Let's see, on this web site? The only thing that matters is that if Apple isn't doing it, it must stink. Of course, the tiny iPhone is awesome, and the big iPad is awesome. But anything in between that must be pure junk...
How ironic that the artsy Apple-folk are such luddites when it comes to non-Apple products!
It's all a matter of demand. Until I see very high sales of 7" display tablets, I'll consider the form factor that is one not particularly appealing to the majority of consumers. Yes, I do hear comments that people want tablets that fit into their pockets or lighter-weight tablets but they are in a small minority. I don't know about 7" tablets being pure junk but Samsung got stuck holding an awful lot of Galaxy Tabs that aren't being sold. You believe that Apple does not do consumer research, but I'll bet they do a whole lot more than some of these copycat companies. Yes, I'm sure there are definitely some consumers that would like a 7" tablet. I don't see anything wrong that size, but if I can't sell them in large numbers, I don't want to be bothered with manufacturing them.
You'd better hope that Apple doesn't start selling a 7" tablet, because then it would really squeeze the Droidtard community's hopes because the price would be in the $350 range and consumers would snap them up. I'd like to see a 5" display iPod Touch, but I'm just one person to satisfy and I'd hardly think they should start up a production line just for me. If you get my drift.
I'm firmly with Apple on this one (I say that a lot :S). I have used 7" tablets and just could not help but be struck at the inherent uselessness of the form factor. Even my girlfriend came over as I was trying one out in a supermarket here and said 'what's the point of that?' and she couldn't care less about technology.
iPods are popular as PDAs because they are compact and surprisingly useful. iPads offer multitouch without the constraint of size. Something in between would just by a luxury iPod that would cost more and offer nothing over the existing iPod.
There is also the issue of pixel doubling. The iPad is just 4 times larger, you double up each pixel. Easy. If you make a 7" tablet you need to multiply up the pixels to an odd ratio or have huge iPod buttons or tiny iPad ones. It introduces a messy resolution problem without any benefit. Getting devs to develop 7"-specific apps would be far harder than getting them to develop iPad apps.
The other day, I saw a Samsung Tab in the wild for the first time. It looked absolutely the right size for me. Small enough to be portable and large enough to be more useful than a smartphone size small screen. I only wished it were less expensive.
Amazon is making a move with its App Store. I believe Amazon will be offering a comprehensive Android ecosystem alternative to iTunes shortly. That will be one less reason why Android is allegedly not equal to iOS. Amazon will have a chance to sell more music, video, books and apps. How's that for competition? I would like to see Amazon capture a greater share of the music sales away from Apple. Amazon has great pricing.
As for actual numbers, Apple had nearly 100% of the tablet market a year ago. This year its dropped to the 80's. How's that for numbers for you. I think that the Samsung Tab had nipped some of that market share from Apple. Not bad for a 'clearly inferior' product. I expect it to drop to the 60's within a year. iPad will continue to sell well. As the competition gets ramped up, so will the competition.
The other day, I saw a Samsung Tab in the wild for the first time. It looked absolutely the right size for me. Small enough to be portable and large enough to be more useful than a smartphone size small screen. I only wished it were less expensive.
Amazon is making a move with its App Store. I believe Amazon will be offering a comprehensive Android ecosystem alternative to iTunes shortly. That will be one less reason why Android is allegedly not equal to iOS. Amazon will have a chance to sell more music, video, books and apps. How's that for competition? I would like to see Amazon capture a greater share of the music sales away from Apple. Amazon has great pricing.
As for actual numbers, Apple had nearly 100% of the tablet market a year ago. This year its dropped to the 80's. How's that for numbers for you. I think that the Samsung Tab had nipped some of that market share from Apple. Not bad for a 'clearly inferior' product. I expect it to drop to the 60's within a year. iPad will continue to sell well. As the competition gets ramped up, so will the competition.
Yeah sure, easy288.
Check back with us a few quarters from now, will ya?
