> Nothing is set in stone or announced; therefore it is all just speculation.
>
> The 7" iOS device is interesting. I know a few people who are interested in this size factor for a media consumption device (most are women who like the idea of throwing it in a smaller carrying bag). Apple MAY release one in the future, but who knows if will be this year if ever.
>
> I would rather the iPod Touch be increased in size to 7" instead of an iPad being reduce from 9".
To the best of my knowledge, Apple has officially held for on 7" tablets only once -- during the quarterly post-earnings report conference call in the fall of 2010:
> "The 10-inch screen size is the minimum size required to create great tablet apps," Jobs said. "Every tablet user is also a smartphone user. No tablet can compete with a smartphone" when it comes to stashing it in a purse or pocket. "Seven-inch tablets are tweeners: too big to compete with a smartphone, and too small to compete with an iPad," he said.
>
> What's worse, Jobs noted, current tablets run the Froyo version of Android that Google has specifically said isn't ready for tablets. "What does it mean when your software supplier says not to use their software in your tablet? And what does it mean when you ignore them and use it anyway?"
>
> Jobs predicted that, in the end, "the current crop of seven-inch tablets are doing to be DOA" because they will ultimately "offer less for more" than the iPad. "Their manufacturers will learn the painful lesson that their tablets are too small, and increase the size next year, thereby abandoning both customers and developers who jumped on the seven-inch bandwagon with an orphan product. Sounds like lots of fun ahead."
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Jim Saklad mailto:jimdoc@me.com
