Chinese site claims design of Apple's 7-inch iPad is 'finished'

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  • Reply 21 of 113
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by pmz View Post


    It's a really good thing you are not a designer then, as that bezel has about as much if not more function than the screen itself.



    Ever pay any attention to where you hold the device every single time it's picked up!!!!!!



    Christ



    To me, it looks like other tablets coming out now have an even larger bezel for the relative display size.
  • Reply 22 of 113
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 0yvind View Post


    Oh yes it is. Inner pocket of a jacket. Would make the perfect paperback replacement for me - I'd buy both sizes, one for home use (and when I plan to bring a bag) and the other for reading books + web surfing and casual website updates on the go (Wordpress)...



    Don't forget the mass is dictated by the battery. It would weigh half a kilogram!

    Making it a paperback replacement capable of ripping the lining out of your jacket.



    I don't buy it - but as always with these things. Time will be the judge.



    C.
  • Reply 23 of 113
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,953member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ElmCityWeb View Post


    I have no problem whatsoever with the size or weight of the current iPad model. If it's too heavy to hold in your hand for an extending period of time, maybe it's time to hit the gym and bulk up a bit?



    But that's not my concern, my concern with the current iPad is that even in portrait mode, it's hard to to the two thumb typing method. Typing in landscape mode requires awkward holds in my opinion. And a smaller one would fit in my inside jacket pocket better.
  • Reply 24 of 113
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by lav1daloca View Post


    I would welcome such a move because the current iPad is too heavy to hold it for long period of time reading something on it. After a while it feels like its made out of lead. I don't mind the size but it should be lighter! A 7'' light tablet would be great.



    ...US predict 3 in 4 American obese by 2020.
  • Reply 25 of 113
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,953member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Carniphage View Post


    Don't forget the mass is dictated by the battery. It would weigh half a kilogram!

    Making it a paperback replacement capable of ripping the lining out of your jacket.



    How old of a jacket? I've carried much heavier things in pockets, not often, and not recently, but you're certainly well below the safety threshold for most coats and jackets in good repair. My guess is the only way a half kilogram is going to damage a pocket is if the jacket is in obvious need of repair in the first place. Fabric and stitching is a lot stronger than you'd think.
  • Reply 26 of 113
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by lav1daloca View Post


    I would welcome such a move because the current iPad is too heavy to hold it for long period of time reading something on it. After a while it feels like its made out of lead. I don't mind the size but it should be lighter! A 7'' light tablet would be great.



    i initially was against the 10" and wanted 7" but now i have a 10 ipad and a kindle 6" and i say the 10 is the right size. i imagine they will bring the weight down a tad soon. but i really don't care if apple sells both sizes. i would probably end up with both eventually lol.
  • Reply 27 of 113
    Reminds me a lot of the endless iPhone mini rumors just after the iPhone came out. It was such a great idea that it never happened.
  • Reply 28 of 113
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    To me, it looks like other tablets coming out now have an even larger bezel for the relative display size.



    I would welcome a 7" iPad for travel as long as its in addition to the 9.7 inch and not a replacement.



    By the way I got the new otterbox for the iPad and I love it. I could bounce the iPad off the ground and not hurt it.



    http://www.otterbox.com/ipad-cases/i...r-series-case/
  • Reply 29 of 113
    I'd rather have 10hours of battery life or more.
  • Reply 30 of 113
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by witheredmind View Post


    Reminds me a lot of the endless iPhone mini rumors just after the iPhone came out. It was such a great idea that it never happened.



    Yeah, it's exactly like the iPhone mini, and just as likely to happen.



    A 7" tablet is probably the worst possible size for a tablet. Too big to be pocket portable (have fun carrying that around in a jacket pocket) and would totally fill up a woman's purse. Too small to give the degree of productivity (e.g., ease of typing) the current form factor offers, and even at the same screen resolution, shrunk, there will be UI problems with controls crowded too close together. Not to mention that they'd still need to release a new SDK for this and develpers will need to adapt graphics... and they haven't done so, so this isn't happening any time soon as rumored. The only thing this might be better at, if it were much lighter, would maybe be as an e-reader, but for everything else, not so much.



    I have to agree that these 7" screens are for someone else's tablet, not an Apple tablet.
  • Reply 31 of 113
    Shrinking the battery to fit in the 7" is a no go. Unless they reduce the clock speed to compensate power drain.
  • Reply 32 of 113
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by serpicolugnut View Post


    Someone please tell me where a 7" iPad would fit in Apple's product line? There's a 64GB iPod Touch for $399 and a 9.7" 16GB iPad for $499. I don't see Apple offering a 7" tablet at $399 - the same price as their top of the line iPod touch, and it makes no sense to price it more than the iPad.



