Why would Apple make a 7-inch iPad? The kids
Summary: A new survey shows that adults might not have much use for a smaller iPad, but they would think about buying it for their kids.
While Apple products have always been cool among college students (even back in the Stone Age when I was an undergraduate), the company really became a mainstream presence when the iPod, and then iPhone, became hits with high school students, then tweens, and even elementary school kids. (If you don't have children, trust me on this.)
Children also love the iPad, though due to its higher price, they are more likely to be "borrowing" their parents' tablet than learning -- i.e., playing games -- on their own. And that fact alone may explain while Apple appears to be readying a smaller iPad, despite Steve Jobs' infamous diss of 7-inch tablets. (Though privately he may have been more receptive.)
Proof of that sentiment comes in a recent poll by CouponCodes4u. While an overwhelming majority of respondents -- 78 percent -- said they'd rather get the forthcoming iPhone 5 (or whatever Apple plans to call it) than a mini iPad, 21 percent said they would consider buying a smaller iPad for their children. Of those surveyed, 39 percent already had an iPad, which might explain why many aren't keen about a 7-inch iPad -- but also explain why more than a fifth of respondents would think of buying one for their kids.
You might not think a company as chic (at least in tech circles) as Apple would lower itself to making product decisions based on 10-year olds, but it makes perfect sense in terms of growing its market share. Look no further than the iPod Nano for a cheaper, smaller version of a pricey Apple product that would more likely be a child's Christmas or birthday present than its full-sized sibling. Even if there wouldn't seem to be huge consumer demand for an "iPad Mini," the company doesn't want to see more kids playing their own Amazon Kindle Fire or Google Nexus 7 tablets instead of grabbing the iPad away from their parents.
Would you buy a smaller iPad for your child? Do you think a mini iPad would be a big hit among younger users? Let us know your thoughts in the Talkback section below.
[Via TabTimes]
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Talkback
But The Apps Won't Work
And because Android already deals with all those form factors, it just makes Android more and more attractive.
To devlopers
Profit
I think "for kids" is a red herring. I don't see any benefit for kids. All the kids I've seen handle the larger form just fine, like the ones running around the Met taking pictures of the art and reading up on the work. Besides, isn't the prevailing child UI/UX practices to make things larger for kids?
I also think, unless Apple has figured out how to make a mini-iPad less expensive to make than anyone else (and who else but Apple could do that), I don't expect it to be that much cheaper than iPad, if it exists at all. Apple is not a zero margin player.
Joe
Hardware
Well, at least in regards to hardware, that is.
joe
Ultimate goal is profit not market share
I also don't think it's the size that matters in regards to selling for kids, it's the price.
Not sure Amazon and Google is causing Apple to lose sleep.
The market is Apple's to define, if they release a smaller tablet (or larger iPod Touch), it's not because of pressure from competition.
what if they used the same resolution as the iphone?
Agrred
Indeed to keep the costs down, the 960x640 iPod Touch/iPhone resolution would be ideal, an if you hold it slightly further away, it would still be a retina display - LOL.
I flich every time my kids pick up my iPad, but thankfully it is covered by an 'accidental damage X-warranty', so need not really worry they will wreck it.
Re: what if they used the same resolution as the iphone?
iPhone Resolution
They avoided the subsidizes on the iPad
Interestingly
I hear that from Android developers and not iOS developers. Purely anecdotal and I am not a developer. Just what I hear.
Joe
Indeed
Don't let any facts get into your FUD
"The reason most of your existing drawing code just works is that native drawing technologies such as Core Graphics take the current scale factor into account for you. For example, if one of your views implements a drawRect: method, UIKit automatically sets the scale factor for that view to the screen’s scale factor. In addition, UIKit automatically modifies the current transformation matrix (CTM) of any graphics contexts used during drawing to take into account the view’s scale factor. Thus, any content you draw in your drawRect: method is scaled appropriately for the underlying device’s screen."
Re: Don't let any facts get into your FUD
Android deals with automatically rearranging layouts for different screen sizes and densities while keeping widgets, text etc at reasonably consistent dimensions. That's the real challenge with dealing with such a wide range of form factors, which IOS and its sympathizers (like yourself) haven't grasped.
Millions of people will buy $200 tablets for their kids this Christmas
They will not be ipads at $200
Apple already sells the ipod touch in the $200 range and the ipad2 for $400.
The only safe price range is somehere around $300 area, depending on the cost to manufacture a 7 inch ipad.
Anything outside those numbers would most likely cannibalize sales of ipod touch or ipad2 and eating into profit margins.
This article is dumb!
I agree... IF
That's my prediction, at any rate.
I've always felt that Apple's choice of a 4:3 aspect ratio was the correct one for a lage 10" tablet, but that for 7" tablets the 16:9 form factor makes more sense.
"fits into a purse or a man's front pants pocket."