Apple developed 7-inch iPad alongside current model - rumor

135

Comments

  • Reply 41 of 91
    chiachia Posts: 713member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by technohermit View Post


    Are you insinuating the Newton had the resolution and clarity of today's screens? Surely not.

    If the ability to show a full page were the only criteria for a successful device the iPhone would have been a fail?



    For the record the Newton 2100 had a 100 dpi screen resolution, not as good as the original iPhone's 163 dpi.



    What I'm saying is that seven inches is an awkward size; it's too large to put in your pocket so will still need to be carried in a bag yet be less capable than a 9.7 inch device.



    What makes a successful device? It's not the one criterion but the combination of criteria which make for a successful device.



    Apple seems to have got the balance right judging from the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad sales figures.



    Apple has actively created a new market with its iPad;

    all these competitors are simply reacting to an Apple action.

    They're playing copycat and catch up and are trying to figure out how they'll fit into this market.
  • Reply 42 of 91
    I'm one of the ones who can see the benefits of a 7" iPad-style device

    - more portable than the iPad - small enough for a large pocket or purse

    - more usable than the iPod Touch/iPhone



    - hopefully Apple will push one of these onto the market soon



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ChiA View Post


    Apple has actively created a new market with its iPad;

    all these competitors are simply reacting to an Apple action.

    They're playing copycat and catch up and are trying to figure out how they'll fit into this market.



    Another reason for Apple to produce a 7"er is to plug this gap in the market

    - otherwise the market will be flooded with Android-powered 7" Tablets, which will gain some share because they can differentiate themselves from the 10" iPad, and 3.5" phones

    - a 7" iPad would fill this whole.

    - providing a nice spectrum of iOS devices for customers to choose from



    I also think Apple should upscale the iPhone to 4.5"-5"

    - I'm sure a lot of smartphones will be larger than 3.5" in 2011



    As for the 11.6" Mac Book Air

    - it would be cool if this was also an iOS device

    - a 11.6" iPad with a Keyboard - that would shake up the Netbook market even more....

  • Reply 43 of 91
    awmawmawmawm Posts: 67member
    I am thankful that the iPad has a 9.7" screen. 7" would be too small for reading newspapers and even a little bit small for books. Also, to review documents like PDFs, Word, EXCEL, etc. 7" would not cut it and I would have stuck with the 15" MacBook Pro. I am pretty sure that the BlackBerry tablet will face that issue with anyone who wants to use it for more than just looking up quotes and place trades.
  • Reply 44 of 91
    antkm1antkm1 Posts: 1,441member
    I agree with you.

    A 7" iPad would take some of the market away from the Kindle and Nook, and other iPad like devices, but where would the price-point be? The iPad Touch tops out at $399, and the cheapest iPad is at $499. would be taking away from iPod Touch market a bit.



    The current iPhone screen should get larger, many more phones out there have larger screens and I think it would be a huge plus for Apple sales.



    An 11.6" iOS MBA would be AWESOME! I would totally buy one over the iPad, unless it's over $1000, then you might as well get a MBP. The #1 reason i'm not buy an iPad is the lack of a physical keyboard.

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by samurai1999 View Post


    I'm one of the ones who can see the benefits of a 7" iPad-style device

    - more portable than the iPad - small enough for a large pocket or purse

    - more usable than the iPod Touch/iPhone

    - hopefully Apple will push one of these onto the market soon

    Another reason for Apple to produce a 7"er is to plug this gap in the market

    - otherwise the market will be flooded with Android-powered 7" Tablets, which will gain some share because they can differentiate themselves from the 10" iPad, and 3.5" phones

    - a 7" iPad would fill this whole.

    - providing a nice spectrum of iOS devices for customers to choose from



    I also think Apple should upscale the iPhone to 4.5"-5"

    - I'm sure a lot of smartphones will be larger than 3.5" in 2011



    As for the 11.6" Mac Book Air

    - it would be cool if this was also an iOS device

    - a 11.6" iPad with a Keyboard - that would shake up the Netbook market even more....





