Apple 7in iPad not out until Q3 2012
LG doing the display, moles claim
Keenly hoping Apple will bring out the 7in iPad of rumours past? You'll get your wish next year, apparently.
To be precise, it'll be a 7.85in job, Chinese supply chain chat maintains, but it won't be out until Q3 2012 at the earliest, DigiTimes jotted down today.
The 7in panels will be coming from LG, and the moles reckon the screens will ship to Apple's contract manufacturer facilities at the end of Q2 2012.
Apple has said in the past that 7in isn't a good size for tablets, though that may have simply been Steve Jobs' bias rather than a considered business decision.
Even if was the latter, the apparent success of Amazon's Kindle Fire, is persuading many a punter to suggest that Apple will follow it and release a smaller tablet than the 10in iPad 2.
Except, of course, Kindle Fire's (unproven) success is about its price more than its size. And since Apple is not known for punting low-cost kit, it's hard to see it choosing to ape Amazon for the wrong reason.
That said, a 7in iPad could shore up the 10-incher's position, particular now that phones are nudging beyond 5in. ®
COMMENTS
Not a toy
So get a 10" one. I want portability, not a glass pane to lug around. I have my 7" Samsung Galaxy tab with me at all times. It has no games on it and I use it at least once every couple of hours.
When have these rumours ever been true? they keep mentioning an iPhone nano but it's never happened.
A useless xmas present?
So "Apple has said in the past that 7in isn't a good size for tablets". It is certainly then for that very large useless xmas present market. Xmas 2012 to be uselessly exact.
Apple slavishly copying the RIM PlayBook
Wanna bet it'll have a 16x9 aspect ratio display too? Maybe even stereo speakers? Apple - they're nothing but 2nd-rate trying-hard copy-cats.
(Please note the Joke Alert.)
