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Apple

7-Inch iPad Rumored 233

Posted by CmdrTaco from the sure-why-not dept.
Stoobalou writes "Rumours of a cut-down Apple iPad are ramping up as Taiwanese news outlet Economic Daily News names names. The often-reliable Chinese language newspaper — which correctly predicted the first coming of the iPad when everyone else on the planet was carping on about a sub-$500 netbook from the Cupertino company — has been digging about in the skips behind a number of Chinese factories and reckons it knows who will be making which bit of the much-predicted iPad 2."
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7-Inch iPad Rumored More

7-Inch iPad Rumored

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  • iPad (Score:5, Funny)

    by odies ( 1869886 ) * on Tuesday August 17, 2010 @02:04PM (#33278526)

    I think it's great. I will have my iPhone as a mobile device, the normal big and classy iPad for coffee shops and to impress girls, and the medium size iPhone/iPad variant for things while iPhone isn't enough, but when iPad is too big. I can already think hundreds of different situations where it will fit perfectly.

    I can already see how some apple-haters will come here and say "what is the purpose of this medium-sized iPhone?", but if you don't see it you're just not thinking different enough. Just continue to follow the sheep and install your Windows. At least when I see an Apple user I know he is different, intellectual person I can have a good conversation with. He is not just there to talk with me because he has malware on his computer. I am studying art currently and having the iPad makes a complete difference on how other students and professors look at me. They know I'm an artist and an intellectual person.

    I can't wait to get this device on my hands.

    • Re:iPad (Score:5, Funny)

      by Mongoose Disciple ( 722373 ) on Tuesday August 17, 2010 @02:07PM (#33278598)

      At least when I see an Apple user I know he is different, intellectual person I can have a good conversation with.

      Also, I understand that Windows people are despicable and wear black hats to symbolize their black hearts, whereas the good guys with Apple gear wear white hats to demonstrate their purity. (Or it's turtlenecks and the colors are reversed. I get confused.)

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by Mongoose Disciple ( 722373 )

        Ah hell. I made the mistake of taking that poster seriously. Reading it again it's obvious satire. Whoosh for me.

      • whereas the good guys with Apple gear wear white hats

        And have dark blue handkerchiefs folded in their right rear pockets.

      • I understand that Windows people are despicable and wear black hats to symbolize their black hearts,

        Nah. The Windows crowd is pretty much 100% converted to zombies at this point. It's those thrice damned Linux people who have taken up the black hats. We Macheads have tried to call a truce so that we can all wage World War W against the Windroids, but the Linux folken refuse, for they are filled with the evil will of their master, a fell race.

        • Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race, strong, agile, fierce and cunning, but harder than stone. Unlike the older race of the Twilight they could endure the Sun, so long as the will of Torvalds held sway over them.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by toastar ( 573882 )
      iPalm?

    • Dell seems to think that there's a market for the enormous cell phone / tiny tablet with their Slate. No one is required to buy all three devices... four, actually - you forgot the iPod.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by elrous0 ( 869638 ) *
      God, I hope your post is being sarcastic. You talk about all the Apple products you buy, even ones that you haven't figured out a use for or that you only buy as status symbols, and then turn around and call MS people stupid sheep? Surely you can't be for real.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Draek ( 916851 )

      "Without a winking smiley or other blatant display of humour, it is impossible to create a parody of fundamentalism that someone won't mistake for the real thing."

      -- Nathan Poe

    • The big surprise is that it's round not rectangular. the current one is 7.75" x 5.81" the round one is 7.6" in diameter, which has exactly the same area. But it's round so it's more aesthetically pleasing. You can hold it from any orientation and it's the same simplifying the interface. There is a single button is in the middle on the back.

      • The big surprise is that it's round not rectangular. the current one is 7.75" x 5.81" the round one is 7.6" in diameter, which has exactly the same area. But it's round so it's more aesthetically pleasing. You can hold it from any orientation and it's the same simplifying the interface. There is a single button is in the middle on the back.

        I exaggerated a little. Actually, the pixels are hexagonal so there are six preferred orientations to avoid weird aliasing effects. However, the surprise is that with the new Retinal display density anti-aliasing is not a problem any more! SO unless you are in the 2% of people that can resolve the retinal display at 2 feet from your eye then, yes, for practical purposes, it can be held at any angle. The speakers use a bose wave guide technology for a deep base response despite the low volume. Additional

        • Otherwise, all those printers that do more than 300 dpi are also a waste of money.

