
How an iPad mini Could Define The Small Tablet Market - iProject
http://thenextweb.com/apple/2012/07/10/a-conduit-for-content-how-an-ipad-mini-could-define-the-small-tablet-market/
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zalew
2010: "The reason we [won't] make a 7-inch tablet isn't because we don't want
to hit that price point, it's because we think the screen is too small to
express the software [..]It is meaningless, unless your tablet also includes
sandpaper, so that the user can sand down their fingers to around one quarter
of the present size. Apple's done extensive user-testing [..] This is one of
the key reasons we think the 10-inch screen size is the minimum size required
to create great tablet apps."

2012: Nexus 7 is introduced by Google

later: Apple "defines" the market by releasing a smaller iPad

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jsz0
Classic misdirection. Apple wanted to enjoy big margins from $500+ iPads as
long as possible. There was no reason for them to release a cheaper device
until someone forced their hand. They still have all the momentum to make the
move gracefully. This was exactly the move they were not able to make with the
iPhone when it was facing increased competition. They were locked into one US
carrier and had limited international reach. So they simply couldn't respond
in the same way. With the 7" iPad they can follow the iPod model directly.

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josephcooney
I have a 7" android tablet (a really old one) and it makes a great device for
reading (it has a lot of other problems, but reading is good). I think the
Nexus 7 looks like a great device, and seems to already be defining the small
tablet market, unlike a hypothetical apple device. This just reeks of fanboi-
ism, unwilling to concede that google might have dome something good that
apple doesn't already have product in that category for.

~~~
jsz0
I think it's an honest assessment about the momentum the iPad has in the
market. It's a lot like the iPod. Was it Sansa (Sandisk?) that had very good
small digital players about a year before the iPod Nano? Apple flipped the
switch on the Nano, charged more, and steam rolled them because everyone still
wanted an iPod. The only big question to me is if Apple will step far enough
into the 'value' market with pricing. $299 leaves the door open. $249 slams
the door.

~~~
r00fus
Sansa isn't Google. Apple, if they were to enter the 7-8" market, would have
real competition on it's hands (Kindle Fire 2, etc)

What is more likely is that the new iPad will find a way to differentiate
itself both from it's bigger brother and the rest of the pack - something that
Apple can market day and night. And yes, there will be value pricing, but
probably $249 at the lowest.

Dual-strategy: upsell to bigger iPad, while getting down and dirty in the 7"
category so that any successes for Google/Amazon aren't cheap. One slam dunk
would probably be 3G for your iPad mini, which neither of the others offer
currently.

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jblock
I don't want to make assumptions without seeing some data on this, but do
people really think that the 10" iPad is too big? I can understand a fiscal
reason to make smaller iPads, but I struggle to see any vast ergonomic
benefits to a slightly smaller device.

~~~
jsz0
The benefit is mostly to reach a bigger market without cannibalizing the
existing market too much. It would be awkward to sell a cheap 10" tablet that
is really 'good enough' to most people along side an expensive 10" tablet. How
do you explain the differences and justify paying 30-50% more? The only reason
they can get away with selling the same sizes of iPhones is due to carrier
subsidies. They can make money on the low end devices. If a consumer was
walking into a store to buy a 3GS off contract they would likely not pay more
than $200 for it. Apple is getting more like $350-$400 from the carriers for a
3GS.

~~~
bradmccarty
Great point here. I think that the Mini (if it happens, if that's the name,
etc) will be another gateway drug just like the iPod touch. I remember Steve
smiling kinda smugly about people who wanted the OS and the apps but didn't
want the phone. The touch was how Apple got them in the door.

Now translate that to a tablet. For $200 you can get a device that has,
inarguably, the best apps marketplace, at its disposal. Android tablets will
have an especially difficult time keeping up with that, except for the ones
that are purchased by people who simply don't like Apple and its ecosystem.

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CamperBob2
Few people want a smaller iPad. Many people, however, want a larger iPhone.
I'd be surprised if Apple doesn't get that.

~~~
jaems33
Disagree.

The HN discussion on the Nexus had many users coming out of the woodwork
discussing how they wanted to buy one, touting the virtues of the size. In SV,
I also know of other techies who regularly use a laptop but rarely use their
iPad (or choose not to buy one). The iPad is slightly too big to carry
comfortably in bed or on a couch to read while the iPhone is too small. And
since I already have a 13' Macbook (soon to be Air), there isn't much that a
10' iPad has over it with regards to portability and function.

I wouldn't want a bigger iPhone (even though I know it's going to happen)
because it already seems bigger than I'd like for a pocket phone.

~~~
CamperBob2
I don't think the "too big for use in bed" argument carries much water, but I
will say that one reason why I might buy a smaller iPad would be for use in a
semi-permanent car installation. The iPad is too big for that job, but a 7"
tablet would be in line with some of the larger screens in existing high-end
autosound systems.

Right now I use an iPhone for navigation and music in the car, which is why I
want a (much) bigger one. But I'll admit that it's possible that what I really
want is a smaller iPad, not a bigger phone.

Of course, I'm just making a choice between two different kludges in order to
work around the sad, obvious truth: that no Apple-like company is apparently
going to save the autosound industry -- a confederacy of dunces if there ever
was one -- from its own incompetence.

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nhangen
As a developer, the thought of supporting yet another resolution/form factor
scares the hell out of me.

I rarely use my Kindle Fire because I feel it's too small, and can't imagine
finding a need for a 7" iPad. That's what my iPhone is for.

~~~
pvidler
The rumoured iPad mini is supposed to have them same 1024x768 resolution as
the iPad 1 & 2\. Apparently, if you stuck to Apple's developer guidelines and
used the same 44x44 point minimum size for both iPhone and iPad, then any
touch controls on the new device will be the same size as they would be on the
iPhone. So no effort required for developers.

There was an article about it on here the other day, but now it's probably
lost in all the other rumours.

~~~
bobthedino
This might be the article in question:
[http://castirony.com/post/26466421254/the-case-
for-a-7-8-ipa...](http://castirony.com/post/26466421254/the-case-
for-a-7-8-ipad)

~~~
pvidler
Yep that's the one, thanks!

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stewie2
I wonder what resolution we can have on this 7inch tablet?

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incision
This article is smug to the point that it's unreadable.

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shpoonj
What evidence is there that Apple intends to make a slightly smaller non
retina iPad? This sounds ridiculous...

~~~
mechanical_fish
Rumors from inside the supply chain, as reported in the Wall Street Journal:

[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405270230414120457750...](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304141204577506471913819412.html?mod=googlenews_wsj)

and Bloomberg:

[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-03/here-comes-
nexus-7-...](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-03/here-comes-
nexus-7-nightmare-the-ipad-mini.html)

Not sourced to named people, of course.

