Despite iPad's success, most vendors going with smaller tablets
By Brad Reed, Network World
February 23, 2012 09:34 AM ET
February 23, 2012 09:34 AM ET
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Apple's iPad may be the most successful tablet in the world, but few manufacturers seem willing to copy it from a size perspective.
While the iPad and its roomy 9.7-inch display screen are popular with users everywhere, it seems that Apple's rivals are intent on making tablets that range from having cozier five-to-eight-inch displays. Even Apple may be hedging its bets on larger tablets, as the company has been rumored to be testing out an eight-inch version of the iPad that would act as a complement to its classic model.
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So why have so many manufacturers decided to go with smaller tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy Note, BlackBerry PlayBook, Amazon Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet? Rapid Repair CEO Aaron Vronko and iFixit technical communication director Miroslav Djuric both say that it comes down to portability.
"A 10-inch form factor is still a little bit on the large side," Djuric says. "You need a backpack to carry it around. But if you had something that's eight inches, that almost might be pocketable, it might fit in ladies' purses easier."
Vronko expresses a similar sentiment and says that a smaller tablet is "lighter, more portable, potentially even pocketable and easier to fit inside a purse."
But beyond the portability issue, are there any obvious advantages or disadvantages to having a smaller screen size?
On the plus side, Vronko says having smaller screens makes it more difficult for users to break their screens as tablets keep getting thinner. He notes that he's seen Rapid Repair customers break their iPad 2 screens at a significantly higher rate than they broke the first generation of iPads and he attributes this to the fact that the iPad 2's glass "is about 40% thinner than the original iPad." So if tablets are going to keep getting thinner, it makes more sense to have a smaller overall screen size to lower the chances of a break.
The other big positive, Djuric says, is that smaller tablets often mean smaller prices. The seven-inch Amazon Kindle Fire, which was the second-most popular tablet on the market in the fourth quarter last year after the iPad, was a big success because its small size was part of the reason Amazon was able to sell it for just $199. Djuric says Apple may consider releasing an eight-inch iPad at some point just so it can offer its users a version of the tablet that's roughly in the same price range as the Kindle Fire.
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