Steve Jobs Calls 7-Inch Tablets 'Dead on Arrival', Says 10-Inches Minimum

[Sonist]

Steve Jobs Calls 7-Inch Tablets 'Dead on Arrival', Says 10-Inches Minimum

"...Commenting on avalanche of tablets heading to market. Just a handful of credible entrants. Almost all use 7" screen, compared to iPad at nearly 10" screen. 7" screen is only 45% as large as iPad's screen. Hold an iPad in portrait view and draw a horizontal line halfway down. What's left is a 7" screen...too small. There are clear limits to how close elements can be on the screen before users can't touch accurately. We believe 10-inch screen is minimum necessary."

I wholeheartedly agree.

I hope the next iPad bumps the screen size by an inch or inch and a half. Or somebody else comes out with 10"+, but not the 16x9 cheepo screens.

Then finally we'll have a great PDF reader

[tubemonkey]

There are clear limits to how close elements can be on the screen before users can't touch accurately. We believe 10-inch screen is minimum necessary.

Is that why the 3.5" touch screens on the iPhone and iPod touch don't work?

[daffy4u]

What's happening with the rumors of a 7 inch iPad coming out?

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Is that why the 3.5" touch screens on the iPhone and iPod touch don't work?

That is what I was wondering...

Its not that I don't think that there is demand for 10" even 12-14" screens... clearly Apple has demonstrated the larger format has legs. I am not however convinced that the larger tablets best suit the needs of many. More than a few people, while otherwise enthusiastic about the i-Pad have noted that it was a bit heavy to hold for long periods. Likewise, at its current size, it is too large to fit in even a moderately large purse (for the women) or any pocket guys are likely to have in jackets. A 6-7" screen, while perhaps not ideal for every application, makes for a lighter, more transportable tablet and I think one that will retain enough functionality to be a useful step up from a smart phone.

--
Bill

[leebase]

Tablet apps need the room. Of course you can run phone apps making them loom bigger, which is all you'll have for your android tablets to begin with anyway.

As he pointed out, the 7" screen is actually half the screen space of the iPad. Not enough of an improvement over smart phones to make it worthwhile losing the ability to put it in your pocket.

Still, Jobs doesn't like net books, but they sell in the tens of millions.

Lee

[cmdahler]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

What's happening with the rumors of a 7 inch iPad coming out?

This is just what Jobs always says right before Apple brings out the very product Jobs was disparaging. If you look back through Apple's history since Jobs returned to the company, this has happened every single time Apple has come out with a new product. It's become such common knowledge amongst Apple aficionados that it's taken as a normal signal for upcoming Apple products. If you ever hear Jobs talking down about some product or other, you can place good money on the real truth being that Apple has exactly that same product in their back room and will be bringing it out within a year or two. Admittedly, Jobs doesn't tend to do this sort of thing relatively soon to Apple's planned launch of the product; normally it's about a year or so ahead of time. This may signal, therefore, that while a 7" tablet from Apple is all but assured at this point because Jobs is talking it down, its launch may be a bit longer than the rumor mill has been expecting.

[bill_mchale]

No offense, but you are sounding like an Apple fan boy here.

Originally Posted by leebase

Tablet apps need the room. Of course you can run phone apps making them loom bigger, which is all you'll have for your android tablets to begin with anyway.

This is just silly... Apps are just apps. Some may be optimized for the functions and or small screens of a smart phone, but some are just games or ebook readers or web browsers.

As he pointed out, the 7" screen is actually half the screen space of the iPad. Not enough of an improvement over smart phones to make it worthwhile losing the ability to put it in your pocket.

So lets see, assuming the same proportions, a 7" screen has roughly four times the area of the iPhone's 3.5" screen. That does not make it useful? But simply doubling it one more time does?

Lets consider the fact that many people with 5" and 6" ebook readers find them a notable improvement over the 3.5" screen a smart phone has. For many applications, a 6-8" screen provides plenty or real estate.

Still, Jobs doesn't like net books, but they sell in the tens of millions.

Bingo!

