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7" Apple iPad unlikely to arrive in 2012

Posted: , by Victor H.

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The iPad rumor mill has already started churning as the March-April timeframe when Apple updates its tablet offering is coming closer, and one thing rumors have been ambiguous about is the arrival of a 7-inch iPad this year. The allegedly extremely popular $199 Amazon Kindle Fire and the slightly more expensive Barnes & Nook Tablet, have both heated up talks about Apple’s reply with a smaller, 7-inch iPad. But it seems that those rumors are not about to come true, at least not this year.

There’s a couple of reasons for that. First of all, let’s mention, though, that it’s been pointed out previously that Apple has already tested a 7-inch iPad. Actually, it’s had it all along the 9.7-inch iPad, but chose not to release it because of CEO Steve Jobs thought that such a small screen was just not enough for the intended software.

Wedge Partners analyst Brian Blair recently also said that there’s no chance that Apple will launch a 7-inch iPad this year. “Don’t expect a 7-incher,” Blair said. “While we believe Apple has tested 7 inch screen prototypes for over a year, we don’t currently expect the company to release anything in the 7-inch size in 2012.”

It’s hard to think that Apple would make a 180 degree turn on tablets so soon after Jobs passing. And here’s Jobs detailed and very reasonable explanation on why there’s no iPad with a smaller display:

“One naturally thinks that a seven-inch screen would offer 70 per cent of the benefits of a 10-inch screen. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth. … The reason we [won't] make a 7-inch tablet isn’t because we don’t want to hit [a lower] price point, it’s because we think the screen is too small to express the software. As a software driven company we think about the software strategies first.”

But there’s something different Apple could do to better sell the iPad. When it launches the iPad 3, the company is likely to slash the price on the current second-gen iPad and thus become more competitive in the price segment below $500, and possibly $400. Blair believes that the iPad 2 could drop to between $349 and $399 for the basic Wi-Fi-only 16 gig model.

source: AllThingsD

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1. PimpStrong posted on 23 Dec 2011, 08:16

Its not like people are skipping the iPad because its too big. Having a 7" and a 10" is pointless if it is not strongly desired.

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2. arcq12 posted on 23 Dec 2011, 08:30 1

if they do release a 7-incher, will they have to resize those existing 9.7" iPad-optimized apps? if this is the case, there will be no 7-incher..

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5. roldefol posted on 23 Dec 2011, 09:23 1

I just assumed they would keep the resolution/screen use the same and increase the pixel density. It's not like there aren't 7" XGA displays out there. Shrinking everything to 70% would affect the user experience though, something Apple is not likely to do.

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7. Lucas777 posted on 23 Dec 2011, 14:30

i think what they would do is keep the same resolution thats on the current ipad and then double the res on the bigger ipad.. then it would all be somewhat uniform and the apps would already be there for all of them.

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3. Bluesky02 posted on 23 Dec 2011, 08:32

Could be iPad Mini

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4. imkyle posted on 23 Dec 2011, 08:37 1

The iPad is a huge success and a major hit. Leave the device alone and concentrate on the specifications internally rather than making a smaller size.

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6. samda posted on 23 Dec 2011, 10:58 2 2

completely senseless claims from apple, if you ask me.
their most successful product has a 3.5 inch screen and USES THE SAME SOFTWARE as their 9.7inch product.

I think the real problem is with apple's screen ratio, which is simply clumsy on a 7inch.

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9. fraydoe posted on 27 Dec 2011, 14:51

I still don't understand where the iPad has it's place, I mean this is literally a toy right? I mean you have the iPhone for portable communication, and Macbook for a portable computer. That pretty much covers all of our needs right? Besides having this iPad in the dashboard of a car, I can't see any good use for it.

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