          But you can tell the difference between a 300dpi printout and a 1200dpi. The rods and cones in your eyeball don't necessarily line up nice and neat with the pixels on the display, hence the need for a much higher resolution, and why Jobs is, once again, full of BS, same as refusing to allow flash because he wants to push the h264 codec, that he makes money off of.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by hey! ( 33014 )

      I'm waiting for a 1" x 1" size iPod touch. Then I'm going to build a suit of armor entirely out of iPads and iPods. It will cover my entire body and project an image that will impress the girls. Maybe Hugh Jackman.

    • News for you, no artist is intellectual. Its physiologically impossible. Artists are right-brained, intellectuals are left-brained. Artists use feeling, intellectuals don't want to be bothered by it.

      I think what you meant is elitist or snooty, s.a.: pretentious. That is what discerning artists are. *Their* subjectivity is clearly superior to *yours*. Artists would drive a BMW, if they could afford one, because they are snooty. But they can't, because they are artists and can;t have a real job because face i

      • A lot of "artists" work in advertising and commercial trades and are quite well paid, thank you very much. An artist who only ekes by is something of a mediocrity, with rare exception, or maybe thats just me being "snooty."

        Posted from my iPad.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by HuguesT ( 84078 )

          Sometimes a poor artist is really not a very good one, but sometimes artists are incredibly ahead of their time and not understood, although that may have been more true around the time of Vincent van Gogh than now.

          At any rate exceptional artists are by definition very rare exceptions.

        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          by oztiks ( 921504 )

          Posted from my iPad.

          How long did it take to type in :) ...

          I've tried to slashdot on my iPad, login box screws up and it takes punch in send comments.

      • OTOH, I am currently mixing a movie about the Marines fighting aliens that invade Los Angeles, so then again maybe I'm a "sell-out." But that sort of attitude isn't limited to artists-- I'm sure RMS thinks more than a few developers are "sellouts," etc..

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Lumpy ( 12016 )

      What about a 14" version for Ron Jeremy?

      Or would that be the Ron Jeremy edition?

      "a Bigger iPad for the man who needs MORE!"

    • what is the purpose of this medium-sized iPhone?

      You certainly aren't a hipster. I've studied their language and the prickish snooty word replacement for medium is "Grande". Nobody knows why.

      They know I'm an artist and an intellectual person... and also full of myself.

      There fixed it.

    • So, is it a smaller ipad or a bigger ipod touch?

      Or is it a bigger iphone without the phone?

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by jedidiah ( 1196 )

      A 7" ipod will still have all of the disadvantages of an ipod.

  • 7 inches is perfect for the girl slashdotters (Score:5, Funny)

    by bluefoxlucid ( 723572 ) on Tuesday August 17, 2010 @02:06PM (#33278574) Homepage Journal
    This is truly news for female nerds. 8 inches is too big and that old 5.5 inch average just isn't satisfying. I will of course be gifting one to the next geeky girl I date, so she will be thoroughly satisfied by seven inches of perfection.

  • Interesting (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Pojut ( 1027544 ) on Tuesday August 17, 2010 @02:08PM (#33278604) Homepage

    It will be interesting to see if being smaller will fix some of the problems people have with holding the current model...I also am curious to see how battery life will be affected by this.

    Not to mention pricing.

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by Godskitchen ( 1017786 )

      Maybe they'll try to charge more for it than the standard iPad claiming that it's lighter and more compact. Coming soon: iPad Air

    • It will be interesting to see ... Not to mention pricing.

      I'm sure the price won't be much higher than the original iPad. Yes, higher. All that iPad functionality in a smaller, more portable form factor? We'll pay for that miniaturization technology. ;-)

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Nadaka ( 224565 )

      Meh. I would rather have a touchbook convertible tablet/netbook from Always Innovating. To bad they could have called the company Always Innovating - but you will never notice because all our shipments are at least 6 months late.

      http://www.alwaysinnovating.com/touchbook/

  • April 1 already? (Score:5, Funny)

    by jaroslav ( 467876 ) on Tuesday August 17, 2010 @02:09PM (#33278624)

    In other news, I just pre-ordered my iPad Nano.

  • "Often reliable" (Score:5, Insightful)

    by remove office ( 871398 ) on Tuesday August 17, 2010 @02:13PM (#33278676) Homepage

    The often-reliable Chinese language newspaper -- which correctly predicted the first coming of the iPad when everyone else on the planet was carping on about a sub-$500 netbook from the Cupertino company

    Oh please. This is the same "often-reliable" newspaper that predicted that Apple was going to release an iPhone nano earlier this year [appleinsider.com].

    Also, the idea that anybody expected Apple to release a "sub-$500 netboook" is sheer lunacy. Nobody seriously expected that-- the iPad was widely anticipated by just about everyone for months before it was released.

