You’ll have to forgive us over the next few weeks as every other post will likely be commenting on the latest iPad speculation. I’m afraid it’s that time of year. The iPad 3 is expected to appear next month, and thankfully we have a pretty good idea of what’s coming. There’s been nothing like the swarm of crazy rumors that surrounded the “iPhone 5″ last summer.
One unusual rumor has cropped up, and it’s nothing too dissimilar to what we’ve heard in the past. “Apple is working on a smaller [iMac/MacBook/iPhone/iPod/iPad] for the budget-end of the market.” The speculation comes from Wall Street Journal. The publication alleges that Cupertino is testing an 8″ touch sensitive display panel for a smaller tablet. Unfortunately, Apple declined to comment, and the source refused to out him/herself.
The reasoning?
”Samsung’s 5.3-inch Galaxy Note and Amazon’s 7-inch Kindle Fire have been selling well. It means consumers want a tablet that is smaller than the existing 9.7-inch iPad,” said Diana Wu, an analyst at Capital Securities in Taipei. “IPad’s features are good enough but pricing would be an important factor in the mass market, especially in big emerging markets like China and India.”
Correct me if I’m wrong. The main reason people buy the Kindle Fire is that it costs $200, not because it’s smaller. If the Fire had the same pricing but had a 10-inch display, it would most likely be just as popular if not more so. And the Galaxy Note is hardly a tablet. It’s a phablet. Plus, since when do Apple release a product just because other companies have? It’s usually the other way around.
I’m going out on a limb here, and I’m going to say – just like the iPhone Nano and 17″ iMac rumors, this has no legs. It may be in testing, but I doubt it will make it to market. After all, Apple already declared that 9.7″ is the perfect sized display for a tablet.
What do you think? Do we need an 8″ iPad?
