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

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by AdamV

...Unless they will develop glasses with a HUD like display that will be affordable...

Now THAT is an idea!

[Graham]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Even though I prefer Android over Apple, the iPad is better. The reason is, an unsubsidized WiFi only version sells for $499. I've yet to see a major Android tablet target that price point.

The biggest electronics chain in the UK, Dixons Group, has announced an unsubsidised 10" Android tablet with a 10 hour battery life, webcam, USB port, SD slot and wifi for £250.

http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/...ndroid-os-2-2/

Originally rumoured to be available from 18 October, now saying in shops from 1 November.

Graham

[mldavis2]

Jobs is an interesting techie. But, as they say, 'when you have a lawnmower, everything looks like grass.' Apple thrives on miniaturization, which has become almost a fetish. They also are heavily into proprietary hardware and planned obsolescence. I have avoided many of their products because of a combination of cost, lack of customization opportunities (I build my own to suit my needs), expensive peripherals, inability to replace batteries and a smaller software base than the ubiquitous PC platforms. That's not to say they don't have good products in specific niches (iPod). You have to give Jobs credit for innovation, even if it doesn't always work out for the consumer.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Graham

The biggest electronics chain in the UK, Dixons Group, has announced an unsubsidised 10" Android tablet with a 10 hour battery life, webcam, USB port, SD slot and wifi for £250.

http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/...ndroid-os-2-2/

Originally rumoured to be available from 18 October, now saying in shops from 1 November.

Graham

Thanks for the link. I've never heard of this company before. Nice prices, but I'm withholding judgment until I see build quality and full specs.

There are quite a few budget tablets out there and they're usually priced low for a reason - cheap parts and low end specs.

[Tattncat]

I have my nook (I can replace the battery myself) and my Touch for when I need the smaller size or need to read in the dark, or my 505 for when the other two are recharging.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Thanks for the link. I've never heard of this company before. Nice prices, but I'm withholding judgment until I see build quality and full specs.

There are quite a few budget tablets out there and they're usually priced low for a reason - cheap parts and low end specs.

Dixons run the two largest computer shop chains throughout the UK: PC World and Currys. They are the high street face of computing in the UK. Their Advent brand is well-established. Obviously we need to wait and see the build quality, but the chances are that it will be respectable.

The full specs are here:

http://www.free-download-blog.com/ad...pecs-features/

Graham

[MaggieScratch]

Last week I saw a guy walking down the street playing Solitaire on his iPad. (It was a cloudy day, if you were wondering.) And yes, as a matter of fact he did look like a tool.

The iPad is a nice piece of kit, but like many here, I'm hoping for a 7" tablet--but with Palm, er, HP WebOS on it. :-) (And a PixelQi screen!)

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by MaggieScratch

The iPad is a nice piece of kit, but like many here, I'm hoping for a 7" tablet--but with Palm, er, HP WebOS on it. :-) (And a PixelQi screen!)

Yeah, waiting to see a WebOS tablet myself. WebOS 2.0 is due this week.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Baah. Everyone wants 10 inches... but sometimes, they just have to accept that 7 inches is all they're gonna get.




Yup. I had to do it.

[thinkpad]

Originally Posted by MaggieScratch

The iPad is a nice piece of kit, but like many here, I'm hoping for a 7" tablet--but with Palm, er, HP WebOS on it. :-) (And a PixelQi screen!)

I've been patiently waiting for a tablet with a Pixel QI screen way too long, lets just hope it's all worth it when they finally release one.

[BWhite]

Originally Posted by Logseman

What I'd like to see are tablets with attachable keyboards. If you need a netbook, you have it, and if you don't, you just resort to the touchscreen.

Asus Eee Pad EP121

Rumored to cost around $1000 US and to be available in December or January
http://www.gadgetfolder.com/asus-eee...ets-price.html

If you search Google you can find video of the tablet portion of the EP121 being attached/detached from the keyboard, but this was with a non-working prototype.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/31/a...p121-hands-on/
The OS on this tablet is supposed to be Windows 7, as I recall.

Mind, Microsoft knows they are behind on tablet features for Windows so come summer of 2011 I have no idea what Windows 7 is going to look like on a tablet. The same can sort of be said of Android, since a Google employee came out and told the tablet makers (can't remember where I read this) to stop with all the 7" tablets until Android 3.0 is ready. Of course the tablet makers have decided to march ahead in spite of that suggestion; market share and all that.

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I'd like to have two Android tablets - 4" and 7".

Too bad they're not making 4" ones and a shame most manufacturers are treating their tablets like cellphones by partnering with wireless carriers. I don't want to be forced into a data plan. That's why I don't have a smartphone.

Optional Data Plan, iPad versus 7" Android wars begin on November 11 in the US:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/20/v...for-600-world/

May the better tablet win. I suppose this being Mobile Read I should say, 'may the better ebook device win?'

Bottom line... come February of 2011 the readers of these boards are going to have a whole lot of hardware choices, or more waiting if you have high standards. Consumer Electronics Show
http://www.cesweb.org/aboutces.asp
is scheduled for January 6th to 9th - that is about eighty days of waiting.

I too find it interesting that Verizon will be selling both the iPad and the Galaxy Tab side-by-side (sort of) in their stores.

