Very plausible rumors. The larger iPod Touch would also be way relatively costless way for Apple to experiment with the same same size factor for a 'pre-iPhone' product in the wild.
The only question I would have on the above is what a retina display would do to the cost of an iPad.
I thought 7" was DOA according to SJ, the playbook was DOA because it was 7", the Tab was an epic fail according to many on the board because it is 7". I thought the current size was optimal. However a 7" iPad is now ok?
Read more carefully, instead of jumping in with your usual troll-speak.
Yeah, I think the author's point is that Apple would market this device as a large iPod rather than as a small iPad, but I agree that there's not really any difference between the two other than marketing and what software is allowed to run on it.
The key question is whether this ~5" device will have the resolution of the current (or previous) iPhone or of the current iPad (or naturally multiples of these). Since that will determine which software will run on it natively (excluding letterboxed modes like currently iPhone apps on the iPad).
I really doubt it will be the latter unless it is targeted at children with smaller fingers.
Anybody predicting different screen sizes is implicitly saying that either:
(a) iOS is getting 'resolution independent', at least in a way that spreads existing UI elements at the current size over a larger screen, essentially the way applications work on desktop OSs.
(b) iOS gets a third (or more) physical size target (ie, in addition to iPhone and iPad)
(c) Touch targets are getting bigger
(d) Touch targets are getting smaller
There is no other option than one of this four. And I highly doubt option (d) will be it. This works on a desktop OS where the size of elements on the screen is decoupled from the mouse or trackpad movement.
And I am seriously curious how Android is currently handling this. I know it is employing (a), watch the blown up UI of the Galaxy Tab, and I am sure it is also employing (b), causing some of the fragmentation developers complain about. I am not sure how much of (c) and (d) Android currently employs.
What's the difference. Particularly if the iPad gets the cameras this year. Little to nothing.
The small difference whether Apple allows you to run iPad apps on it or not (which I doubt as it would lead to smaller touch targets) or whether officially adds a new resolution iOS version or moves into some resolution independence (I doubt that too, so not as much).
It's good to see that Apple has finally gotten proactive here, and is starting to just feed-out every bitch-ass crazy rumor they can so that nobody knows what the hell is going on.
A larger iPod Touch would not run iPad apps (not even the iPad versions of + apps). Differentiation as simple as it gets.
On a smaller iPad, say 6' its unique UI features would be hard to do. Split view in landscape or pop up menus in either orientation would display the same content scaled down way too small (approx. 1/3 the size, 17 to 45 square inch) and if you display the content at the same size as on the 9.7' iPad, you'd only see one third of it, probably less if there is permanent UI chrome which cannot be scaled down as good (as the content) to stay usable.
So either filing your finger or steadily scrolling around.
If Apple is to release a device of that size it would be an large iPod Touch (hehe) with a 3:2 aspect ratio, most probably at 960x640 pixels, and not a 4:3 1024x768 small iPad. (uh, there was another differentiation hidden..)
Didn't Steve Jobs said that a tablet smaller than 10" will be DOA. So, NO.
Get real. I suppose you would believe anything a salesman tells you. Jobs probably said that because Apple did't have a smaller tablet available yet. It's obvious that there is a market for tablets of different sizes. Apple does have a challenge, though, as iOS software have been designed for exactly two screen sizes, so they need a design to deal with any additional sizes they decide to offer.
They should keep any iterations of the iPad with 7 inch screen or more. Any smaller and its intention is lost. Make the iPod Touch bigger, don't make the iPad smaller.
Totally agree. Bigger iPod Touch and make it a specifically designed controller for games on the AppleTV when Apple opens an app store on it. Have it lead the way in portable gaming and media experiences.
Apple should make a real mobile Mac. Whatever form factor (clamshell, slider or tablet). 300 to 600 g and 4 to 7 inches. The Mac in your pocket. Always.
The key question is whether this ~5" device will have the resolution of the current (or previous) iPhone or of the current iPad (or naturally multiples of these). Since that will determine which software will run on it natively (excluding letterboxed modes like currently iPhone apps on the iPad).
I really doubt it will be the latter unless it is targeted at children with smaller fingers.
Anybody predicting different screen sizes is implicitly saying that either:
(a) iOS is getting 'resolution independent', at least in a way that spreads existing UI elements at the current size over a larger screen, essentially the way applications work on desktop OSs.
(b) iOS gets a third (or more) physical size target (ie, in addition to iPhone and iPad)
(c) Touch targets are getting bigger
(d) Touch targets are getting smaller
There is no other option than one of this four. And I highly doubt option (d) will be it. This works on a desktop OS where the size of elements on the screen is decoupled from the mouse or trackpad movement.