And, any links you can provide for your 'actual numbers' (as reported by the manufacturers) would be helpful.
I'm not saying a sub seven inch device is a replacement for iPad but rather it is an alternative. A lot of people don't seem to grasp that on these forums, but for many uses the iPad is simply too big. On the flip side id love to see a bigger iPad along the size of a clipboard, or about 13-14" in size.
It is pretty simple really; look at the Nook and the amazon pads, they are almost an ideal size for reading documents and being handy enough to have with you all the time. You can't say that with iPad.
Apple may have a point in that a smaller iPad might not be as useful as the current one but who cares? That is like saying the Touch isn't useful because of it's size. Interestingly enough I'm seeing more and more people carrying around Touches as PDAs than ever before. These users don't use them for music or media and instead use them for mail, calendar, and the ocassional web access. Think about the people that carried Daytimers and the like around constantly.
Yes, I 100% agree
- there's huge gap between the 3.5" devices & the 9.7" iPad which RIM, Samsung are trying to exploit
- it could be done at a substantially lower price point, and would be great for all of those uses where the large format of the iPad is over-kill.
- since SJ has said that Apple will never do an iPad this size, and doesn't make sense not to have a device at this size, then Apple would need to define it as Touch Maxi, or Touch HD or whatever. Or just admit they were jacking us all along!
All this talk of "fits in your pocket", does that relate to a 7" device? Because last time I checked, nothing that big would fit in my pocket at all. A briefcase, sure, but not my pocket. But then I would want a full iPad.
All you guys crying for a device small enough to fit in your pocket need to look at the iPod Touch or iPhone. Isn't it that obvious?
- it could be done at a substantially lower price point, and would be great for all of those uses where the large format of the iPad is over-kill.
How would it do this? Have you noted the prices of the iPod Touch and how they relate to the iPad? The only 2 items they would most likely be changing other than the enclosure would be the screen and battery. All other costs would remain static.
The other day, I saw a Samsung Tab in the wild for the first time. It looked absolutely the right size for me. Small enough to be portable and large enough to be more useful than a smartphone size small screen. I only wished it were less expensive.
Boy, I hope Samsung or their marketers are paying you well for writing such drivel. Have fun lugging your battery-charger with you wherever you go, and I sure hope there are plenty of outlets
[the Tab's 4 Wh battery is certainly very sad next to the iPad's 25 Wh]
How would it do this? Have you noted the prices of the iPod Touch and how they relate to the iPad? The only 2 items they would most likely be changing other than the enclosure would be the screen and battery. All other costs would remain static.
iPod Touch 32G: $299
iPad 32G: $599
That's a massive gap - 2x
- so what would a 7" 32G iPod Touch HD cost.... $449?
- with these ratios it's not hard to envisage a 16G iPod Touch HD @$399, or even $349
"Competition" isn't all it's cracked up to be. Since the introduction of the iPhone, perhaps even as far back as the original iPod, Apple hasn't been spending a whole lot of time thinking of "the competition". They've just focused on making the best products they can conceive of. At this stage in the game, "the competition" would be more of a distraction for Apple than a motivation to innovate. Apple has enough internal motivation to innovate--and that is the best kind of motivation.
Let all the Android hardware makers compete with each other in their race to the bottom. Apple's gonna do their own thing and make sh*tloads of money in the process.
Which one of the Galaxy Tabs can I go out and actually buy right now?
Quote:
Originally Posted by tazinlwfl
There are three Tabs - 7", 8.9" and 10.1"
the 7" is old - the 8.9 is about $30 cheaper than the iPad 2, but with lower specs, and the 10.1 is the same price as the iPad two, with arguably better or equal specs. Both the 8.9 and the 10.1 run Honeycomb (I believe). The 7" is 2.2
From how I understand it, this drop to 80% is mostly due to the Galaxy Tab's so-called 2MM channel stuffing , not actually sold units which brings apple back into the 90% area , the rest is accounted for by some Chinese tablets that are running doctored versions of Android.
