Steve Jobs disses 7" tablet form factor - Who else thinks this is full of crap?

[xaueious]

Steve Jobs drops knowledge on earnings call: calls out Google and RIM, says 7-inch tablets are 'DOA' (Update: complete Jobs audio!) -- Engadget

Oh, and 7-inch tablets? You're in for a bag of hurt. Steve pretty much outright killed any potential for 7-inch iPad rumors, saying that the software just isn't right for that size ("This size is useless unless you include sandpaper so users can sand their fingers down to a quarter of their size."), and that users have no need for a pocket sized tablet when they already have a smartphone. He called the iPad's upcoming competition in the space "DOA."

This is assuming that people are buying smartphones AND tablets.

Cost
In places where mobile data services haven't developed or where the cost of smartphones is just too much in terms of cost, a 7" MID/PMP is the perfect companion tool.

Function
Android works great with a 7" screen. The interface is identical to the screen 3 times smaller. Unless the same person who owns a smartphone has to suddenly develop a hemorrhage in his finger and make it swell more than 3 times in diameter, chances are that it's actually easier to use the 7" tablet over the 3.5" smartphone.

7" is not only the right size for large pockets, it also just fits in one hand, and can actually be held in one hand. A larger form factor combined with the added weight forces a user to use the device with two hands. This is especially problematic with people who want to use their tablets on the go, standing up or walking.



This is where Android can excel.

Thoughts?

 

[JRowe]

He's perfectly right - right now. For the next 2 or 3 years, tablet PCs are going to be the "new" thing. We haven't had a genuinely 'new' tech phenomena since smart phones started being commonly available. Since the x86 'system on a chip's are too power hungry to be reasonably competitive with ARM architecture chips, we have Android and iOS devices being the only reasonable players in the market.

The novelty will mean that a majority of consumers won't expect anything - this will be an entirely novel experience for them. This means that bigger will mean better to most consumers, so a 7" device will be seen as inferior to one with a larger screen. Use case scenarios - such as home media controllers, entertainment media delivery, and so forth, will be overlooked in favor of more personal and immediate use cases, or all of the things you'd expect to do with a 10.1 inch or larger screen.

Microsoft has bet the farm on a power efficient x86 system on a chip. This essentially means that the traditional desktop OS software is expected by the big guys to be viable contenders in the mobile market, sometime in the next 8 years.

In the meantime, iOS, Android, and a few others have a chance to gain marketshare. By the time the 7" devices solidify their niche/s, there won't be a competition at the OS level, and Steve Jobs won't give a rat's ass about the particular specs of a device his OS resides on.

In a nutshell, he is describing the current market conditions, as opposed to making a qualitative judgment on particular device classes.

 

[ZilverZurfarn]

I actually think the 7" form factor is the sweet spot. Ideal for most things you can do with a tablet (=consume data - tablets will never (not in the foreseeable future) be the ideal platform for creating).
With the inherent limitations of the Tablet format, pricing is important. I can't see it makes sense to pay more for a device that enables you to do less. To meet that condition, a smaller screen helps in keeping the cost down.
Once Android and Android developers start taking bigger screens into account (tablets, Google TV) it will be the ideal tablet OS. Today, manufacturers have to tweak their Android implementation to fit the bigger screen, making arguments like "fragmentation" not unfounded.

 

[salzybaby]

My wife loves my 7 incher.... Ummm... We are still talking about tablets right!?! Seriously though, the 7 inch tabs are going to go with you. You'll leave the 10 inch tab at home more often. It's bigger than the smart phone so it's easier on the eyes but it is still portable. Smart phones are great too but I like the extra screen size on the tablets. Plus, I just bought my premium phone, I'm not ready for the new contract for the smart phone. And, the smart phone will cost more for the data service by $10/month. So after a contract, I'm still paying $300 for the phone + $720 for data over the 2 years of the contract. I can still tether my premium phone. Still have 3G on my premium phone. $70 shipped on ebay + $480 for data over the next two years with no contract. I teach, soooo, I have Wifi at home and at school. Most hotels, Bob Evans, McDonald's, and countless other places have wifi...

Bottom line with tablets, it doesn't do you any good sitting at home. It's a pain to bring along an extra bag. If you wanted to do that you could just bring the laptop. A 7 inch tablet fits in cargo pants or jackets. If I eat at Bob Evans with my family, my son can play while we wait for food and give my wife and I some extra chat time. I like the form factor. Steve Jobs is trying to spin the media. He'll have to eat some of those words soon.

 

[dandroid]

I was shocked while listening to the Apple conference call as Steve Jobs was attacking Research in Motion (Blackberry) and Google. The way he spoke down on the upcoming android tabs made him sound awful cocky. The 7" tablet will no doubt have it's place, but I would have to agree.. I think a 10" thin tablet is a good size.

