Both The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, the usual means through which Apple itself spreads rumours, have reported that a 7″ iPad will be launched coming October. It’s pretty obvious why Apple would leak this information now – to hinder the launch of the Nexus 7. According to Gruber, it would sport a 7.85″ 1024×768 display – quite a step down from the 1280×800 7″ display on the Nexus. Still, this is about the operating system, not specifications, so it doesn’t matter all that much. I wonder what Jobs would think of this 7″ tablet. Oh wait.
“I wonder what Jobs would think of this 7″ tablet. Oh wait.”
I think he would have said what he said about video on an iPod – it won’t work – until Apple decides it can and then it does.
I wonder if they will do a mini-iPad, if they do they will probably pull the ground from under the Google and Amazon efforts (both of which I think would have performed feebly in the market anyway) and that just leaves Surface, Microsoft’s last great chance to to stay relevant. It’s certainly going to be an interesting few months as the next year could pretty much determine the tablet market for years to come. If Apple’s iPad is still as dominant and growing in a year then that may pretty much wrap the tablet market up for the foreseeable future.
Steve was right, video didn’t work on the iPod, it was only with the introduction of the iPod touch that video became workable on the mobile device.
Id be very surprised if apple releases a 7″ iPad, it goes against the anti fragmentation and the consistent message of Steve/apple that there is no market for 7″ iPad
Watching many of the all things d and other interviews when pushed regarding an apple phone in 2004/05 Steve listed reasons why it wouldn’t work, namely the carriers, however with the 7″ he was adamant that it just wouldnt work, apple also is a company that provides a very focused bunch of products as they have see cross product cannibalisation in other companies.
I always take my iPod Classic on holiday to watch series and movies (and play poker during flight). It’s the only time of year I use it.
An iPod touch gives a better viewing experience, but the Classic has much more storage.
Do you really want to get into all of the things Steve Jobs and Apple said were terrible ideas at one point, then did later? Smart people allow their minds to be changed in the face of overwhelming evidence. Stupid people do not.
I know that I’ve certainly said and really believed some really stupid things in the past, when I didn’t have much evidence to go by.
More importantly, Jobs clearly doesn’t think 3.5 inches is too small for the iPhone so what was he really saying?
Jobs was saying that for tablets, whatever size, to take off they need apps that include more UI and functionality than their smartphone counterparts and that trying to squeeze that into what was available as a 7″ screen two years ago and/or just using the same apps as on smartphones wouldn’t cut it.
Now, two years later, Apple already has a huge base of tablet apps and 7″ screens are available with higher ppis so they can support the same resolutions as 10″ screens were able to two years ago.
But you are not the genius, universally, revolutionary Steve Jobs, whose insight was miles ahead of us miscreants, whose vision was clear and hard as diamond, and who single-handedly changed everything, and changed everything. Again.
Also, it was not something he ranted in a bar after his fifth daiquiri. It was his assesment, and he was adamant: 7″ tablet where “dead on arrival”, that “the screen is too small to express the software” and Apple is “a software driven company, we think about the software strategies first”, and that those tablets should come with sandpaper so that user could file their fingers.
Also, see:
http://daringfireball.net/linked/2012/05/25/dalrymple-ipad-mini
http://daringfireball.net/linked/2011/12/29/digitimes
http://daringfireball.net/2012/02/apple_should_be_worried
http://daringfireball.net/linked/2010/12/30/bray-tablets
http://daringfireball.net/linked/2011/02/02/sterling
http://daringfireball.net/linked/2010/08/29/sentence
Edited 2012-07-05 15:41 UTC
I think you’re trying to grind an axe with Steve, which is fun, but I hope you’re not missing the larger point which almost everyone in society does these days ( and probably other days too).
It is wise to change one’s position after further reflection leads one to a different conclusion. That change in position should not be derided, but celebrated.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ooooh, you like quotes?
–Big Brother (a great mind, the equal of Pythagoras, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, ans Steve Jobs, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh).
Try telling that to a Politician.
All they will think of is ‘U-Turn’ and reject it outright.
Personally, I think you are correct.
That is why it might be the first fake scoop by the WSJ/Bloomberg. There is no 7″ iPad int he pipe, they are just spreading uncertainty and doubt to harm Nexus 7 sales.
