“Recent leaks from purported sources inside Apple’s traditional suppliers have ignited a new frenzy of speculation. And not just from the usual blogging suspects – often better informed and more insightful than the official kommentariat. BusinessWeek and the Wall Street Journal both stuck their august necks out: the so-called iPad Mini will be launched this coming September,” Jean-Louis Gassée writes for The Guardian.
“On this matter, my own biases are on the record,” Gassée writes. “In an August 2009 Note titled Apple’s Jesus Tablet: What For?, I went as far as measuring the pocket on men’s jackets. As a result, I posited a 10in (diagonal) tablet might not provide the same desirable ubiquity as a 7in one that men could carry in a coat or jacket pocket, and women in a purse.”
Gassée writes, “In October 2010, Jobs famously dismissed the idea: ‘7in tablets should come with sandpaper so users can file down their fingers.’ None of the journalists present at the time had the presence of mind to ask him about the iPhone screen. Tim Cook, Steve’s disciple put it well at the D10 conference last June when he affectionately (and accurately) called Jobs a great flip-flopper, citing examples of products features his then boss ended up endorsing after repeatedly nixing them… Instead of a defensive move, I think a 7in iPad might be another take-no-prisoners move.”
Read more in the full article here.
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Analyst: Apple could sell up to 6 million ‘iPad mini’ units this Christmas – July 9, 2012