Top 10 Reasons There Won’t Be a 7" “Mini” iPad in 2012
10) Steve Jobs was against it - too early to let the press frenzy go wild with headlines about Steve Jobs “last wishes” being ignored already.
09) Plus, he kind of knows what he talking about. Apple didn’t randomly select the screen sizes they use, they tested and re-tested and just as you can go larger with a phone screen, once it’s too large to sweep the average thumb across the screen with one swipe, it’s not a phone anymore, it’s a mini tablet and on the larger size tablet, what’s the best size for reading content (web surfing) and viewing movies and portability - about 10" … as many Kindle users complain about web surfing on a 7" screen which is not just 3" smaller than ipad’s screen surface size but 50% SMALLER!
08) The reason for the breath and depth of iPad apps (and iPhone apps) is that there is ONE SCREEN SIZE (for each product). Why bother messing with that?
07) What would be the competition? The Kindle Fire? The ONLY reason the Kindle Fire is at 7" is that it’s the least amount of money Amazon can lose at the maximum screen size. (And that it was larger than the Nook). And after all is said and done, Apple still managed to outsell the MONEY-LOSING Kindle Fire at least by 5 to one or perhaps even more and this year, the projection is that the iPad (3) will outsell the Kindle Fire by 10 to 1. Clearly there is not enough volume demand to raise Apple’s attention. Apple is pretty much selling every one they manufacturer at FULL margins and FULL price. Besides, the iPad is already a “MINI” to Apple’s Mac Air’s. If you find the 9.7" screen too small, for $150 more, you can get a full computer with keyboard … so while Apple’s competitors “mini” tablets are compromises, Apple’s are a choice - that is why they sell them out at full price and full margins.
06) What would you price it at? Now that the last generation iPad pricing is set at $100 below the “regular” new iPad, at $399, most people would simply buy the larger screen. So, it has to be less - $299? Again, why introduce a new screen size that complicates the line, creates buying confusion and LOWERS Apple’s margins? That’s not to say there will never be a 7" iPad but until a point where ipad sales growth slows or a competitor has a meaningful counter strategy, no point in undercutting your own margins.
04) It’s simply another “ruse” project to confound and confuse competitors - they’ll think they’ll be competiting against a 7" iPad - waste a lot of energy.
03) It’s also a good way to track leaks and test whether Samsung really has a wall between client manufacturing and their retail division.
02) Why the rumors? Besides Mac sites wanting to act as prophets or insiders with all the knowledge, idiot WS analysts still thinks Apple operates like every other manufacturer, if we can sell one coffee maker, let’s make 50 models. This is the same kind of parrot think that causes them to keep saying there “MUST” be a iPhone Nano/Mini or a “cheap” iPhone when Apple sells EVERYONE they can make at FULL MARGIN and they willingful ignore the “free” 3G Phone availabilty because it doesn’t fit into their analysis that to be succesful, Apple must be like the others (and or listen so they can say, “I told you so.”).
01) Perhaps part of the confusion comes from that Apple did introduce a iPod Touch nano, Shuffle different from the “Classic." Like the iPod, there comes a time when you need a "Nano” or a different one but first the tablet is not the same as a music player - the iPod clearly has more narrowly defined segments & different users. One is ultra portability (Shuffle), one is for workouts (Nano), & one (Touch) for kids or commuters (who don’t want or need a phone). Some of these segments clearly do not serve a tablet purpose - who wants a tablet to hold while jogging but clearly an iPad already works fine resting in front of you on the treadmill. Instead of thinking through these, analysts just spout off saying they need a nano. If and when there is a 7" iPad, it will be dazzlingly different as the touch was to the classic or the nano. It will be a screen you can stretch out to 7" or something like that … or some super lightweight screen that is essentially the iPad (with a stick that beams onto the screen you can keep in your pocket). THAT will be a iPad Nano and it will be priced where you have to decide what you want to trade off fpr this dazzling ultra portable/flexible screen … AND it won’t be discounted - in the more likely Apple scenario, you will want to buy both as it was with people who owned more than one iPod.