Here's my ideal technology setup:
4.3" smartphone (Droid X), 10" Tablet, 15" Notebook, 30" Desktop

 

[gurgle]

I may be wrong it could go down with the Bill Gates quotes of infamy such as:
"640 K should be enough for anyone"
and
"Microsoft programs are generally bug free"
and of course

"The Internet? We are not interested in it."

I could be overstating but he has the issue of portable ergonomics not considered. Why else do people bought more paperbacks than hardbacks. It was not just cost, but also size. The portability of the 10 in is almost too big even when you look at even old sci fi movies and TV shows. The handheld tablet computer is closer to the 7-8 inch size.
Why else did he introduce the Nano and the Shuffle. for portability and function. But there is a point of too small. Look at the latest Nano vs the prior generation. It is too small. Which is my fear for the Archos 28.

 

[Darkseider]

Personally 7" to 10" is the sweetspot. Perfect examples of awesome 7" tablets are the Samsung Galaxy Tab, Elocity A7 and Archos 70. The 10" tablets Notion Ink Adam, A10T and Archos 101 and Toshiba Folio 100. All the size ranges here offer both the Cortex A8 and Cortex A9 SoC's clocked at 1 Ghz or better with 512 Meg to 1 Gig RAM and HDMI out. All of these devices are offered at prices equal to or in most cases lower by up to 50% of the iPad. So all Uncle Steve is doing is spreading FUD to try and take the attention away from the impending Android tablet onslaught. HTC, Motorola and Lenovo are all releasing their big hitters in the tablet arena early next year when Honeycomb is ready to ship. Not to mention the countless others coming out as well.

 

[klown07]

You know, the Samsung touchwiz UI has squashed the 7inch incompatibility issue for android and the market place.

 

[AndroidTabletFan]

I think Jobs is full of crap. If I have no trouble typing on my N1 then I shouldn't have trouble on a nice big 7 inch keyboard with Swype. Think of it, while I'm watching a nice video on my flash enabled tablet I'll be laughing about Jobs nice little speech for the investors.

 

[xaueious]

The software is going to be lacking on Android. But it's not as bad as Steve Jobs says, and is no where near unusable. But there are serious hurdles for Android to overcome to be considered a rival to the iOS on the iPad platform. The fragmentation is killing it.

But the 7" form factor is very good. I was trying to point that out.

 

[wintermute]

Android wins because it's, well, everywhere. Apple's Ipad is very much a high end product, but Android runs on the high end (Samsung Tab, Toshiba Folio), the low end (shanzai), and everything in between. The low end in particular drives mass adoption I would think. It wouldn't be a huge stretch if soon, more people are familiar with Android than with iOS.

An analogy can be drawn to the early PC days when Apple's Macintosh was a technically superior solution, but was overwhelmed by sheer numbers from the flood of cheap IBM PC clones. Which is not to say that Apple isn't doing well with the Mac line, because they are - but they remain a niche player (albeit a highly profitable one) compared to the ubiquitous Windows PCs.

That's the sort of role I can see Android taking, as the new "Windows" of the embedded/mobile world. Fragmentation is sort of a problem now, but as Android becomes more mature we expect to see less frequent version updates and better compatibility. Google's efforts to decouple applications from the base OS also helps.

 

[wintermute]

As for the 7 inch for factor comments... why not let the market decide Steve? I know I ended up choosing a 7" over a 10" tablet because of concern for portability.

 

[iamdestruktor]

Crap indeed! I think he's starting to realize the capable effects of Android tablets vs. The iPad. He thought he was going to have total control over this new field. I guess he's realizing the friendly competition he's starting to face - or unfriendly considering it's Apple.

Sent from my T-Mobile G1 using Tapatalk

 

[AndroidIsTheTruth]

Steve also debunked Flash. And yet more people want flash on their phone. Steve seems to have gotten away from the customer is always right motto. You should fill your customer need as much as possible. To simple disregard one thing because "you say so" will drive customers away. Proven fact through marketing history. Steve tighten down on this apps being developed with flash based programs and drove away developers, and had to lighten it's load to get them back.

I AM SO GLAD THAT GOOGLE STEP AWAY FROM APPLE'S BOARD.

They saw this as an issue long ago. That's like Bentley trying to say that no one wants a midsize or compact car just because they don't make em.

Steve is feeling himself too much lately.

 

[redcloud]

Steve hated any idea that was not his, and thought everyone was stealing from him. Let the sales figures prove him wrong about the 7" display. The real reason Steve Jobs hated Android, was the fact that it was open source, and the devices it used, cut into his bottom line. This industry needs lots of competition, which fosters new ideas and brings on the atmosesphere for new ways to implement this technology. Personally I think the 7" display is a great pocket device which will make the world available for those of us who need a pocket device to communicate with. Here is a simple comparison, Ipad2 599.00 vs. Acer Iconia A500 at 449.00, may competition and new ideas continue to thrive in a healthy enviornment. RIP Steve, sorry your money could not save you....