Mini Ipad

After the recent rumors about an upcoming release from Apple of a small version of Ipad (7-inch like Kindle Fire, Samsung Galaxy, Toshiba Excite, … vs the current version of 10-inch), Business Insider published an interesting analysis of arguments for and against this possible release:

The arguments for an iPad mini:

1)Proven demand. Mid-sized devices like Amazon's Kindle Fire and Samsung's Galaxy Note are selling well, and Google's Nexus 7 is getting great reviews.

2) Content consumption and remote control. It would fill a niche between the iPhone and iPod Touch, whose small screens are not suited for long reading sessions, and the iPad, whose power and content creation capabilities may be more than some consumers are willing to pay for. It could also serve as a better remote control for the long-rumored Apple iTV.

3)Preventing disruption. Apple has two choices: cede this low-end market to keep its profit margins high, or compete to maintain its dominance.

The arguments against an iPad mini:

1) Steve Jobs didn't like them. On an earnings call in 2010, Apple's Steve Jobs denigrated 7-inch tablets as "tweeners" that would not be significantly additive to the smartphones most users are already carrying.

2) Fragmentation. Adding another screen size would be a first step toward the kind of fragmentation that's plagued Android devices and made development complicated.

3) Lower margins. Apple has huge margins on the current iPad — estimates put them over 50%. A competitively priced ($199) iPad mini could not achieve those margins.

I am not a marvelous tablet expert and I do not know much about the tablets competitive landscape. Having said that, I have both the Kindle Fire (received as a gift) and the iPad and I can say that I almost never used the kindle. Yes, it is smaller than the iPad, but it is not that much lighter (the difference is very small). Moreover, the benefit of a bigger screen is pretty significant. From my point of view there is no comparison. Therefore, if I was Tim Cook I would not be that sure to go for the mini iPad, considering that (in my opinion) there will not be a massive consumer switch from 10-inch tablets (where iPad is dominant) to the  7-inch tablet, furthermore tat Apple would significantly lower its margin entering that market segment (units are lower priced and evident cannibalization risk).