“According to the Taiwanese Economic Daily News, two potential suppliers – Korean LG Display and Taiwanese AU Optronics – have recently sent samples of their iPad Mini displays to Apple,” Staska reports for Unwired View.
“EDN sources tell them that Apple has already set the specifications for the smaller tablet, which is scheduled to ship early next year,” Staska reports. “iPad mini display panel size is 7.85” and it has the same resolution as the iPad 2.”
Staska reports, “While Steve Jobs dismissed 7′ tablets in Apple’s earnings conference call a year ago, it does not mean much. Steve has been known to publicly deny and dismiss a lot of products until Apple was ready to launch them. E.g.video iPod or even the idea of tablet PC itself.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Attribution: SlashGear. Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Edward Weber” for the heads up.]
Dibs!
And the rumor mill never rests…
Let’s play naughty and leak out the rumor that Apple is doing this to create a device that will be released to the channel, in its new, post-Jobs’ bid to usurp the idiot realm of HP, Dell, and Lenovo. Why not?
what if this will turn out to be the next generation trackpad for Macs?
With a proportionately adjusted price, more or less, owing to the smaller screen size, I am there. Anything I can do to help out a struggling company with not a dime in the bank…
Apple has patent for sensor which can detect fingers approaching to concrete place of a screen.
If technology now already allow to implement this patent, then Apple might come with iPad mini, which would scale up dynamically UI elements to which user moves a finger.
This would allow to keep UI uniform between normal and mini-iPad, without fragmentating applications and user experience.
However, I doubt that this technology is already ready. And without it, Apple would not mess with their platform to make developers do another version of applications.
Or an iPod Grande.
There’s no doubt that Apple does research, testing, and development with touch screens of all different sizes. A few sample units like this doesn’t suggest anything new. The drawbacks and potential benefits of fragmenting iOS into a third in between screen size still have not changed.
I send companies samples of my products all the time. How often do samples sent turn into sales? Maybe 3-4% of the time if I’m lucky.
Nope, not gonna happen.
iCal’ed
Macd aily news style
I like the idea of a smaller more portable iPad, but I really hope it is ruggedized.
For my type of work and even for retailers like Sears and Lowes for the employees to use, or for kids and education I think smaller more ruggedized-out-of-the-box ipad would be great.
Hopefully the icons won’t be backwards on a production model of an iPad Mini.
Are these the same sources that said iPhone 5 and iPhone “mini” would release in Oct? These rumors were the main cause of absent-minded outrage over the 4S release. Maybe if the rumors stop flowing so heavily, people would learn to appreciate the vast differences between original and “S” model devices.
Maybe they’re for some new product not iPad, at all.
I agree with you.
I have zero evidence of what I’m going to say, except one small piece.
I think apple is going to do a mid-sized device that is game-centric. Apple did not upgrade the processor in the iPod touch. I have not heard anyone really dissect that. Why? Why not put the processor in the iPod?
The game demo at the iPhone event was only for the phone (specifically the iPhone processor).
Three devices. Music device; game device; work/leisure device. However, the reality is they all accomplish the same thing, just different emphasis and price points.
Or some one at Apple is having a laugh!
Personally, I think Apple could add a product in between the iPod Touch and the iPad. Whether it ends up being an iPod Touch Pro or an iPad Mini doesn’t really matter.
The iPod Touch has become the biggest handheld gaming machine so why not make it that much better by giving it a larger screen?
Likewise, many Apps would work perfectly on a smaller 7″ iPad Mini screen. It would negate any traction Amazon is trying to make with the Kindle Fire and be a less-expensive option for schools.
iPad mini,
iPod touch maxi,
Whatever it is I’ll take it.
Well, now Apple said that they have a lot of good ideas for a tablet, but didn’t see it taking off at that point. They were hoping it would, but they didn’t dismiss tablets.
You folks don’t seem to see the obvious. I believe Apple is going to make a Huge iPhone for the Fandroid business. It will be the biggest mother phone you can buy. Those who do not like the iPhone 4S will flock to it. It will be a combination phone and boom box. No one has that yet.
Wow, a 7 foot iPad?? That’s a pretty big “mini”!
Apple ordered some samples just to yank the competitions chain.
(yank their chain – a colloquialism for to get some agitated, etc.)
This would be the ideal size to fit into Nurses, Doctors, and inventory specialist’s and industry warehouse coat side pockets. The iPad is too large for that, requiring either a bag or “hold in your hand” for the entire “rounds”. The iPhone/iPod touch is too small.
There is an industry out there with this need, and it’s many million strong world wide.
The iPad concept has leaped from “content consumption” to “Content Management!” Now they just need to fit it into industry coat pockets.
Not to mention the multi-million population Baby Boomers, like me, who simply can’t see anything on the iPod or iPhone – just too damn small.
What comes after bloodbath? For walking around a warehouse doing inventory stuff, doing geophysical/biological field work, plugging in and talking to equipment in the field… That size device would be GREAT and even better with iOS. I watched Bezos walking around on stage (on my iPad) swinging around his Fire in one hand and thought hmmm.
I’ve posted many times, Apple will eventually offer iPad in more than one screen size, and the two screen sizes will be 8-inch (at the current 1024×768) and 12-inch (at 1600×1200).
In the near term, doing so makes much more sense than “going Retina” at 10 inches (because incorporating such a display would make iPads far too expensive).
I think an 8-inch iPad with the same screen resolution as the current 10-inch iPad 2, AND half the weight of the original iPad, would be great. I would prefer it.
NOTE: 8-inch (at 1024×768) and 12-inch (at 1600×1200) both have PPI (pixels per inch) that is about equal to that of the original iPhone screen.