“Funny how rumors get started. Late yesterday, the blogosphere was buzzing with rumors that an iPad 3 might be on the way in September,” David Carnoy reports for CNET. “That’s right, the iPad 2 hasn’t officially been announced (though it is reported to be in production), and already people are talking about an iPad 3.”
“It all started with a blog post by John Gruber, who writes the popular Daring Fireball blog,” Carnoy reports. “The mere fact that Gruber, who has built a reputation for having good Apple sources… uttered the word iPad 3, immediately set off a wave of speculation.”
Carnoy reports, “Apple has long been rumored to have a smaller, 7-inch iPad in the works, and while Steve Jobs has publicly said it would be a bad idea, I have remained confident Apple will release this product–and sooner rather than later… You think Apple’s just going to cede that size to other companies? Highly doubtful. Also, it makes much more sense for Apple to do a Retina Display in a smaller tablet that a full-blown iPad.”
not going to happen…7 inch tablets are DOA!!
You mean my MessagePad might be relevant again? Yay!
Long live the Newton!
A 7-inch iPad may be able to make it if resolution independence was added, like it was supposed to be to the Mac during Leopard. But I still doubt it. Jobs made it clear that they’ve tried the smaller form factors and they just don’t believe that they work.
It might be purposed mainly as dedicated controller of sorts (gaming, TV, car, etc…) kinda like an iPad Pod
Much better. You are considering that this is something that Apple has developed not Dell. Why would Apple make something to do what they already are doing with the iPad in the tablet market.
Everyone is assuming that a 7″ iPad 3 has the same purpose as the full sized iPads that I own today. They need to think bigger. MUCH BIGGER! Apple is dominating markets. Several markets at a time now every year. What market is next should be their question.
This could be a remote to that AppleTV or a gaming iPad interface that connects to that AppleTV or some other device Apple has developed?
Maybe it is the iPad car dashboard device Apple is making to dominate the car entertainment industry. You really can’t insert a full iPad into the limited dashboard area.
Maybe others will “Think Differently” like you! This is Apple!
Double DIN maps and music, with car phone?
If apple do that i will throw all my apple products. Not really but apple will mess up everything.
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/02/steve-jobs/
Steve Jobs is the master of misdirection.
Here’s some more speculation that probably isn’t worth the electrons used to post it…
Jobs has been known to mislead competitors, only to reveal a contradictory product or strategy a year or two later. I recall dismissive comments made by Jobs regarding ebooks, video distribution, etc., that have been overcome by developments at Apple. On the other hand, Jobs’ comments seemed particularly harsh and specific regarding 7″ tablets. If that’s a bluff, then it is an excellent one.
You mena a bluff like:
People don’t want to watch video on their iPods, people dont wanttheir iPod to be a phone, people don’t read anymore, or any number of two sided statements that may or may not be interpreted to be misleading?…
You mean a bluff like:
People don’t want to watch video on their iPods, people dont wanttheir iPod to be a phone, people don’t read anymore, or any number of two sided statements that may or may not be interpreted to be misleading?…
There were several situations in recent history where Jobs categorically said one thing, and then later introduced the opposite. Video on the iPod was one of them. The logic behind it was sound (You can listen to music and do things; you can’t watch video and do things; iPods are for enjoying music while doing things). A number of similar examples exist for other Apple devices. In each such example, Jobs eventually conceded that the volume of requests from users was too loud to ignore.
If he clearly sees that there are enough people who buy 7″ android devices (and not because they are anti-Apple, but because they WANT a 7″ device), he might concede that one as well. In such a case, leaving resolution at the same pixel count as the larger model would qualify the display as somewhat of a ‘retina’ (not quite the same pixel density, but still, noticeably sharper than the big brother). Developers wouldn’t have to design their apps for yet another screen resolution.
Guess not…
And everyone is assuming that a 7″ iPad 3 has the same purpose as the full sized iPads that I own today. Think bigger. BIGGER!
Could this be the remote to that AppleTV or a gaming iPad interface that connects to that AppleTV or some other device Apple has developed?
Maybe it is the iPad car dashboard device Apple is making to dominate the car entertainment industry. You really can’t insert a full iPad into the limited dashboard area.
Maybe … Think Differently! This is Apple!
As the above article states, this is nothing but a rumor started by John Gruber.
“Rumor”? Are you aware that Apple developed several products at the same time. They are innovators! Dell, Microsoft, RIMM, … seem to only develop 1 idea (or copy) at a time. Apple has a road map of developing products and services. Some take years to pull together and some require others to mature so they will fit in to the plan.
Think Different and Bigger. This is Apple, the WORLD’S LARGEST COMPANY.
I’m not saying they didn’t experiment with sizes and protypes, I’m saying the iPad 3 being a “mini” is a rumor.. John Gruber said himself: “I’m guessing on this, I have no evidence whatsoever.”
Here is the actual quote where Gruber said he is “guessing” on this:
“Now when I make actual guesses, some people (not unreasonably) think I’m being coy and actually releasing information that I know. Henceforth, when I say I’m guessing, I’m really guessing. That includes what I’m about to guess about the iPad hardware release schedule.)”
http://daringfireball.net/2011/02/the_next_six_months
I already have an “iPad mini,” it’s called an “iPhone,” and it fits perfectly in my pocket everywhere I go..
A 7″ iPad would be pointless because as Jobs explained, It’d be more difficult to use/navigate and it’s not any more portable than a full size iPad.
I don’t believe Jobs was misdirecting when he said those things. There truly are NO advantages to a 7″ iPad.