Quote:
Originally Posted by easy288
The other day, I saw a Samsung Tab in the wild for the first time. It looked absolutely the right size for me. Small enough to be portable and large enough to be more useful than a smartphone size small screen. I only wished it were less expensive.
Amazon is making a move with its App Store. I believe Amazon will be offering a comprehensive Android ecosystem alternative to iTunes shortly. That will be one less reason why Android is allegedly not equal to iOS. Amazon will have a chance to sell more music, video, books and apps. How's that for competition? I would like to see Amazon capture a greater share of the music sales away from Apple. Amazon has great pricing.
As for actual numbers, Apple had nearly 100% of the tablet market a year ago. This year its dropped to the 80's. How's that for numbers for you. I think that the Samsung Tab had nipped some of that market share from Apple. Not bad for a 'clearly inferior' product. I expect it to drop to the 60's within a year. iPad will continue to sell well. As the competition gets ramped up, so will the competition.
The other day, I saw a Samsung Tab in the wild for the first time. It looked absolutely the right size for me. Small enough to be portable and large enough to be more useful than a smartphone size small screen. I only wished it were less expensive.
Amazon is making a move with its App Store. I believe Amazon will be offering a comprehensive Android ecosystem alternative to iTunes shortly. That will be one less reason why Android is allegedly not equal to iOS. Amazon will have a chance to sell more music, video, books and apps. How's that for competition? I would like to see Amazon capture a greater share of the music sales away from Apple. Amazon has great pricing.
As for actual numbers, Apple had nearly 100% of the tablet market a year ago. This year its dropped to the 80's. How's that for numbers for you. I think that the Samsung Tab had nipped some of that market share from Apple. Not bad for a 'clearly inferior' product. I expect it to drop to the 60's within a year. iPad will continue to sell well. As the competition gets ramped up, so will the competition.
I actually liked the Samsung Tab 7 inch, and I agree with you, it's too pricey, and I could add, it has a stupid OS with no apps for it. Ahh whatever.
About the market share, it's expected that Apple will have its share lower. Don't know when, it will inevitably happen. I don't buy the thinking that a few have that Apple is just "beyond" anyone and everyone everytime and everywhere. They are the best, but that doesn't mean there can't be good runner ups. And given the huge money involved, there will be competition.
Now if Apple's market share will drop to 20% or 70%, I don't know. It exclusively depends upon the competence of the competition. If the competition can't work it out, they will let Apple rule the whole shebang, if they can, it will be interesting.
Oh, and about those 80% you refer. I'd also like to see actual sale numbers. You know, Samsung has *yet* to disclose how *actual* Samsung Tabs they *actually* sold. And that usually means they sold poorly. Those 80% are a reflection of what would have happened had Samsung sold *every* Tab they *shipped*. All we know though is that the sales were *smooth*. Bah.
All this talk of "fits in your pocket", does that relate to a 7" device? Because last time I checked, nothing that big would fit in my pocket at all. A briefcase, sure, but not my pocket. But then I would want a full iPad.
All you guys crying for a device small enough to fit in your pocket need to look at the iPod Touch or iPhone. Isn't it that obvious?
Agreed. The 7" is too big for your pocket, so why not go for the full size.
Not only that, how do you design a productivity app for a 7" device?
With an iPad, you have room - you make a full UI for a word processor, you make an address book that looks and behaves like a real address book.
To design for an iPhone you make a pocket-sized version. You can't fit MS word on a screen that small, so you don't design a UI for a full size word processor. Same for an Address book - you can't make a UI that mimics a real address book so you don't.
So what do you design for a 7" tablet. You don't have room for full sized UI, so you can't do that, and when you make pocket sized versions, they just look awkward because they're stretched to fill the 7" screen.
7" is suitable for games and video, but for anything else, it's just awkward.
All this talk of "fits in your pocket", does that relate to a 7" device? Because last time I checked, nothing that big would fit in my pocket at all. A briefcase, sure, but not my pocket. But then I would want a full iPad.