And we forget Jobs (sadly) no longer makes decisions.
Small tablets are inferior… so lets release one… rather than stay true to their word they chase the mighty dollar above all else. Same with most corporations.. sell their mum for a few dollars more.
Yeah, it’s called pragmatism. That’s why Apple is in the market position they’re in today.
Unbelievable. If this isn’t proof that hardware manufacturers are clueless I don’t know what is.
I’ve worked at Best Buy for 8 years now and it’s common knowledge that smaller screen = worse user experience. A 7 inch iPad would never sell.
Would a 7 inch iPhone? Hell yes. Give me one of those please.
But no one in their right mind is going to buy a 7 inch iPad. I would feel ashamed even suggesting it.
The iPad is just a big iPod Touch (nobody mentions this anymore).
What’s the difference between a 7-inch iPad and a 7-inch iPhone (app-wise). They are the same thing minus phone calling.
Or a 7-inch Kindle Fire, for which Amazon has sold a shitload of.
And anyway, these rumors of a smaller iPad have been swirling for years… how much longer are people going to continue reporting on this bullshit? I mean, I’m sure it’ll happen eventually, but jeez!
Quote
Or a 7-inch Kindle Fire, for which Amazon has sold a shitload of.
EndQuote.
In a very small corner of the world. Whilst it might be a great device but Amazon is not selling it in countries where they sell the Kindle and Kindle Touch.
So until they do, it might be the best Table in the Universe but I can’t order one online nor can I go into a shop and buy one. Ergo, it is a failure just like the Zune etc.
Obviously this may change should they deem the rest of the world worthy for their wonderful device.
Trust me, you wouldn’t want one even if you could get one. The Kindle Fire sucks ass, so consider it a blessing that it’s not available wherever you are
Apple can keep their 7″ iDick and go f*** themselves up the ass with it.
[Yeah, I’m still pretty irritated about the Apple vs. Android patent lawsuit against Samsung.]
Edited 2012-07-05 03:54 UTC
is the 10″ tablet a maxi pad? Just askin’.
…the Nexus 7…
I’ve mentioned I’m a Mac fan from way back (1980), but couldn’t resist the lure of the Nexus… I couldn’t see Apple bringing out a 7″ quad anytime soon, plus because Google is in control of this one, updates should be frequent.
Lets see if Android 4.1 can match my love for all things iOS 🙂
We’re on the same boat. Long time Apple fan, but I couldn’t resist the price of the Nexus 7. It’s everything I wanted the iPad to be: less than 10 inches, NOT 1024×768 (hello 1990?), and less than $300.
Thank you Google. My money is on the 16GB model. It also helped to trade in a truckload of Wii stuff at Gamestop. Got a hefty trade-in credit +30% towards the Nexus 7.
.
Apple don’t produce their own display panel, the correct term would be ordering the display panel, to sharp, samsung or LG.
However, without announcing any product, Apple can create hype thanks to their fans army.
Chris Ziegler of the Verge (@zpower) suggest that that rumour could have been leaked to cripple some of the appeal of the Nexus 7 (to make fanbois and the people they influence hesitate to jump ships). Which means there might not be any 7″ iPad. Even if the WSJ is supposed to be reliable, this could be just psyops.
Now, Gruber the shameless idiot:
Oh. I though graphical elements had to be finely tuned? I guess Apple has a iFingerSharpener in stock.
Apple is now resolution / aspect ratio stuck the same way they used to be PPC stuck. They will pitch its superiority to no end until they finally find a way to switch.
We call the 9.7″ iPad a 10″ iPad. Why would a 7.85″ iPad be classified as 7″ rather than 8″?
I think the reason this could be true is that 7″ tablets fit the right price point. Tablets are still for most people just consuming devices. They aren’t anything else than entertainment. As such, price is a big point for the 7″ tablets.
There is also the notion that you are either and 7 or a 10. Some people prefer the smaller one. (especially it seems women who want it to fit in their bag) Personally, I would like the asus transformer with keyboard, but I am not going to pay almost the same as a new laptop to get one. I think I read the new transformer infinity is going to be $1000 and include the keyboard.
Will Apple patent tablets with 7″ diagonal and sue Google afterwards for patent infringement?