    The only thing that would make sense is if Apple added more bells and whistles to the $499 10" iPad - like a Camera/GPS/Gyroscope, and increase the price point by $100, leaving the $499 price point for the 7" iPad. Still, I don't see that happening as the 10" iPad is a runaway success, and I don't see Apple doing anything to tamper with that.



    That makes a lot of sense, but (1) there's been so much noise about a smaller iPad that there's probably something to it, and (2) Apple wants to dominate the $349-$399 price point and the market for people who want a smaller iPad before the cheaper tablets get a hold in the market.



    If Apple brings out a smaller iPad, I suspect they will reduce the price on the top iPod touch. Right now the touch line is $229/$299/$399 for 8GB/32GB/64GB. The memory is the only thing that distinguishes the models, so Apple has some room to move if they want to wedge a smaller iPod at $349 or $399.



    I don't think Apple is in a huge hurry to cut their margins on the touch or give people a cheaper iPad option, but I think we'll see the new iPad sometime in 2011.
  • Reply 33 of 113
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Porchland View Post


    That makes a lot of sense, but (1) there's been so much noise about a smaller iPad that there's probably something to it ...



    As noted previously, there has been even more noise about an iPhone mini over the years, with any number of analysts and sources assuring us that Apple will be releasing it, "any day now." So, the amount of noise doesn't really mean anything.
  • Reply 34 of 113
    wigginwiggin Posts: 2,265member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Newtron View Post


    I sure hope they wake up and make it 16x9.



    Great for videos. Stupid for everything else an iPad does.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by serpicolugnut View Post


    Someone please tell me where a 7" iPad would fit in Apple's product line? There's a 64GB iPod Touch for $399 and a 9.7" 16GB iPad for $499. I don't see Apple offering a 7" tablet at $399 - the same price as their top of the line iPod touch, and it makes no sense to price it more than the iPad.



    I see no issue with a 64 GB iPod touch and a 16 GB 7" iPad both at the $399 price point. If you primarily want a media player, get the touch. If mobile computing device (browsing, apps, etc) is your primary use, get the 7" iPad.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DaveyJJ View Post


    I'm not convinced the 7" form factor brings any efficiency to these sorts of jobs that the iPad perfectly fulfils. The screen real estate and keyboard issues alone may make it a bit better than a touch-sized device, but I'm not sure enough that most won't go for the existing iPad factor instead.



    That's my 20 years of design and marketing input, anyway, worth about $0.02.



    Well, from a usability standpoint, ever try typing on an iPad in landscape orientation while holding it? You need one hand to hold it and you are left to pecking out text (or any other interface interaction) with the other. I've got pretty big hands and I can't reach the entire screen with my thumbs if holding it in two hands like you'd do with an iPhone. The onscreen keyboard is ridiculously large and inefficient because you have to move your hand around so much to reach all the keys. And if you try to hold it in both hands to type in portrait mode, the center of gravity is too high and it wants to flip out of your hands.



    A 7" screen would actually be more efficient because you can reach interface elements with less movement (ever try using a Mac with a 30" screen. Moving the mouse from the menu bar to the dock is very cumbersome).



    And if you did want to hold it in one hand, the 7" is also better. Most people's hands would be big enough that they can get their fingers behind the center of gravity to provide support. One of the reasons for the large bezel on the current iPad is because you need it for your thumb to hook around the front of the device so it doesn't flip out of your hand (because the center of gravity is beyond the reach of your hand underneath). A 7" iPad could therefore have a smaller bezel, making the overall device even smaller than just the smaller screen.



    Apple could easily make a 7" iPad with the same resolution as the current iPad using a more dense LCD. And it would still be less dense than the iPhone's retina display. So you could display the same amount of information.



    So as you can see, there are many efficiency and usability advantages to a smaller iPad, and we didn't even get into portability issues.
  • Reply 35 of 113
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dagamer34 View Post


    9.7" iPad is too large to fit in my white coat pocket. If it moves to 7", Apple opens up an entirely new revenue stream of hospitals wanting to buy one for every doctor on staff. Plus, there's a lot of bezel on the current version I consider wasted space!



