Despite the protests of Apple executives -- most prominently, the late Steve Jobs -- it appears that a smaller iPad isn’t just the stuff of unicorns and fairy tales. Would you believe that a prototype actually exists somewhere in a Cupertino lab?
The Next Web is reporting that Apple may not just be considering a smaller iPad, but actually has one in their labs “that they’re kind of noodling with,” according to Daring Fireball scribe John Gruber, who sounds confident with his information.
The comment came during episode 86 of The Talk Show podcast, where host Dan Benjamin poses the question: “Is Apple going to come out with a 7-inch iPad, and if not: why not?”
Gruber responds: “Well, I don’t know. What I do know is that they [Apple] have one in the lab…a 7.85 inch iPad that runs at 1024×768…it’s just like the regular iPad shrunk down a bit. I’ve heard from multiple people that this is something that they’re kind of noodling with.”
While Gruber is frequently cited as an Apple insider, even he admits there’s no way of knowing if or when the company might actually release a mini iPad, which frequently pops up on the rumor radar as coming soon.
“Gruber goes on to mention that you can get a feel for how it would be to use the iPad by taking a screenshot of a regular iPad in portrait, then turning it into horizontal mode to view the screenshot smaller,” the report notes. “This will allow you to experience the interface at roughly the size it would be on a 7.85-inch iPad.”
Guess that will have to suffice for now, small-screen iPad fans…
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