Steve Jobs would have been on board with the rumors we are all hearing about a new 7-inch iPad.
In fact, it may have even been given his seal of approval. This is another one of the great factoids coming to light as a result of the very public patent battle between Apple and Samsung.
An email from Apple SVP Eddy Cue was revealed in court documents, in which he discussed the potential of a 7-inch iPad.
“I expressed this to Steve [Jobs] several times since Thanksgiving and he seemed very receptive the last time. I found email, books, Facebook, and video very compelling on a 7-inch. Web browsing is definitely the weakest point, but still usable,” Cue wrote in the email.
It would by all accounts be an answer to the growing popularity of Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet. Analysts are looking to the Amazon device as the potential iPad killer that we’ve all been waiting for since last year.
Amazon was able to turn the world on its head with the Kindle, and it seems as though it is already making good on its plans to do the same to tablets with the Kindle Fire.
According to the report, the miniature iPad will have a 7.85-inch display, making it slightly larger than a Kindle Fire but not incredibly so.
The resolution is apparently 1024 x 768 and it would be capable of playing all the same apps that anyone can access on the iPad or iPad 2.
Obviously, apps that utilize the new iPad’s Retina Display technology would not be compatible. And thus opens what could be the biggest problem with launching an iPad mini.
It’s interesting because Amazon is reportedly looking to launch a larger, more expensive version of its tablet, the Kindle Fire. So everyone wants to get a piece of all sides of the market.