    It's an ergonomics issue. Even with the bezel size of the current iPad, I sometimes flip book pages inadvertently. So it has to be that wide. A smaller iPad that fits in the palm of the hand could have a narrower bezel around the edge of the screen, or essentially none, like the iPhone. I'd say that 7" is still too large for palmability though, at least for most people.
  • Reply 36 of 113
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JeffDM View Post


    How old of a jacket? I've carried much heavier things in pockets, not often, and not recently, but you're certainly well below the safety threshold for most coats and jackets in good repair. My guess is the only way a half kilogram is going to damage a pocket is if the jacket is in obvious need of repair in the first place. Fabric and stitching is a lot stronger than you'd think.



    I'd break the world into two important categories.



    There are the cool and groovy hipsters, who simply don't own or wear Jackets of any form. "Pocketable" means "jeans pocketable". Anything bigger goes into a cool satchel type thing.



    And there are the besuited business types, who'd not be seen dead with half a kilo of electronics clanging around ruining the line of their Armani's. Remember the Newon!



    There are those who fit into neither category of course.



    C.
  • Reply 37 of 113
    I expect that Apple will release this with a 10" + a camera.

    Drop the current 10" by $50.

    7" comes in at $375.



    The touch drops in price by $100 and the top end model adds a good camera.



    Apple is going to be putting cameras on almost all new models - if not ALL new models.



    Even though the iPad is selling faster than it can be built -- Apple does NOT wait for the market -- it keeps up the desire factor. And upgrading and lowering the price for a sell-out item is strategically a great idea.



    Having people lust and wait for the top end model will help their image.





    >> and don't forget, another manufacturer is going online -- so I'm expecting that they will double output, and probably have the NEW factory working on the newer devices like the 7" -- so expect the rumor-mill on this one to be tighter than usual (new deals and all that effect).
  • Reply 38 of 113
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,953member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JustReelFilms View Post


    Shrinking the battery to fit in the 7" is a no go. Unless they reduce the clock speed to compensate power drain.



    I'd say the power consumption due to screen size is the limiting factor, not the processor. Smaller screen, smaller total power drain. Note that iPhone4 has the same processor and even better battery life.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Newtron View Post


    I'd be happy with a more iP4esque aspect ratio.



    Don't get any weird ideas, but for once, I agree with this. 1.5:1 is a good middle ground for the general gamut of media the devices will display, and it perfectly fits iPhone apps too. Making a device 16:9 just for one media type (widescreen videos) is unfortunate because it needlessly cramps every other use in my opinion because the smallest dimension is just too small for other uses.
  • Reply 39 of 113
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Wiggin View Post


    Well, from a usability standpoint, ever try typing on an iPad in landscape orientation while holding it? You need one hand to hold it and you are left to pecking out text (or any other interface interaction) with the other. I've got pretty big hands and I can't reach the entire screen with my thumbs if holding it in two hands like you'd do with an iPhone. The onscreen keyboard is ridiculously large and inefficient because you have to move your hand around so much to reach all the keys. And if you try to hold it in both hands to type in portrait mode, the center of gravity is too high and it wants to flip out of your hands.



    A 7" screen would actually be more efficient because you can reach interface elements with less movement (ever try using a Mac with a 30" screen. Moving the mouse from the menu bar to the dock is very cumbersome). ...



    Well, I doubt very much, unless you have giant hands, you'll be able to thumb type on a (mythical) 7" iPad in landscape, so you'll be stuck with the same procedure. (i.e., most people would see no benefit) Portrait, perhaps, but for actual two-handed typing, which the 10" iPad is absolutely great for, the 7" will totally suck in comparison.



    And, if moving the mouse from the menu bar to the dock is "cumbersome", I think you definitely need to adjust your mouse settings. I can go from one side of a 27" screen to the other without even thinking about it. A 7" screen will play havoc with UI controls, crowding them too close together, so any efficiency of movement (totally minimal) will be lost to errant taps.
  • Reply 40 of 113
    cmf2cmf2 Posts: 1,427member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dr Millmoss View Post


    It's an ergonomics issue. Even with the bezel size of the current iPad, I sometimes flip book pages inadvertently. So it has to be that wide. A smaller iPad that fits in the palm of the hand could have a narrower bezel around the edge of the screen, or essentially none, like the iPhone. I'd say that 7" is still too large for palmability though, at least for most people.



    7" in a 4:3 aspect ratio for sure. There are plenty of photos showing people palming 7" widescreen tablets.



    From my perspective, a 7" iPad in a 4:3 form factor doesn't really provide much benefit when compared to the 10" version. It won't really be much more portable, and offering a widescreen iPad doesn't make sense given the success of the 4:3 model. I can't help but think these 7" iPad rumors are false.
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