The Taiwan-based publication Liberty Times recently shared some interesting information about the rumored 7.85-inch “iPad Mini.” The publication reported that LG and AU Optronics were certified to supply the LCD panel for the iPad Mini. It even goes on to claim that both manufacturers were working to ship the panels for production and for a release sometime during the latter half of 2012.
Rumors of a smaller sized iPad have been met with skepticism by many, especially in light of comments made by the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs on an earnings conference call in 2010. At the time, Jobs said that the size of smaller form-factor tablets wasn’t “sufficient to create great tablet apps.” According to Daring Fireball’s John Gruber, a 7.85-inch display with the 1,024x768 resolution would be “usable.” Gruber performed an informal test by taking screenshots of an iPad and then viewing them in landscape mode. According to him, “there are a couple of areas where he thinks the text is maybe a little too small, but it’s not ridiculously small.”
Rumors and speculation of the iPad Mini have really ramped up the over the last few months because Apple is said to take on Amazon and other competitors with a smaller 7.85-inch offering priced cheaper for customers looking to enter the tablet market. Many have been skeptical of such a product due to arguments against it which came from the late Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs. According to him, you’d need super-small fingers to navigate smaller tablets.
Despite what everyone says, a 7.85-inch iPad doesn’t seem like it is likely to happen this year, especially with news on part suppliers. We’ll have to wait and see though to see what Apple has in store for everyone.
Source: Liberty Times (via Google Translate)
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