Only if you think about it in your own very narrow way.
There are plenty of applications, such as digital shelf edge labelling where a full-sized iPad doesn’t work because of space and cost.
Building a smaller unit with a lower entry level for markets which are using tablets to deliver niche apps to valuable markets is actually a good idea.
Remember when people used to denigrate the concept of a cut-down MacBook because Steve Jobs said he didn’t they were a good idea: well, didn’t they look kind of stupid when the MacBook Air came out?
Like I said, the ‘mini’ iOs device already exists in the iPod touch/iPhone.
Lower cost? So far, The 7″ tablets have been no cheaper to manufacture than the iPad
Wow, you just don’t get it.
There are applications beyond your imagination where a 9″ is too large and an iPod touch is too small.
As for your comment about lower cost, it completely ignores the economies of scale and purchasing power that Apple has in the marketplace: just because a bunch of low-volume 7″ competitors from diverse manufacturers haven’t had a massive cost advantage over the iPad doesn’t mean that Apple can’t deliver a 7″ device at a lower cost.
It’s already done most of the engineering and has the economies of scale for its own SoC chip, it already buys Wi-Fi and 3G chipsets in enormous quantities and it doesn’t have to pay anyone else for the system software.
It could make a 16GB iPad nano available for $379 or $399, which is $180 or $200 from the 16GB iPhone 4 and $100-120 from the 16GB iPad.
That may not mean much to you, but if a large retailer wants to buy several thousand it’s a major chunk of change.
A rumor in search of clicks. Call me in June
Now, that COULD happen. Except I want it to be about an 8-inch screen iPad, with the same 1024×768 resolution as the current iPad. That would give it a pixels per inch number of about 160 PPI, which matches the iPhone (and iPod touch) PPI used by those original iOS devices. Since the resolution is the same as the existing iPads, there’s no “fragmentation.”
The “iPad 2” (with 10-inch) screen continues until 2012, when it is phased out and replaced by a 12.5-inch iPad at 1600×1200 resolution. That will obviously cause platform fragmentation, but iPad being offered in more than one screen size/resolution is inevitable… Who doesn’t believe it? And FYI, 12.5-inch diagonal at 1600×1200 PPI is also 160 PPI, again matching what iPhone uses.
Both of those size and resolution combinations allow Apple to make the iPad screen about 20% “sharper” (currently about 130 PPI), without going to the (probably very expensive and near-term impractical) resolution doubling “Retina” route.
“Except I want it to be about an 8-inch screen iPad, with the same 1024×768 resolution as the current iPad”
Dude, the whole point of a 9″ device is it needs retina disp to be readable, and maintain app resolution.
…”the whole point of a 9″ device is it needs retina disp to be readable…”
So far, nobody else has complained about difficulties with readability on the current iPad. The pixel density of 133ppi is quite higher than any of today’s (and yesterday’s) standard monitors (which are generally between 72-97ppi), and iPad is generally held at similar distance from user eyes (perhaps just a little closer, which is certainly made up for by extra pixels).
Retina display is undoubtedly incredibly sharp and cool, but those 133 pixels per inch are plenty enough for a perfectly readable text.
This doesn’t say that it wouldn’t benefit from the retina display, but it is nowhere near as high on the priority list as many other things.
It’s a little closer to an iPod touch, then, except with a retina display.
What utter rubbish. A 7″ tablet form factor would not represent a quantum leap in usability over a 4″ iPhone which is where I think Apple should be directing its research prowess towards.
A bigger screen for the iPhone would negate any need for a 7″ tablet. The iPad should receive an update that supplies higher screen resolution. By aligning volume production across two standard formats unit costs are optimized.
So who’s to say that the 7″ device is an iPad? What about a 7″ iPod Touch?
Gruber is full of shit. Just another off-the-shelf ass crybaby lib.
Gruber is full of shit. Just another cry baby asswipe lib
@Big X.
Why don’t you tell us what you really think?
Me? I’m a Euro socialist… that’s Commie to you. We all have our burdens right?
A seven-inch iPad also could fit into a vehicle dashboard’s industry-standard, Double-DIN opening for car radio/stereo/DVD players (head unit).
Yes please.
I’ll buy one in a moment, assuming it comes with a retina display and all the other goodness.
Apple does not want to leave the competition any niches to exploit. So what could Apple uniquely offer in a 7″ tablet? How about a true 7″ Retina Display, i.e. 2048 x 1536 resolution which would result in a 366 PPI density–slightly better than iPhone 4. Doing so may be feasible from a production standpoint for a 7″ display but currently not for a 10″ display, hence the credibility of the Fall “iPad 3” rumor.
I still say if a 7 inch comes out it will be not be an iPad it will be an iPod. A standard res screen with the same res as an iPhone running iPhone apps. 7inch tablets aren’t used as tablets or phones they are used as Media players. iPod Touch XL.
The gamer’s iPod, along the lines Jersey outlines above.
Apple always derides something that they are not ready to or they might prefer not to produce, but later produce claiming that after much thought and work they have discovered how to make it work. Simple fact is that there is potential for a 7 in tablet which though less able and satisfying than a 10 inch one will be much more flexible and useful in certain scenarios for many people. apple does not want to encourage that but I suspect that sooner or later there will be one and in particular if this size starts to have an impact from other players.
Yeah, but Apple also said they’d never do a netbook … and then, voila, the 11″ MacBook Air, so Apple is just a business that tells you what they want you to hear so they can make more money.
Where is the link to this article?