[Crowl]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Thanks for the link. I've never heard of this company before. Nice prices, but I'm withholding judgment until I see build quality and full specs.

There are quite a few budget tablets out there and they're usually priced low for a reason - cheap parts and low end specs.

Advent is basically Dixons own brand so unless you live in the UK you probably wouldn't have heard of them.

If you look at that tablet, it does seem fairly easy to see how they have saved money with the lack of much built-in memory and as a bonus for them they have also simplified their ordering for xmas, no need to worry about which model is going to be more popular you just concentrate on flogging sd cards with the tablet.

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by emellaich

I find that Jobs doesn't always mean what we think he means.

1) I still remember the pre-introduction quote on the Segway: "They'll have to reinvent cities for this thing." At the time everyone thought it meant that cities would be reinvented due to the introduction of the Segway. With hindsight, I think it meant that the only way it would be successful was ifyou reinvented the city.

2) No ebook readers. I think this = no dedicated ebook readers. He wants to sell many more devices and is willing to sell a multi-purpose device, but thinks the market for ebooks is too small.

3) No tablets. There are two ways he rejected previous visions of tablets. First, the Newton style: even after the iPad was announced he stated that one of the keys was finding an O/S that didn't depend on handwriting. Second, no windows style: he didn't think the tablet needed or should be a full computer. It's attributes should be different.

4) Regarding screen size, some folks have pointed to the smaller iPhone/Touch screens. The point is that those aren't intended to be tablets, although some of us use them as such.

So, maybe no 7-inch iPad, but how about a 7-inch game board, or a 7-inch media controller for the new AppleTV, that just happens to run the same iOS.

Understand, I'm not saying he is right, just that this is how I believe he interprets these things.

Very perceptive.

I recently lost my K3 (whoever found it has stolen it since it had my name & address are on it & he hasn't returned it.) So I had to replace it. After considering the matter, I've replaced it with a KDX. This is mainly because my ipad has shown me that I read better - more easily & comfortably - on a large screen. I find that I concentrate better without needing to turn the page so frequently.

But the process of considering whether to go large or stay small sort of prepared me for Job's comments about a 7 inch pad.

I think you are right. What he is saying is that he does not see what the market niche is for a 7 inch. Those of us on this board see the niche as an EBR (ebook reader) niche, but truthfully, that niche is filled with the 6 inch Kindle/Sony/Nook readers. Considered from the multifunctional iPad/tablet perspective - that is, from the nonreader perspective, downsizing the 10 inch tablets to 7 inches does not make anything better, and makes many things worse. likewise, upsizing the 4 inch iPod/smartphone size to 7 inches does not make a better ipod/smartphone

Jobs will make a 7 inch tablet when he finds a proper function for it that will allow Apple to set the standard for that size. You & I will see the thing as an EBR, but it will no more be an EBR than an iPad is. And despite iBooks & the various EBR apps, most people do not use the iPad to read books - Just as Jobs thought.

If Apple makes a 7 incher I might get one for my train commute. But I plan to retire in a year or to, & without the commute, I can't see when I'd use one as opposed to using the larger iPad. and if I decide I'd like a small device for reading, the dedicated EBRs will be much cheaper.

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by charleski

Just remember that in SteveWorld the Kindle's actually a massive failure: "The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore."

I don't live in SteveWorld, and I wouldn't want to.

Me, I'm cross-cultural. I live in Steveworld, but hang out in Kindletopia a lot. I go to Sonyville occasionally. And I am still a citizen of Paperland.

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by mldavis2

Jobs is an interesting techie. But, as they say, 'when you have a lawnmower, everything looks like grass.' Apple thrives on miniaturization, which has become almost a fetish. They also are heavily into proprietary hardware and planned obsolescence. I have avoided many of their products because of a combination of cost, lack of customization opportunities (I build my own to suit my needs), expensive peripherals, inability to replace batteries and a smaller software base than the ubiquitous PC platforms. That's not to say they don't have good products in specific niches (iPod). You have to give Jobs credit for innovation, even if it doesn't always work out for the consumer.

Depends on what kind of a consumer you are. If you like doing your own gardening, why hire a gardener? But if you like gardens, but not the gardening, then get a gardener.

Apple makes products for an end user who does not want to do the work of integrating all the hardware & software. Not for people who enjoy doing that work themselves. Different strokes for different folks.

Further, Apple tends to dominated the niches it chooses - or rather, chooses niches where it sees an opportunity to dominate. Even in computers, where that hasn't been the case, I think I see a strategy to create niches to dominate. Consider the latest Macbook Air - is there anything else like it?

I don't think what Apple does is planned obsolescence so much as it is unrelenting improvement. PO is about making things that will need to be replaced whether or not they are improved. Apple products always improve. But oddly, they don't become obsolete as fast as one might think. My 10 year old desktop Mac still works fine; my 5 year old iMac works fine: my wife's 4 year old PowerBook has just developed a problem probably worth fixing; my 3G iPhone still works; I gave my 2G to a friend; - still works. Heck, my My Mac Color Classic still works. Technological improvement is not PO.

(I really wish Steve would decide to make a dedicated ebook reader. It would probably blow the Kindle & other EBRs away...I'd bet he'd make one that would convert my pbooks to ebooks, and dispense with my need for glasses.)