    • Re:"Often reliable" (Score:4, Insightful)

      by RingDev ( 879105 ) on Tuesday August 17, 2010 @02:53PM (#33279208) Homepage Journal

      Also, the idea that anybody expected Apple to release a "sub-$500 netboook" is sheer lunacy. Nobody seriously expected that-- the iPad was widely anticipated by just about everyone for months before it was released.

      The entire concept of a "sub-$500 netbook" market is sheer lunacy. I can get a Core-2 duo 2.3ghz 15" laptop for just under $400 (it's in this month's special from NewEgg.com). Why the hell would anyone pay $500 for a netbook when they can get a way more powerful note book for $400?

      If I'm going to buy a netbook, we better be talking about the sub-$200 market.

      -Rick

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by denobug ( 753200 )

        Why the hell would anyone pay $500 for a netbook when they can get a way more powerful note book for $400?

        In the mobile computing world, size matters.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by erroneus ( 253617 )

        A sub-$200 PC is comparable to a sub-$500 Apple iGadget. iGadgets are nice, but they don't really offer competitive value for the dollar. (tell me more about the superior grade and choice parts selected... I have heard it all, but the failure rate of Apple hardware is no different than other gear and certainly no different than less expensive gear...) But just the same, these sub-$200 netbooks are known to run Mac OS X quite nicely.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by jedidiah ( 1196 )

          ...plus you need some sort of PC to manage your iThing with. It might as well be a sub-$200 PC.

  • My wife keeps telling me "size doesn't matter!"

  • bullshit (Score:2, Insightful)

    by jewishbaconzombies ( 1861376 )
    Lessie - Apple only updates SKUs once and year - and is having trouble building the current model fast enough. OMG THERE'S ANOTHER ONE COMING TOMORROW!

    Fuck you Slashdot.

  • I think I like it... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by rwven ( 663186 ) on Tuesday August 17, 2010 @02:23PM (#33278820)

    Obvious jokes aside, I think I'd trade in my 9.7" for the 7" if it became an option. The higher density of the screen with the same specs and a smaller footprint just sounds like win to me. Seeing as I mainly use the iPad for reading, it looks like this could be the perfect size for an e-reader.

    It really all depends on how much they want to drop the price, if at all. I certainly wouldn't pay the same amount all over again when I've got a perfectly acceptable, not quite as small device already.

    • A 7-inch 16:9 screen could fit in a 3,5" wide device, making it fit in a pocket rather than needing a bag. Not that I'd buy one regardless, but it would distinguish "pads" from netbooks in the way you carry them around. It might be a more convenient e-reader/web browser format. I think I could imagine buying one that connects to the net through my phone and/or wifi, but I wouldn't want to use it as a phone with a separate phone number or have to switch sim cards etc. Locked into monthly fees is right out -

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Lumpy ( 12016 )

      It's not. I have the best android e-reader that isout right now, the pandigital novel. and I wish I had a bigger screen. If all I read were entertainment books it might be useful, but I read technical stuff and the 9" ipad size makes it a LOT easier to deal with.

      I just wish they would release a android tablet that did not suck. The hardware is anemic as heck on all these things. and this one is the fastest you can buy right now.

    • Remember the iPod mini? Came out at $200 when the standard iPod (with much more storage) was $300, and they sold a LOT of them.

      If they're doing the cover-the-spectrum strategy they did with iPods, they could end up with a lineup like this:

      * 9.7" iPad - $500
      * 7" iPad - $350
      * iPod touch - $200

  • Size is not the factor, weight is (Score:3, Interesting)

    by rsborg ( 111459 ) on Tuesday August 17, 2010 @02:26PM (#33278868) Homepage
    I know the iPad is nice and shiny and oh so good looking, but honestly, a Kindle causes less strain on the eyes and much easier to hold and is now, much cheaper. Perhaps this 7" will remove the arm-strain issues, while still delivering good battery life and sweet color screen that's not so small as to cause eye strain (reading the iPod touch in bed is not conducive to sleep, whereas I have no problems with the iPad).

    • The Kindle has other benefits, like battery life - but eyestrain is NOT one of them. I can't read more than a page or two on that grayish low contrast screen without starting to hate it.

      People who complain abut eyestrain have not looked at a good LCD with appropriate brightness controls, or are looking at the LCD in conditions they would not have even been able to read a Kindle. Background light is important for LCD use too...

      • Personally I can't stand the nearly seizure inducing flash every time you change the page on a Nook or Kindle.

