File this one under ‘seeing is believing.’ A rumor is spreading Friday morning from China that a speculated 7-inch iPad is “a finished product.” While Shanzai.com cites only talkative suppliers, the web site claims the supposed device looks more like an iPhone 4 than an iPad.
In order to prevent another iPhone 4-like prototype disaster, Apple has five different designs floating around to prevent anyone blabbing, according to the site. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about a planed smaller iPad. In August, the Chinese-based Economic Daily News reported a smaller and lighter iPad was being considered by the Cupertino, Calif. consumer electronics maker. The most recent report, however, by Digitimes, suggested a second-generation iPad could appear the second-quarter of 2011. The new tablet device would retain the original 9.7-inch screen, but add a front-facing camera already used by the iPhone 4. The report claimed this iPad model was in “advanced testing stages.”
While the veracity of reports claiming a 7-inch iPad cannot be confirmed, the rumors tend to jive with other moves suggesting Apple is moving to shrink the size of its products. Along with a smaller iPad, there are reports the company is working on shrinking the iPod’s audio jack and producing a smaller MacBook Air.
Ed Sutherland is a veteran technology journalist who first heard of Apple when they grew on trees, Yahoo was run out of a Stanford dorm and Google was an unknown upstart. Since then, Sutherland has covered the whole technology landscape, concentrating on tracking the trends and figuring out the finances of large (and small) technology companies.