All you guys crying for a device small enough to fit in your pocket need to look at the iPod Touch or iPhone. Isn't it that obvious?
I don't really care about "pocketable." But just because it doesn't fit in your pocket doesn't mean a smaller sized iPad (or larger Touch) isn't practical. I ride a transit train to work every day, and for all of the millions of iPads Apple has sold in the last year, do you know how many I've seen on my commute? Three. And every time it was someone who got a seat and they were resting it on their lap to use it. And the other times I've seen people with one (in person and commentators using them on TV), they are cradling it in the forearm, not holding it by the bezel. On a crowded, moving train, it could be difficult to hold an iPad securely (both from a dropping and theft stand-point).
The point is, portability is more than just fitting in your pocket. It's how usable it is in varying environments and conditions. Something smaller and lighter than can be more easily grasped would be useful in many circumstances.
- so what would a 7" 32G iPod Touch HD cost.... $449?
- with these ratios it's not hard to envisage a 16G iPod Touch HD @$399, or even $349
Have to agree not only with the price point made by Samurai, but also a 7" is "do-able" by Apple.
It very well could use the exact same specs as the iPad2... however with a same resolution sized screen packed into 7", essentially being able to be labeled "Retina", since Retina only means "undecipherable pixel resolution at a normal distance to the eyes."
Due to being right in the middle according to size, you would be able to use normal iPhone apps as well as HD iPad apps if you so desire, and are not bothered by the smaller buttons, etc.
IMO a 7" makes total sense and would also be a huge hit. SJ was just "sproutin' off" as he does from time to time. And as anyone who's read my posts in the past knows, I'm a HUGE SJ and Apple fan. The success and sales that would come from Apple/SJ backpedaling on this, would take make the screaming, gnashing of the teeth, and forthcoming "tech-blog-blathering" an easy pill to swallow.
Unfortunate Fallout:
RIMM = thoroughly dead (I'm betting anyway they get sold by the end of the year)
Samy, Moto, & assorted other tablet wanna-bes = "...they have to do better"... repeatedly... as some would drop out of the race even, leaving the landscape looking just like the MP3 player/iPod one.
Actually, that would be quite sad, since competition is a good thing, even more so with tablets than music/media players.
Comments
Let's see, on this web site? The only thing that matters is that if Apple isn't doing it, it must stink. Of course, the tiny iPhone is awesome, and the big iPad is awesome. But anything in between that must be pure junk...
How ironic that the artsy Apple-folk are such luddites when it comes to non-Apple products!
It's all a matter of demand. Until I see very high sales of 7" display tablets, I'll consider the form factor that is one not particularly appealing to the majority of consumers. Yes, I do hear comments that people want tablets that fit into their pockets or lighter-weight tablets but they are in a small minority. I don't know about 7" tablets being pure junk but Samsung got stuck holding an awful lot of Galaxy Tabs that aren't being sold. You believe that Apple does not do consumer research, but I'll bet they do a whole lot more than some of these copycat companies. Yes, I'm sure there are definitely some consumers that would like a 7" tablet. I don't see anything wrong that size, but if I can't sell them in large numbers, I don't want to be bothered with manufacturing them.
Apple should release iPod Touch with 6-7" screen, then people will perceive 7" tablet as a... non-tablet.
Kill 2 birds with 1 stone IMO.
Is this unique to Angry Birds on a 7" screen? Perhaps you support the pigs.
iPods are popular as PDAs because they are compact and surprisingly useful. iPads offer multitouch without the constraint of size. Something in between would just by a luxury iPod that would cost more and offer nothing over the existing iPod.
There is also the issue of pixel doubling. The iPad is just 4 times larger, you double up each pixel. Easy. If you make a 7" tablet you need to multiply up the pixels to an odd ratio or have huge iPod buttons or tiny iPad ones. It introduces a messy resolution problem without any benefit. Getting devs to develop 7"-specific apps would be far harder than getting them to develop iPad apps.