  • Reply 45 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by antkm1 View Post


    I agree with you.

    A 7" iPad would take some of the market away from the Kindle and Nook, and other iPad like devices, but where would the price-point be? The iPad Touch tops out at $399, and the cheapest iPad is at $499. would be taking away from iPod Touch market a bit.



    The current iPhone screen should get larger, many more phones out there have larger screens and I think it would be a huge plus for Apple sales.



    An 11.6" iOS MBA would be AWESOME! I would totally buy one over the iPad, unless it's over $1000, then you might as well get a MBP. The #1 reason i'm not buy an iPad is the lack of a physical keyboard.



    Well, the 32GB iPod touch is $299, and the 32GB iPad is $599 (i.e. a 2:1 difference), so a 32GB 7" iPad could slot in somewhere from $399-499... maybe $449....



    For the 11.6" iOS MBA, it shouldn't be priced more than $200 above the equiv iPad, I think

    - so, $799 for the 32GB model might be do-able...

  • Reply 46 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by samurai1999 View Post




    As for the 11.6" Mac Book Air

    - it would be cool if this was also an iOS device

    - a 11.6" iPad with a Keyboard - that would shake up the Netbook market even more....





    Why? You don't like Mac OS?



    An iOS MacBook Air would simply be a crippled Mac, IMO. iOS is for touch devices with virtual keyboards, not for Macs.
  • Reply 47 of 91
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Undo Redo View Post


    Why? You don't like Mac OS?



    An iOS MacBook Air would simply be a crippled Mac, IMO. iOS is for touch devices with virtual keyboards, not for Macs.



    That part of his comment makes no sense. If it?s running iOS instead of Mac OS then it?s not a Mac so it can?t be a MacBook Air.



    A idea I postulated the other day on the 11.6? MBA rumour after running the numbers and seeing that the 13.3? Mac notebook display resolution in the 11.6? build is in line with the ppi high-resolution displays (which makes it doable for a usable Mac OS X that is not yet RI) and also in line with 9.7? iPad?s ppi that Apple could do this convertible 11.6? multi-touchscreen MBA that could have jump into an iOS overlay app that worked with iPad apps. The 11.6? display would be bigger, but only by 0.4cm on each short side, the other sides would obviously have more wasted space as this is assumed to be a 16:10 display, not 4:3. iOS and Mac OS use the same foundations and the simulator app already renders the CocoaTouch elements well, allowing for one to use both a mouse or digits as needed).
  • Reply 48 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by technohermit View Post


    Don't be so pessimistic. \



    I know I'm interested in a 7", and two other family members. The 10" feels like you are carrying a laptop screen around. For my daughter (make that three other family members) 7" would be perfect. She is only 4. As of now, she is using apps on my old 3G iPhone, but if a 7" version of the iPad were available, I'd own at least one--probably two.



    Surely I'm not the only one interested?



    Seems to me that while this first version is 9.7", there is no reason for it to be either 9.7" again or 7" when bringing out iPad Version 2. Why not 8.5" or 9.2" or 7.9" etc.



    What I don't see is Apple feeling compelled to carry something that slots in between the Touch/iPhone and the iPad. It worked out that for its first version, Apple chose to go with the 9.7" form factor but this is a first attempt, and a remarkably polished one at that.



    I would agree with the suggestion that Apple wanted the screen to be as large as possible to avoid comparisons with the Touch. Surely a 7" iPad would have been labelled little more than a very large Touch. It's is being dismissed by some, even at 9.7" as just that. But now that the iPad has been successfully launched, that's no longer a concern.



    So for Apple it's all about determining what is the optimal size. To me that should be something slightly smaller than the current iPad. I would have argued even smaller would be great but then I checked one out on display and found myself thinking that the 9.7" iPad is not nearly as large as I imagined. The trick is to reduce weight and if it's possible to go with a smaller screen without compromising the usability of the device. Perhaps increasing ppi can compensate for a somewhat smaller screen which would offer gains in terms of weight and easing of handling.



