believes that Apple can sit comfortably with its 10in iPad while Google and Amazon send the price of Android tablets plummeting, eliminating higher priced Android tablet competition, and therefore benefiting Apple.
, on the other hand, said: "There's certainly competitive reasons for Apple to introduce a product like this."
"Given the antagonistic hostility between Apple and the multi-headed hydra which constitutes the Android army, it seems unlikely Cupertino wants to give its enemies free reign in the space," Evans continued.
Evans notes that a smaller iPad would be good for consumers with a tight budget, educators, parents, children, eBook readers, enterprise customers and retailers looking to adopt iPads as part of their NFC rollouts.
Others disagree, including , who reports that "There will be no 7in iPad, I guarantee it!"
Why? Because Apple co-founder 'despised' the idea, which would make it a "radical; post-Jobs move that deviates from Apple's core strategy," said Thomas. He believes that Apple doesn't need to mess with its tablet range, because it is already so successful. Plus, they have a bigger profit margin than other tablet manufacturers. Amazon even loses money on every Kindle Fire it sells, focusing on the profit it will in turn make from eBook sales instead.
Also, Thomas thinks that Apple wouldn't price a smaller iPad competitively, because "they can price a roll of toilet paper with the Apple logo on for $10 and likely sell cases of them.
thinks that the recently unveiled Google Nexus 7 will sell well and "take business away from Apple's $399 iPad 2," which is why he believes that Apple will be forced to make a 7in tablet or suffer the consequences.
"Apple wants market share and will do what it takes to get it, as long as it's profitable, they can deliver a great experience, and stay true to their brand," said Moorhead. "Apple could do just that with a 7in $299 tablet. Apple would be very profitable as well, as the most expensive piece-parts of a tablet are the display and touchscreen, which are priced somewhat linear with size."
also thinks that Apple could make a profit from a smaller iPad. "I bet Apple could make a $199 iPad mini and turn a profit on it -- especially with a $249 version sitting next to it with double the storage," he wrote. "If Apple thinks people would buy a smaller, cheaper iPad and that they can turn a profit making them, they'll do it. No reason to overthink it."
"Keep in mind too that Amazon still only sells the Kindle Fire in the US, and Google is only selling the Nexus 7 in three countries -- and outside the US it won't have music, magazines, or TV shows," Gruber continued. " Even if this iPad mini doesn't ship until October, Apple will likely beat Amazon and Google to market in much of the world."
No matter what the opinion, though, almost all of these industry experts have referred back to Steve Jobs' famous dismissal of a smaller iPad, in October 2012: "7in tablets are tweeners: too big to compete with a smartphone and too small to compete with the iPad. These are among the reasons that the current crop of 7in tablets are going to be DOA -- dead on arrival."
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