over to compete with the ipad. For apple, The problem is that you can not port from 10 inch to 7 inch very well due to the potential screen upgrade of further 10 inch screens but you can use iphone resolution on 7 inch thus came the decision for 960x640 screen. Apple may not come out with 7 inch now but if it notices traction in the 7 inch arena you can be sure apple will not be more than 8 months behind with their version of the 7 inch ipad.

You can follow me on twitter @mehrc where i talk about medicine, politics, economy and tech sector
 
Job's speech is full of win. the future is going to look good, can't wait to see a 12" iPad with pro Apps like Photoshop and Final cut!
 
I think Apple is wrong on this one. A 7 inch tablet would be lighter and easier to hold with one hand. I can't confidently hold the current iPad when I'm on the subway and my other hand has to hold onto a rail while I'm riding. I see others struggle with their iPad on the subway as well.

There are plenty of reasons why the current competition could fail, but not because of screen size.
 
Don Kosak said:
I am making universal apps for iPhone and iPad. There is a huge difference in writing for smaller screens. The resolution similarity doesn't mean diddly. A touch point on the iPad is about 40 pixels square. On the iPhone, the same element is 80 pixels square.

Even if they made a "Retina" display 7" iPad, the size of the human finger doesn't get any smaller. The UI design has to be a lot closer to phone-style than tablet style.
Click to expand...

Bull. I just released a universal app with totally minor checks on iPad versus iPhone.
 
I wanted it to install in my 2009 car in place of the screen that is already there, the state of car systems is just abysmal.
 
Great news. The current iPad is just the right size; trying to go much smaller kind of defeats the purpose.
 
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Steve you're the man :)
 
hazmatzak said:
7" is too small for a "tablet", which is a different category from "smartphone" (for which 7" is too big). They are both touchscreens.

There's a minimum size for tablet-specfic UI, and so that you're looking "at" the device, not peering "into" it, as you do a phone. This varies based on a person's characteristics, like hand/finger size and vision. I imagine Apple has put a lot of time and effort into picking the two sweet spots, and avoiding the ambiguous middle.
Click to expand...

Why should the UI of a "smartphone" and a "tablet" be subject to different criteria as it pertains to usability? They are both touchscreen devices and are nearly identical with regards to it's core functions. You can argue that a Tablet-specific UI requires a larger screen, what is it about a 7" or 10" iPad that actually requires a "tablet-specific" UI? The iphone and iPad are not all that different functionally, yet I and millions of people have no issues operating an iphone on a daily basis.
 
I hope that they hold off on the 7" because if they released one I would have some buyers remorse for my 9.7". The weight and easier ebook capabilities of a 7" would be something I want.

Unless, of course, it also gave up battery life in a smaller product.
 
This guy (Steve Jobs) is kind of weird. Why did he need to say that nobody need 7" tablets? There is no benefits for Apple in stating that. What if it turns out that people do like 7"? Will Apple have to start selling them too? Will SJ look like a jerk then? Why?
 
I had a 7" tablet years ago that ran Windows XP and was a magnitude more capable than an iPad in nearly every way. If I wanted a 7" tablet again, I'd get that, not a glorified iPod.
 
barkomatic said:
I think Apple is wrong on this one. A 7 inch tablet would be lighter and easier to hold with one hand. I can't confidently hold the current iPad when I'm on the subway and my other hand has to hold onto a rail while I'm riding. I see others struggle with their iPad on the subway as well.

There are plenty of reasons why the current competition could fail, but not because of screen size.
Click to expand...

I find the iPad and iPhone experiences quite different, and for the subway use you specify my iPhone is the better one handed form factor. My guess is that Apple has actually tried this and found that a 7" iOS device is really just the huge iPod touch folks were complaining the iPad was.

My guess is that this first round of 7" android tablets will be more like large Android phones as opposed to the iPad experience.

EDIT: So, In typical SJ misdirection we are likely to see a 7" iOS device branded as an iPod or iPhone rather than an iPad.

B
 
Piggie said:
So how many here still want a 7" iPad?

I recall many posters on these forums saying they wanted one?

Do you still want one?

I personally would like a larger screen if anything. Always have done.
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I agree, seen way too many people wanting 7 inch ipads. Funny how all the non 7 inch iPad posters finally make their voice heard now.
 
Don Kosak said:
Even if they made a "Retina" display 7" iPad, the size of the human finger doesn't get any smaller. The UI design has to be a lot closer to phone-style than tablet style.
Click to expand...

Probably exactly why Samsung is using a phone-style OS (Android) on their 7".

And I don't see a reason why the UI for the iPad can't be made more"phone-style" to accommodate a 7" screen. To me, Steve saying a 7" ipad is no good pretty much just means that Apple is unwilling to design an OS usable on a 7" screen. It does not mean that a 7" tablet is inherently unusable.
 
BVeritas said:
Bull. I just released a universal app with totally minor checks on iPad versus iPhone.
Click to expand...

I think that the amount of adaptation that has to be done really depends on the type of App that you are producing. Comparing the Universal Apps on my iPod Touch and my iPad there are some games that hardly change, some Apps that present a similar structure with some rearrangement of UI (eg. Mail, Safari, Feedler, NewsRack) and then there is the official Twitter client that is radically different.

Would you be willing to tell us the name of the App that you worked on?
 
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