It all just looks like a bad idea to me.
Is this unique to Angry Birds on a 7" screen? Perhaps you support the pigs.
Amazon is making a move with its App Store. I believe Amazon will be offering a comprehensive Android ecosystem alternative to iTunes shortly. That will be one less reason why Android is allegedly not equal to iOS. Amazon will have a chance to sell more music, video, books and apps. How's that for competition? I would like to see Amazon capture a greater share of the music sales away from Apple. Amazon has great pricing.
As for actual numbers, Apple had nearly 100% of the tablet market a year ago. This year its dropped to the 80's. How's that for numbers for you. I think that the Samsung Tab had nipped some of that market share from Apple. Not bad for a 'clearly inferior' product. I expect it to drop to the 60's within a year. iPad will continue to sell well. As the competition gets ramped up, so will the competition.
The other day, I saw a Samsung Tab in the wild for the first time. It looked absolutely the right size for me. Small enough to be portable and large enough to be more useful than a smartphone size small screen. I only wished it were less expensive.
Amazon is making a move with its App Store. I believe Amazon will be offering a comprehensive Android ecosystem alternative to iTunes shortly. That will be one less reason why Android is allegedly not equal to iOS. Amazon will have a chance to sell more music, video, books and apps. How's that for competition? I would like to see Amazon capture a greater share of the music sales away from Apple. Amazon has great pricing.
As for actual numbers, Apple had nearly 100% of the tablet market a year ago. This year its dropped to the 80's. How's that for numbers for you. I think that the Samsung Tab had nipped some of that market share from Apple. Not bad for a 'clearly inferior' product. I expect it to drop to the 60's within a year. iPad will continue to sell well. As the competition gets ramped up, so will the competition.
Yeah sure, easy288.
Check back with us a few quarters from now, will ya?
And, any links you can provide for your 'actual numbers' (as reported by the manufacturers) would be helpful.
I'm not saying a sub seven inch device is a replacement for iPad but rather it is an alternative. A lot of people don't seem to grasp that on these forums, but for many uses the iPad is simply too big. On the flip side id love to see a bigger iPad along the size of a clipboard, or about 13-14" in size.
It is pretty simple really; look at the Nook and the amazon pads, they are almost an ideal size for reading documents and being handy enough to have with you all the time. You can't say that with iPad.
Apple may have a point in that a smaller iPad might not be as useful as the current one but who cares? That is like saying the Touch isn't useful because of it's size. Interestingly enough I'm seeing more and more people carrying around Touches as PDAs than ever before. These users don't use them for music or media and instead use them for mail, calendar, and the ocassional web access. Think about the people that carried Daytimers and the like around constantly.
Yes, I 100% agree
- there's huge gap between the 3.5" devices & the 9.7" iPad which RIM, Samsung are trying to exploit
- it could be done at a substantially lower price point, and would be great for all of those uses where the large format of the iPad is over-kill.
- since SJ has said that Apple will never do an iPad this size, and doesn't make sense not to have a device at this size, then Apple would need to define it as Touch Maxi, or Touch HD or whatever. Or just admit they were jacking us all along!
All you guys crying for a device small enough to fit in your pocket need to look at the iPod Touch or iPhone. Isn't it that obvious?
- it could be done at a substantially lower price point, and would be great for all of those uses where the large format of the iPad is over-kill.
How would it do this? Have you noted the prices of the iPod Touch and how they relate to the iPad? The only 2 items they would most likely be changing other than the enclosure would be the screen and battery. All other costs would remain static.
The other day, I saw a Samsung Tab in the wild for the first time. It looked absolutely the right size for me. Small enough to be portable and large enough to be more useful than a smartphone size small screen. I only wished it were less expensive.