And I am seriously curious how Android is currently handling this. I know it is employing (a), watch the blown up UI of the Galaxy Tab, and I am sure it is also employing (b), causing some of the fragmentation developers complain about. I am not sure how much of (c) and (d) Android currently employs.
Your analysis clearly shows the problem of having multiple screen sizes, as developers would really need to optimize UI and artwork for all of them in order for them to work well. I can see a developer owning an iPhone and an iPad, but some kind of mythical "tweener" device would just be a mish-mash between the two with no real benefits. It wouldn't fit in your pocket, and you'd feel unsatisfied with screen size. Only benefit is weight, but buttloads of rumors exist about Apple attempting to fix that with the iPad 2.
And any talk of this device competing with the NGP is silly. NGP is better for games because it has hardware controls AND a touch screen, letting developers optimize games for both (notice how rare typical handheld games are top 10 sellers in the App Store, they're clunky at best).
Didn't Steve Jobs said that a tablet smaller than 10" will be DOA. So, NO.
Never believe what a CEO says, as they are never going to tell you about upcoming products unless they want to, and CEOs who are dumb enough to do so will quickly be out of a job. And there are plenty of occurrences of Jobs saying one thing and doing the exact opposite. Here's an article from Wired from about a year ago: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/02/steve-jobs/
Tablets, cellphones, eBooks, iPod Touch camera. All things Steve has at one point said his company wouldn't do because.
I don't care what anyone says, there is NO difference between the iPod touch and the iPad. The only difference is in the User Interface of certain apps, and 3G. THAT'S IT!!! And UI adjustments is not enough to call these two devices different.
Apple should make a real mobile Mac. Whatever form factor (clamshell, slider or tablet). 300 to 600 g and 4 to 7 inches. The Mac in your pocket. Always.
Honestly, what kind of work can you get done on a device such as you describe? Serious think about how that would work.
any developers out there want to deal with fragmentation, if the screen res and size can be easily delt with by developers i can maybe see it, my take is that ipod touch and iphone both have same size screen, 4" without changing the overall size of the unit
so how do developers work on 3g 4, 5 ipad 1, 2 and other sizes rumors also said that the res of the ipad 2 will be twice ipad 1 so that developers have an easier time with them
I would definitely get a 7" Touch. I just had to replace my 3rd G Touch (got yanked out of my hand on the G at Nostrand Ave. Note to self: don't sit by the door with the iPod out. Had a cracked screen anyway ) and I tried out every single 7" or so option that was in stores to try. I ended up with a new 4th G Touch and I love it, but if a 7" comes out soon that isn't stupidly overpriced I would get it and pass mine along. The only thing I want out of mine that I don't have is a little more screen real estate.
Comments
The only question I would have on the above is what a retina display would do to the cost of an iPad.
I thought 7" was DOA according to SJ, the playbook was DOA because it was 7", the Tab was an epic fail according to many on the board because it is 7". I thought the current size was optimal. However a 7" iPad is now ok?
Read more carefully, instead of jumping in with your usual troll-speak.
Yeah, I think the author's point is that Apple would market this device as a large iPod rather than as a small iPad, but I agree that there's not really any difference between the two other than marketing and what software is allowed to run on it.
The key question is whether this ~5" device will have the resolution of the current (or previous) iPhone or of the current iPad (or naturally multiples of these). Since that will determine which software will run on it natively (excluding letterboxed modes like currently iPhone apps on the iPad).
I really doubt it will be the latter unless it is targeted at children with smaller fingers.
Anybody predicting different screen sizes is implicitly saying that either:
(a) iOS is getting 'resolution independent', at least in a way that spreads existing UI elements at the current size over a larger screen, essentially the way applications work on desktop OSs.
(b) iOS gets a third (or more) physical size target (ie, in addition to iPhone and iPad)
(c) Touch targets are getting bigger
(d) Touch targets are getting smaller
There is no other option than one of this four. And I highly doubt option (d) will be it. This works on a desktop OS where the size of elements on the screen is decoupled from the mouse or trackpad movement.
And I am seriously curious how Android is currently handling this. I know it is employing (a), watch the blown up UI of the Galaxy Tab, and I am sure it is also employing (b), causing some of the fragmentation developers complain about. I am not sure how much of (c) and (d) Android currently employs.
What's the difference. Particularly if the iPad gets the cameras this year. Little to nothing.
The small difference whether Apple allows you to run iPad apps on it or not (which I doubt as it would lead to smaller touch targets) or whether officially adds a new resolution iOS version or moves into some resolution independence (I doubt that too, so not as much).
