Jeremy Horwitz reports for iLounge, “A previously accurate source has provided iLounge with some interesting new details on Apple’s ongoing iPad development efforts…”
• Apple is actively developing new accessories that will communicate with the near-field radio chips reportedly built into new iPads and iPhones.
• It’s possible that the company will use a new material similar to carbon fiber rather than aluminum for upcoming iPads.
• A key iPad, iPhone, and iPod component provider has been asked by Apple to develop a part for use in a seven-inch iPad.
More details in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Fred Mertz” and “Lynn W.” for the heads up.]
7” ipad its not possible.
but will it have a kevlar bullet proof skin?
What about the green credentials?
Is carbon fibre recyclable?
Not the 7″ tablet meme again.
All life is based on carbon and we are highly recyclable.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” />
Liquid Metal?
This story is mole bait. Apple is trying to find the people inside that keep leaking information.
“A key supplier”? Really? And this “key supplier” decided to leak this information to the media, because any “key supplier” KNOWS how much Apple loves leaks.
Garbage. If anything, it’s a smoke screen for Apple to make its competitors think it will have a 7″ iPad. Jobs already said in very clear terms that a 7″ tablet simply makes no sense. Would he really say that if Apple were working on a 7″ tablet? Don’t think so.
I’m with Pedro on that.
Sure, carbon fiber sounds possible. It’ll be lighter and allow for better antenna reception, but it may not feel quite as solid.
I think at this point that if Apple were to produce a 7-inch display product, it will either be marketed as a large iPod touch (rather than a small iPad) or Steve Jobs is no longer making decisions there.
Smoking something potent there.
Actually, Steve Jobs once said emphatically that video on iPods didn’t make sense shortly before they introduced the iPod video! So who knows about a 7″ iPad.
Steve Jobs also famously said that “no one reads any more,” before the Kindle started gaining ground and then Apple introduced the iBookstore for the iPad (and eventually the iPhone/iPod touch).
@Aldebaran, yeah but apparently Apple STILL believes people don’t read anymore, because they have NO CONTENT in iBooks!
7-inch iPad with radio, and Double-DIN dashboard dock: a replacement for vehicle head units (radio/DVD/CD players). Another industry upended!
Carbon fiber isn’t going to happen. It’s not recyclable, and Apple is all about being green.
iPad 2 = No flash video = Restricted internet access=corporate control over freedom of information. The new ads are conceptually correct. Apple has crafted a device that precludes substantial aspects of the internet. This is a business decision that the digital clones are embracing.
@MacBill:
Really? No content? That must explain the dozens of books—from Aristotle to Le Carré—from the iBookstore that I carry around on my iPad.
The 7″ tablet rumor was something Apple requested in order to find a leak.
Not this year, but I think there will eventually be a second screen size for iPad. Who doesn’t believe that iPad will be offered in more than one screen size at some point?
When that happens (again NOT this year), I think iPad’s screen will become slightly larger AND slightly smaller. My guess is about 12.5 inches (at a new 1600×1200 resolution) and about 8 inches (at the current 1024×768 resolution). Both of those size/resolution combinations result in pixels per inch (PPI) that matches the PPI used by iOS on iPhones, which is around 160 PPI.
The 10-inch screen will go away (replaced without causing “fragmentation” by the 8-inch screen). I think the current screen was a design compromise that allowed iPad to be a commercially viable product priced at $499. It’s size (plus the “bezel”) allowed all the parts to fit behind it, including a 10-hour battery, while keeping the total cost of production below the necessary threshold. Apple will need it for at least one more year.
But later, those two new screen sizes will make the screens sharper without going all the way to a double-resolution “retina” display, which will be VERY expensive at a 10-inch size, even in 2012.
Who says a 7 inch would be an iPad !!!!
Why cant it be a iPod touch XL 7 inch same resolution as an iPhone.
A 7inch just doesn’t work for apps like Pages or Keynote but is fine for iPod games and individual video consumption.
Why not a 13 inch iPad and a 7 inch iPod.
we just might see NFC in iPad2, since it is surely coming with iPhone5 soon.
and carbon fiber i expect for iPad3 next year. a prototype probably exists, but that’s all. not this year. it will be great if it brings the weight down to just a pound. holding my iPad for long periods is my #1 needs-improvement.
and there will never be a 7″ iPad.
@cogitoergomac
You can’t count iBookstore content as equal to a whole bunch of FRACKING FREE e-books released by Project Gutenberg you dickhead.
@Cogito….
There used to be a game called cogito. Any connection?