Boy, I hope Samsung or their marketers are paying you well for writing such drivel. Have fun lugging your battery-charger with you wherever you go, and I sure hope there are plenty of outlets
[the Tab's 4 Wh battery is certainly very sad next to the iPad's 25 Wh]
How would it do this? Have you noted the prices of the iPod Touch and how they relate to the iPad? The only 2 items they would most likely be changing other than the enclosure would be the screen and battery. All other costs would remain static.
iPod Touch 32G: $299
iPad 32G: $599
That's a massive gap - 2x
- so what would a 7" 32G iPod Touch HD cost.... $449?
- with these ratios it's not hard to envisage a 16G iPod Touch HD @$399, or even $349
Apple should release iPod Touch with 6-7" screen, then people will perceive 7" tablet as a... non-tablet.
Kill 2 birds with 1 stone IMO.
No. And No.
...some legit competition...
"Competition" isn't all it's cracked up to be. Since the introduction of the iPhone, perhaps even as far back as the original iPod, Apple hasn't been spending a whole lot of time thinking of "the competition". They've just focused on making the best products they can conceive of. At this stage in the game, "the competition" would be more of a distraction for Apple than a motivation to innovate. Apple has enough internal motivation to innovate--and that is the best kind of motivation.
Let all the Android hardware makers compete with each other in their race to the bottom. Apple's gonna do their own thing and make sh*tloads of money in the process.
There are three Tabs - 7", 8.9" and 10.1"
the 7" is old - the 8.9 is about $30 cheaper than the iPad 2, but with lower specs, and the 10.1 is the same price as the iPad two, with arguably better or equal specs. Both the 8.9 and the 10.1 run Honeycomb (I believe). The 7" is 2.2
The other day, I saw a Samsung Tab in the wild for the first time. It looked absolutely the right size for me. Small enough to be portable and large enough to be more useful than a smartphone size small screen. I only wished it were less expensive.
Amazon is making a move with its App Store. I believe Amazon will be offering a comprehensive Android ecosystem alternative to iTunes shortly. That will be one less reason why Android is allegedly not equal to iOS. Amazon will have a chance to sell more music, video, books and apps. How's that for competition? I would like to see Amazon capture a greater share of the music sales away from Apple. Amazon has great pricing.
As for actual numbers, Apple had nearly 100% of the tablet market a year ago. This year its dropped to the 80's. How's that for numbers for you. I think that the Samsung Tab had nipped some of that market share from Apple. Not bad for a 'clearly inferior' product. I expect it to drop to the 60's within a year. iPad will continue to sell well. As the competition gets ramped up, so will the competition.
The other day, I saw a Samsung Tab in the wild for the first time. It looked absolutely the right size for me. Small enough to be portable and large enough to be more useful than a smartphone size small screen. I only wished it were less expensive.
Amazon is making a move with its App Store. I believe Amazon will be offering a comprehensive Android ecosystem alternative to iTunes shortly. That will be one less reason why Android is allegedly not equal to iOS. Amazon will have a chance to sell more music, video, books and apps. How's that for competition? I would like to see Amazon capture a greater share of the music sales away from Apple. Amazon has great pricing.
As for actual numbers, Apple had nearly 100% of the tablet market a year ago. This year its dropped to the 80's. How's that for numbers for you. I think that the Samsung Tab had nipped some of that market share from Apple. Not bad for a 'clearly inferior' product. I expect it to drop to the 60's within a year. iPad will continue to sell well. As the competition gets ramped up, so will the competition.
I actually liked the Samsung Tab 7 inch, and I agree with you, it's too pricey, and I could add, it has a stupid OS with no apps for it. Ahh whatever.
About the market share, it's expected that Apple will have its share lower. Don't know when, it will inevitably happen. I don't buy the thinking that a few have that Apple is just "beyond" anyone and everyone everytime and everywhere. They are the best, but that doesn't mean there can't be good runner ups. And given the huge money involved, there will be competition.
Now if Apple's market share will drop to 20% or 70%, I don't know. It exclusively depends upon the competence of the competition. If the competition can't work it out, they will let Apple rule the whole shebang, if they can, it will be interesting.