        Page flow with an LCD device like the iPad is smooth. It also doesn't require an external light source that will bug my wife while reading at night in bed.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by RapmasterT ( 787426 )

        The Kindle has other benefits, like battery life - but eyestrain is NOT one of them. I can't read more than a page or two on that grayish low contrast screen without starting to hate it.

        People who complain abut eyestrain have not looked at a good LCD with appropriate brightness controls, or are looking at the LCD in conditions they would not have even been able to read a Kindle. Background light is important for LCD use too...

        I'm sick to death of hearing people parrot "eyestrain" as a benefit of e-ink over LCD. It's total bullshit. Reading with the low contrast grey on lighter grey e-ink is a MUCH more fatiguing experience in almost every scenario except for bright sunlight. It's almost like the two technologies are good for remarkably different things, with little overlap.

        I may be alone, but I actually own BOTH an ipad and a kindle, and use whichever one is best suited to the situation at hand. This works well for me bec

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by jedidiah ( 1196 )

          Of course you are sick of it. It's an obvious criticism to level over a mediocre general purpose device when comparing it to a highly specialized one.

          It serves to deflate the mindless hype and inevitablity associated with the iThing.

  • The rumor is a bit misleading. Actually the new device is the iPhone 5, basically a new iPhone 4 equipped with a 2 inches bumper.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by ColdWetDog ( 752185 )

      The rumor is a bit misleading. Actually the new device is the iPhone 5, basically a new iPhone 4 equipped with a 2 inch[es] bumper.

      That's no bumper. That's the antenna. Steve hates bad publicity. Never again will the iPhone be castigated for poor antenna performance. In fact, Apple engineers are working on accessory antennas [space.com] for those difficult areas in SF and NYC as we speak (early prototype seen in a bar in Puerto Rico).

  • Second chance (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Maybe this is Apple's way of giving us, the techy crowd, another opportunity to predict how well the iPad is going to sell. I, for one, am going to seize this opportunity:

    The 7" iPad is going to flop! You can do everything a 7" iPad can do on a smartphone. Or you could get a netbook and actually have a REAL keyboard, plus it would do everything the 7" iPad does and MORE for $300 less! The 7" iPad won't even have flash, so you won't be able to view 85% of the media on the internet. No camera, no usb ports,

  • a 7" portable media viewer would have screen dimensions of 5.6" x 4.2". That's slightly smaller than a Kindle but with a larger screen - just the right size for a jeans pocket but easier to read than an iPod touch and not as showy / cumbersome as an iPad.

    Sounds perfect to me. Sign me up.

  • This will revolutionize the way we use iPads!!!!

  • Because what some guys claim to be 7 inches long...

  • You know, for kids (Score:3, Interesting)

    by SuperKendall ( 25149 ) on Tuesday August 17, 2010 @03:21PM (#33279612)

    The only way I can see a 7" iPad making sense is if it has the same resolution, and is more ruggedized - perfect for giving to kids.

    Otherwise it adds too much confusion to the lineup, something Apple doesn't like to do.

  • So with the iPhone 4, Apple sued the bajeezus out of that kid from Cupertino, CA.

    Why isn't Apple suing the hell out of some factory in China for leaking secrets?

    • Did they sue him? Last I saw, the case was under investigation by the police, since selling stolen property for $5K is probably a felony. Moreover, as a US company, how much luck do you think Apple would have suing somebody in China for anything related to that mishmash called IP?

  • If anything, I would actually prefer they shoot for a larger screen. My wife uses one to store all of her sheet music that would have otherwise required a suitcase to haul around to performances, its actually faster to sight read off and turn the pages with a touch than a real music book. Her only complaint is that it would be nice if the usable screen was slightly larger. An A4/Legal sized screen would properly rule the world!

  • It's a good size for most things, but it's still not big enough to comfortably display a newspaper or a magazine without zooming & panning, and this includes some web sites. "Normal" Facebook (not touch.facebook.com) is scaled fairly small -- I can read it, but it's about 10-20% too small.

    A Wired-type magazine app is nice, but I'm not holding my breath for them all to be that way -- the Zinio app I think is a great compromise, but again, you're still zooming and panning.

    Ideally a retina display (TM) re

  • Obligatory (Score:4, Insightful)

    by wembley fraggle ( 78346 ) on Tuesday August 17, 2010 @04:35PM (#33280636) Homepage

    Seems like we're at:

    "An obscure component manufacturer somewhere in the Pacific Rim announces a major order for some bleeding-edge piece of technology that could conceivably become part of an expensive, digital-lifestyle-enhancing nerd toy"

    http://www.misterbg.org/AppleProductCycle/ [misterbg.org]

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