“In my view the 7″ tablet represents the evolution of portable entertainment,” Ben Bajarin writes for TechPinions. “In many of the same ways that the iPad itself represents the evolution of portable computing, so would a smaller iPad represent the evolution of portable entertainment. I spoke about this and was quoted on the subject last week with many press, and my overall point was that the right way to think about a smaller iPad is that it represents more the evolution of the iPod than the evolution of the iPad.”

“The larger tablets like the iPad are more mobile than notebooks but still capable of being used for productivity. In my view the iPad is a general purpose tablet where a 7″ tablet is more specialized and its value will be centered around entertainment,” Bajarin writes. “For the iPad customer I don’t see the value of owning an iPad and an iPad mini… However, there will still be plenty of consumers who still desire, want, need, a new notebook. This market may very well benefit from a more portable media companion like a 7″ tablet. The notebook plus a 7″ tablet combo will be an ideal solution for a certain segment of the market. And the sufficiency of the iPad as a portable media companion and personal computer will meet the needs of other segments of the market.”

Bajarin writes, “An iPad mini strengthens Apple’s ecosystem plain and simple.”

Read more in the full article here.