Oh, and about those 80% you refer. I'd also like to see actual sale numbers. You know, Samsung has *yet* to disclose how *actual* Samsung Tabs they *actually* sold. And that usually means they sold poorly. Those 80% are a reflection of what would have happened had Samsung sold *every* Tab they *shipped*. All we know though is that the sales were *smooth*. Bah.
All this talk of "fits in your pocket", does that relate to a 7" device? Because last time I checked, nothing that big would fit in my pocket at all. A briefcase, sure, but not my pocket. But then I would want a full iPad.
All you guys crying for a device small enough to fit in your pocket need to look at the iPod Touch or iPhone. Isn't it that obvious?
Agreed. The 7" is too big for your pocket, so why not go for the full size.
Not only that, how do you design a productivity app for a 7" device?
With an iPad, you have room - you make a full UI for a word processor, you make an address book that looks and behaves like a real address book.
To design for an iPhone you make a pocket-sized version. You can't fit MS word on a screen that small, so you don't design a UI for a full size word processor. Same for an Address book - you can't make a UI that mimics a real address book so you don't.
So what do you design for a 7" tablet. You don't have room for full sized UI, so you can't do that, and when you make pocket sized versions, they just look awkward because they're stretched to fill the 7" screen.
7" is suitable for games and video, but for anything else, it's just awkward.
All this talk of "fits in your pocket", does that relate to a 7" device? Because last time I checked, nothing that big would fit in my pocket at all. A briefcase, sure, but not my pocket. But then I would want a full iPad.
All you guys crying for a device small enough to fit in your pocket need to look at the iPod Touch or iPhone. Isn't it that obvious?
I don't really care about "pocketable." But just because it doesn't fit in your pocket doesn't mean a smaller sized iPad (or larger Touch) isn't practical. I ride a transit train to work every day, and for all of the millions of iPads Apple has sold in the last year, do you know how many I've seen on my commute? Three. And every time it was someone who got a seat and they were resting it on their lap to use it. And the other times I've seen people with one (in person and commentators using them on TV), they are cradling it in the forearm, not holding it by the bezel. On a crowded, moving train, it could be difficult to hold an iPad securely (both from a dropping and theft stand-point).
The point is, portability is more than just fitting in your pocket. It's how usable it is in varying environments and conditions. Something smaller and lighter than can be more easily grasped would be useful in many circumstances.
Well. I won't buy any of these devices... until someone supports a "proper size" for a mobile OS!
.
iPod Touch 32G: $299
iPad 32G: $599
That's a massive gap - 2x
- so what would a 7" 32G iPod Touch HD cost.... $449?
- with these ratios it's not hard to envisage a 16G iPod Touch HD @$399, or even $349
Have to agree not only with the price point made by Samurai, but also a 7" is "do-able" by Apple.
It very well could use the exact same specs as the iPad2... however with a same resolution sized screen packed into 7", essentially being able to be labeled "Retina", since Retina only means "undecipherable pixel resolution at a normal distance to the eyes."
Due to being right in the middle according to size, you would be able to use normal iPhone apps as well as HD iPad apps if you so desire, and are not bothered by the smaller buttons, etc.
IMO a 7" makes total sense and would also be a huge hit. SJ was just "sproutin' off" as he does from time to time. And as anyone who's read my posts in the past knows, I'm a HUGE SJ and Apple fan. The success and sales that would come from Apple/SJ backpedaling on this, would take make the screaming, gnashing of the teeth, and forthcoming "tech-blog-blathering" an easy pill to swallow.
Unfortunate Fallout:
RIMM = thoroughly dead (I'm betting anyway they get sold by the end of the year)
Samy, Moto, & assorted other tablet wanna-bes = "...they have to do better"... repeatedly... as some would drop out of the race even, leaving the landscape looking just like the MP3 player/iPod one.
Actually, that would be quite sad, since competition is a good thing, even more so with tablets than music/media players.