Rumor and guesstimation have determined that Apple may release an iPad mini next week at their March 7th iPad event, but we’re not too convinced!
Ever since Apple released the original iPad, there have been those who have anxiously waited for the company to release a smaller version. Even after Steve Job’s himself openly mocked 7-inch tablets fans have still kept hoping (he didn’t mock 8 inch tablets after all!).
Now, with March 7th less than a week away there has just been enough time of tech sites to speculate on how they believe a smaller iPad with 7.85inch screen will accompany the next generation iPad on Wednesday (it’s going to be an iPad 2S my Spider-sense is tingling!).
But next week there will be no iPad mini to compete against the Android in the small tablet market, a market which Android owns!
No Leaked Physical Proof
Apple are terrible at keeping their latest products a secret, we now have more of an idea what Apple will be up to for the next 12 months than, for example, Blackberry, Samsung, HTC, Motorola, Nokia, HP, ASUS, ACER etc!
This year Apple will release an newiPad (iPad 2S people!) an iPhone 5 which will actually feature some new hardware (possibly a new dock connector), there looks to be an improved Apple TV on the way, I hope there is a newiPod touch, Apple iTV looks set for release and (please,please,please) improved Macbook Pro’s with a more ‘Air’ design!
Why do we know all of this? Well leaked physical proof, Steve Jobs and talkative Chinese and Taiwanese Apple suppliers, none of which have offered real proof of a mini iPad.
Fragmentation
Gizchina News of the week
For an Apple Dev however it’s as easy as pie! The current iPad has the same PDI as the Retina display on the iPod touch and iPhone 4/4S so apps work and look great on both!
As for the iPad 3’s (iPad 2S!) Retina display upping the pixel count shouldn’t be too much bother, but most importantly Apple are leaving the old iPad screens behind and they will be pretty much obsolete this time next year while everyone is clambering over the iPad 4, so they’re not worried about them.
The iPad is “Perfect” its bloody “Magical”
Well the iPad was Steve Job’s baby, and not to sound too British but he was well chuffed to show it off!
To Apple, the iPad is the perfect size, it’s big enough for consuming, and is more than capable of creating thanks to the generous screen real estate, yet it’s small enough to fit in to all buy the tiniest of “fanny packs”.
For Apple to release a smaller iPad would be to admit 2 things to customers; 1) They were wrong about the iPad’s original size, 2) “Perhaps those smaller and cheaper Android tablets are worth looking at now Apple is making smaller tablets” is also a bad message!
The March 7th Invitation
What they have shown is an newiPad with what appears to be a much better Retina display, or it could be a camera trick, either way this is what Apple want’s us to speculate about.
If Apple were planning a 7.85 inch iPad for launch next week wouldn’t they have added a tagline to the event invitation such as “It’s not the size it’s how you touch it” ?, (too cheap?)
Let us know what you think in the comments section below, and don’t forget to flame, or troll or whatever it is you do, when I turn out to be wrong!