    In the end, Apple needs to consider the end result, i.e. make design decisions focused on producing the most usable, enjoyable product possible. You don't succeed in business by making a product that consumers will be tricked into thinking they'd like to have. You succeed by giving them a product that they will be glad they purchased because that leads to repeat business, i.e. brand loyalty. If that means sticking with 9.7", so be it. If it means designing a new unit based around a somewhat smaller screen, so be it.



    What Apple will not likely do, however, considering it carries a Touch that tops out at $399 and an iPad starting at $499, is try to shoehorn a third product in there. Tweak the Touch and iPad, sure, to accommodate those who might have issues with the current products, but Apple has never been about having every imaginable market segment covered.
  • Reply 49 of 91
    Not surprising- Apple builds many prototypes that it does not use.
  • Reply 50 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by christopher126 View Post


    I know I'm a bit late to the game and even though I have iBooks on my iPhone 4, I only recently tried reading an ebook on it. Reason being I just assumed the screen was too small to be practical.



    I was quite pleasantly surprised and actually enjoyed reading an eBook on the iPhone 4. The screen was crisp and the sepia option was very nice.



    I could see doing this in a pinch on a plane or at a restaurant.



    Having said that I could see myself with a current iPad model and a 7" too. Yes, there is overlap but if I'm going on vacation, I would carry the 7". if I was working I would carry the large iPad for minor updates to charts, and presentations.



    Best



    Chris



    I have been reading ebooks on my Palm PDA for 10 years. It is very readable and the picture is sharp. I always get comments that its too small, the screen is not clear blah blah blah. Yet font size is adjustable. Resolution is good also. I still don't understand why people feel the need to have 10 paragraphs on a 'page' in order to read a book. One can only read a paragraph at a time. The rest is just scrolling or page advancing. On a color screen like the iPhone or Touch with good color contrast, reading on a small screen is pleasurable.



    A 7 in iPad clone would be a perfect size to compete with ereaders. Its screen is just about the same size. I think Apple went big with their iPad to differentiate it from the ereaders.
  • Reply 51 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by easy288 View Post


    A 7 in iPad clone would be a perfect size to compete with ereaders. Its screen is just about the same size. I think Apple went big with their iPad to differentiate it from the ereaders.



    I agree. The iPad introduction was preceded by lots of talk of magazine and newspaper subscriptions, for which a large screen may be desirable, but that doesn't mean a smaller one wouldn't be useful.



    The iPad is very successful at its current size and I see absolutely no reason there shouldn't be a smaller one too. If anyone has a really good reason, let's hear it. I haven't heard a good reason yet.
  • Reply 52 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Undo Redo View Post


    Why? You don't like Mac OS?



    An iOS MacBook Air would simply be a crippled Mac, IMO. iOS is for touch devices with virtual keyboards, not for Macs.



    I think an iOS MacBook Air (which if one was anally retentive one would want to classify as a non-MacBook) would be more interesting that just a 11.6" version of the current MBA.

    - because I don't think the current MBA offers a particularly strong proposition to the customer....

    - it's thin, but way too costly (IMO)

    - and a 11.6" version is likely to be the same...



    An 11.6" iOS device, with a keyboard & touchscreen could be much more cost-effective.

    - not able to run OSX apps, but able to run iOS apps, which is probably what's needed for most of the potential users of such a device.
  • Reply 53 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by samurai1999 View Post


    I think an iOS MacBook Air (which if one was anally retentive one would want to classify as a non-MacBook) would be more interesting that just a 11.6" version of the current MBA.

    - because I don't think the current MBA offers a particularly strong proposition to the customer....

    - it's thin, but way too costly (IMO)

    - and a 11.6" version is likely to be the same...



    An 11.6" iOS device, with a keyboard & touchscreen could be much more cost-effective.

