Apple have enjoyed massive since the release of the iPad several months ago, and analysts have stated that they are on course to sell many millions more by the end of the year. This has generated billions of dollars of revenue for Apple and it appears that they may be well on course to introduce a smaller version of the iPad.
According to Jeremy Horwitz, writer for iLounge, he has spoken to industry insiders with a ‘high but not perfect accuracy level' and they are reporting that a seven inch version of the iPad is all but finished and will be ready for release sometime in 2011.
“A seven-inch-screened version of the iPad is substantially finished and will be ready for announcement either later this year or early in 2011,” Horwitz reports. “Apple is pushing up the release date of the fifth-generation iPhone to early 2011 (as soon as January) because of the antenna issues with the iPhone 4. To reduce the cost of the current iPhone 4 Case Program, the company is currently working on a less expensive all-silicone version of the Bumper to give away after September.”
KitGuru says: Do we really need another version of the iPad? share your views with KitGuru.
Multi colored border, home button not in middle, USB port… im a tad skeptical, could be good though 😀
And just me or it looks pretty thick?
Or… it just that concept art someone came up with?
Looks like concept art to me, but its interesting. Would a 7 inch machine be that usuable? seems rather small to me.
I find my touch in comparison easy enough to type on, but i would never use it for productive work. basic email and IM its fine, full on word documents no..
However 7 inches… a friend of mine has a ipad and playe on it a fair bit, brings it to school every day to play around on, never really played with the office apps but I kinda believe 7 inches could be the sweet spot between functionality and portability
yeah I kinda agree with pineapple express (sorry couldnt be arsed with all the keys there bud:p) – 7 inches is a sweet spot for size and portability. the current ipad is really portable, but for those who just want a little thing for a pocket, its a bit bulky IMO. if they get the price right (300 ish) then this could really enhance the current range.
There is also the fact that a percentage of the current user base would ALSO buy the 7 inch, as Apple lovers tend to spend a lot of money on their products. I can see people owning both.
It would probably be more affordable than the current iPad. Somebody needs more practice drawing concept art.
Just gonna waste money, the google nexus will literally crap all over it in every way and then there is the kindle fire, there are 2 different tablet markets really, 7″ and 10″ apple clearly dominates the 10″ section (9.7″ screen I know) but they are way too late to make a big impact on the 7″ market only if they pull something spectacular which is highly unlikely given the lack of new features on recent releases from apple, only retina display :/