It's good to see that Apple has finally gotten proactive here, and is starting to just feed-out every bitch-ass crazy rumor they can so that nobody knows what the hell is going on.
...About time.
Another decoy flare?
A larger iPod Touch would not run iPad apps (not even the iPad versions of + apps). Differentiation as simple as it gets.
On a smaller iPad, say 6' its unique UI features would be hard to do. Split view in landscape or pop up menus in either orientation would display the same content scaled down way too small (approx. 1/3 the size, 17 to 45 square inch) and if you display the content at the same size as on the 9.7' iPad, you'd only see one third of it, probably less if there is permanent UI chrome which cannot be scaled down as good (as the content) to stay usable.
So either filing your finger or steadily scrolling around.
If Apple is to release a device of that size it would be an large iPod Touch (hehe) with a 3:2 aspect ratio, most probably at 960x640 pixels, and not a 4:3 1024x768 small iPad. (uh, there was another differentiation hidden..)
just saying
Ciao, Alex
Didn't Steve Jobs said that a tablet smaller than 10" will be DOA. So, NO.
Get real. I suppose you would believe anything a salesman tells you. Jobs probably said that because Apple did't have a smaller tablet available yet. It's obvious that there is a market for tablets of different sizes. Apple does have a challenge, though, as iOS software have been designed for exactly two screen sizes, so they need a design to deal with any additional sizes they decide to offer.
They should keep any iterations of the iPad with 7 inch screen or more. Any smaller and its intention is lost. Make the iPod Touch bigger, don't make the iPad smaller.
Totally agree. Bigger iPod Touch and make it a specifically designed controller for games on the AppleTV when Apple opens an app store on it. Have it lead the way in portable gaming and media experiences.
The key question is whether this ~5" device will have the resolution of the current (or previous) iPhone or of the current iPad (or naturally multiples of these). Since that will determine which software will run on it natively (excluding letterboxed modes like currently iPhone apps on the iPad).
I really doubt it will be the latter unless it is targeted at children with smaller fingers.
Anybody predicting different screen sizes is implicitly saying that either:
(a) iOS is getting 'resolution independent', at least in a way that spreads existing UI elements at the current size over a larger screen, essentially the way applications work on desktop OSs.
(b) iOS gets a third (or more) physical size target (ie, in addition to iPhone and iPad)
(c) Touch targets are getting bigger
(d) Touch targets are getting smaller
There is no other option than one of this four. And I highly doubt option (d) will be it. This works on a desktop OS where the size of elements on the screen is decoupled from the mouse or trackpad movement.
And I am seriously curious how Android is currently handling this. I know it is employing (a), watch the blown up UI of the Galaxy Tab, and I am sure it is also employing (b), causing some of the fragmentation developers complain about. I am not sure how much of (c) and (d) Android currently employs.
Your analysis clearly shows the problem of having multiple screen sizes, as developers would really need to optimize UI and artwork for all of them in order for them to work well. I can see a developer owning an iPhone and an iPad, but some kind of mythical "tweener" device would just be a mish-mash between the two with no real benefits. It wouldn't fit in your pocket, and you'd feel unsatisfied with screen size. Only benefit is weight, but buttloads of rumors exist about Apple attempting to fix that with the iPad 2.
And any talk of this device competing with the NGP is silly. NGP is better for games because it has hardware controls AND a touch screen, letting developers optimize games for both (notice how rare typical handheld games are top 10 sellers in the App Store, they're clunky at best).
I don't know if this would be called an ipad, however i'm sure Apple will categorize it properly.
Didn't Steve Jobs said that a tablet smaller than 10" will be DOA. So, NO.
Never believe what a CEO says, as they are never going to tell you about upcoming products unless they want to, and CEOs who are dumb enough to do so will quickly be out of a job. And there are plenty of occurrences of Jobs saying one thing and doing the exact opposite. Here's an article from Wired from about a year ago: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/02/steve-jobs/
Tablets, cellphones, eBooks, iPod Touch camera. All things Steve has at one point said his company wouldn't do because.
Did I miss the event when Apple announced that they were going to skip iPad 2 and go straight to iPad 3???
This talk seems so premature.
Apple should make a real mobile Mac. Whatever form factor (clamshell, slider or tablet). 300 to 600 g and 4 to 7 inches. The Mac in your pocket. Always.
Honestly, what kind of work can you get done on a device such as you describe? Serious think about how that would work.
so how do developers work on 3g 4, 5 ipad 1, 2 and other sizes rumors also said that the res of the ipad 2 will be twice ipad 1 so that developers have an easier time with them