    - not able to run OSX apps, but able to run iOS apps, which is probably what's needed for most of the potential users of such a device.



    Ok, that's a valid argument.



    I don't really believe the price of the MBA is based on its cost but rather mostly the Apple tax. If netbooks can be sold for $300, surely Apple can sell a nice small lightweight Mac portable for three or four times that, but they won't. They must charge five times for the Air and it's not really that small!



    But this is off-topic. If Apple introduces a new smaller iPad I might be tempted. I kinda liked my iPod touch but it was too small and the current iPad is too big (for what it is) IMO.
  • Reply 54 of 91
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Undo Redo View Post


    Ok, that's a valid argument.



    I don't really believe the price of the MBA is based on its cost but rather mostly the Apple tax. If netbooks can be sold for $300, surely Apple can sell a nice small lightweight Mac portable for three or four times that, but they won't. They must charge five times for the Air and it's not really that small!



    But this is off-topic. If Apple introduces a new smaller iPad I might be tempted. I kinda liked my iPod touch but it was too small and the current iPad is too big (for what it is) IMO.



    Great argument¡ The CPU alone in the MBA costs more than most netbooks at retail.
  • Reply 55 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Great argument¡ The CPU alone in the MBA costs more than most netbooks at retail.



    And your point is...
  • Reply 56 of 91
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Undo Redo View Post


    And your point is...



    Let’s see... You’re trying to paint the MacBook as being some equivalent to netbooks when nothing about the product is speced, classed or marketed like a shitty little netbook. If you want to compare the MBA to others in its class and market there are several products to choose from, all of which have followed Apple into this new ultra-light notebook market and all of which cost more the the MBA the last time I checked. So much for that Apple tax.
  • Reply 57 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Let?s see... You?re trying to paint the MacBook as being some equivalent to netbooks when nothing about the product is speced, classed or marketed like a shitty little netbook. If you want to compare the MBA to others in its class and market there are several products to choose from, all of which have followed Apple into this new ultra-light notebook market and all of which cost more the the MBA the last time I checked. So much for that Apple tax.



    No, not really. I was just saying Apple could, if it wanted to, make a nice small light notebook Mac for much, much less than $1500. And I suggested three to four times as much money as a netbook ? easily doable, IMO. Instead, Apple makes this high end luxury thing that few people want at its price.



    But again, wrong thread.
  • Reply 58 of 91
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Undo Redo View Post


    No, not really. I was just saying Apple could, if it wanted to, make a nice small light notebook Mac for much, much less than $1500. And I suggested three to four times as much money as a netbook ? easily doable, IMO. Instead, Apple makes this high end luxury thing that few people want at its price.



    But again, wrong thread.



    Of course they could. I don?t know of anyone who thinks Apple doesn?t have the ability to make a $300 netbook or anything else in between. Their objection obviously is based on considerations other than difficulty. If you are suggesting that they "should because they could? or ?they should because some customer wants them to and the customer is always right? I don?t feel those are viable philosophies for any company to practice.
  • Reply 59 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Of course they could. I don?t know of anyone who thinks Apple doesn?t have the ability to make a $300 netbook or anything else in between. Their objection obviously is based on considerations other than difficulty. If you are suggesting that they "should because they could? or ?they should because some customer wants them to and the customer is always right? I don?t feel those are viable philosophies for any company to practice.



    Samurai1999 suggested that an iOS based Macbook Air could be cheaper than a Mac OS based MacBook Air. I merely tried to suggest that wasn't all there was to it.
  • Reply 60 of 91
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    I"ve generally always understood "the Apple tax" to refer to some perceived price premium tacked onto the same or equivalent hardware, as sold by other vendors-- not simply that Apple makes relatively expensive, relatively highly specced machines.



    In other words, the price of the MBA vs. the average netbook has nothing to do with any "Apple tax", at least as I understand the term.
Sign In or Register to comment.