--
Bill

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by cmdahler

This is just what Jobs always says right before Apple brings out the very product Jobs was disparaging. If you look back through Apple's history since Jobs returned to the company, this has happened every single time Apple has come out with a new product. It's become such common knowledge amongst Apple aficionados that it's taken as a normal signal for upcoming Apple products. If you ever hear Jobs talking down about some product or other, you can place good money on the real truth being that Apple has exactly that same product in their back room and will be bringing it out within a year or two. Admittedly, Jobs doesn't tend to do this sort of thing relatively soon to Apple's planned launch of the product; normally it's about a year or so ahead of time. This may signal, therefore, that while a 7" tablet from Apple is all but assured at this point because Jobs is talking it down, its launch may be a bit longer than the rumor mill has been expecting.

Your point actually tracks with Steve Jobs comment about people not reading. That's why he created the iBooks app and store for all those non-readers.

[SlowRain]

I envision a world where 3.5-4" phones, 6-7" tablets, and 9-10" tablets can all co-exist peacefully, and it'll be up to the consumer to decide which one suits their needs best. If people want 7" tablets, but Steve Almighty isn't willing to produce one, perhaps those people can just by an Android one.

[mldavis2]

I personally (no offense, please from those who see it otherwise) have no use for a device that does everything, but nothing well. If you have the room to carry a larger device around, that won't fit into a pocket and which emulates a large hardbound book size, go for it. It's more expensive, heavier and has a shorter battery charge life. What matters to me is being able to see text at 'normal reading size' (whatever that might be for each of us), last for a couple of weeks in the wilderness away from a recharge, and be light enough to carry without noticeable weight or encumbrance.

If you grab a paperback and measure the printed page size (not the size of the paper itself) you'll come up with about 3.5 x 5 inches of printed area and in some cases some very small font sizes. Color? I'll check that out on my 24" computer monitor, thanks, if I need it.

What I do not like are devices with no user-replaceable batteries. My Apple devices (Shuffle and Nano) are now useless because their batteries are weak. The Kindle is similar, but at least you can get into it after the warranty is gone.

[EowynCarter]

10" is a bit large to carry every day. 5" is sometimes small. 7" can be a good compromise if you want something large but not too large.

That depends on what you want to do with the tablet.
And I find my 5" archos to be quite usable.

[WillAdams]

The big problem is that 7" tablets aren't pocketable in ordinary pockets --- but they do fit in most pants cargo pockets, and one can get shirts which have pockets large enough to hold them (or have the shirts tailor-made) --- but how many people are willing to do these things? Is it a sufficiently large market? Especially when one subtracts the number of people w/ a cell phone who won't be willing (or need) to carry another device?

mldavis2 point about the size of the print area in a paperback is a cogent one --- high-density displays on cell phones make them much more useable for such reading.

William
(who has some pants w/ cargo pockets, and shirts w/ large pockets and has had shirts tailor-made and would like to see a replacement for the Newton made)

[Greg Anos]

Originally Posted by mldavis2

I personally (no offense, please from those who see it otherwise) have no use for a device that does everything, but nothing well. If you have the room to carry a larger device around, that won't fit into a pocket and which emulates a large hardbound book size, go for it. It's more expensive, heavier and has a shorter battery charge life. What matters to me is being able to see text at 'normal reading size' (whatever that might be for each of us), last for a couple of weeks in the wilderness away from a recharge, and be light enough to carry without noticeable weight or encumbrance.

If you grab a paperback and measure the printed page size (not the size of the paper itself) you'll come up with about 3.5 x 5 inches of printed area and in some cases some very small font sizes. Color? I'll check that out on my 24" computer monitor, thanks, if I need it.

What I do not like are devices with no user-replaceable batteries. My Apple devices (Shuffle and Nano) are now useless because their batteries are weak. The Kindle is similar, but at least you can get into it after the warranty is gone.

Agree. I have Astak/BeBook readers because of the replaceable battery. (It uses a Nokia form battery). The software was reasonable good and OpenInkPot is better. On ione machine, I'm on a second battery...

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward

Agree. I have Astak/BeBook readers because of the replaceable battery. (It uses a Nokia form battery). The software was reasonable good and OpenInkPot is better. On ione machine, I'm on a second battery...

Aside from the fact the one Astak reader I have died within two months of purchasing it, I like the JetBook Lite even better because, not only are the batteries user replaceable, they can be easily changed in the field with easily obtained AA batteries that can be recharged when out of the reader. for the same reason, I'm eschewing all battery powered electronic devices that run on anything other than AAs or AAAs.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by WillAdams

The big problem is that 7" tablets aren't pocketable in ordinary pockets ---

I don't need it to fit in my pocket. It's not something I'd carry on a daily basis. I want a 7" tablet for travel.