So you’ve heard the rumor of Apple releasing the iPad 3 in early March, along with the long list of specs and updated features. But all hearsay has surrounded the possibility of a 7-inch tablet being released by the Cupertino clan. Now we get word from analyst Ezra Gottheil of Technology Business Research, who spoke with Computerworld and claims that Apple always had a 7-inch tablet in its radar, despite the late Steve Jobs pronouncing the form-factor DOA.
Before his death, Jobs made the following remark towards smaller profiled tablets: “The 7in tablets are ‘tweeners’, too big to compete with a smartphone and too small to compete with an iPad. We think the current crop of 7in tablets are going to be DOA.”
With the Amazon Kindle Fire making serious leeway on the market, Apple might be caving into the pressure of producing a smaller version of its industry-leading tablet. However, Gottheil notes that Apple “will also charge a premium above other similar-sized tablets, they want to protect that price flank”.
Other speculated reports from Gottheil include the iPad 3 featuring a built-in keyboard. The rumored seven-inch iPad is set to hit the retailers in Q3.
