Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

infosprt

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 29, 2007
237
0
Temecula, CA
Just for the heck of it I measured my Amazon Kindle screen. The screen is 6" at the diagonal. The Kindle form factor to me is the perfect size since it is easy to carry and can fit into my jeans pocket when I walk. The Kindle has a fairly descent size keypad which I assume would be absent on the iTablet.

If the iTablet has an 11 inch screen the size of the thing is going to approximately 7" by 10" (almost the size of an 8.5x11 inch sheet of paper) which seems awfully big to me. The Kindle is 5" by 8".

If they use a form factor such as the Kindle then the screen is going to be approximately 8". I hoping for an 8" screen.
 

greygray

macrumors 68000
Oct 22, 2009
1,848
1
I certainly hope the Tablet gets a 10" screen. 11" is too big and people might favor a Macbook over it.
 

abijnk

macrumors 68040
Oct 15, 2007
3,287
5
Los Angeles, CA
Just FYI, the most commonly rumored size is 10.1. Also, remember that it is a tablet, so it's not going to have the keyboard below the screen an huge bezel that the kindle has.
 

t0mat0

macrumors 603
Aug 29, 2006
5,473
284
Home
Many rumors have it that they've been buying 7" and 9" screens.

The consensus is on 10" screen - A 3" difference is a big change in size -that affects not just the form factor but also the use and capabilities.

Wouldn't Apple have guided the rumors if the rumormongers had got the wrong screen size? Surely more people would want 10" than 7".
 

trssho

macrumors 6502
May 24, 2009
410
38
11" is too big. Needs to be 7-8". The iPhone is 3.5" and has uber functionality. I think a screen 2X that would be very functional, and portable. If it is 11", I say fail.
 

yegon

Cancelled
Oct 20, 2007
3,429
2,028
Anything less than 9" and it's a case of "why bother?" imo. Flipside, anything 9"+ would be wholly unsuited to ebook reading - textbooks, magazine type media would be great, but not so much with fiction.
 

A Macbook Pro

macrumors 6502
Aug 22, 2009
422
0
I don't want anything 10'' or over. 7''-9'' would be what I'd buy. It'd also lower the cost down, and I think cost will be the deciding factor in Apple's success with this new piece of tech.
 

Casiotone

macrumors 6502a
Oct 12, 2008
825
111
I like how some tech news commenters like Leo Laporte hope that the tablet will have a 10" OLED screen for around or under $1000...

OLED screens prices go up exponentially as the size increase. The Sony XEL-1, which is one of the few OLED TV available, costs around $2000 and it only has an 11" screen! Now add the cost of the cpu and flash memory and you go over $2000. There's no way the tablet will have an OLED screen. Maybe in two years, but not now.
 

bobob

macrumors 68040
Jan 11, 2008
3,437
2,520
11" is too big. Needs to be 7-8". The iPhone is 3.5" and has uber functionality. I think a screen 2X that would be very functional, and portable. If it is 11", I say fail.

Just to point out that an 8" screen (8" x 4.6" = 36 sq.in.) is about 5X as big as the 3.5" iPhone screen (3.5" x 2" = 7 sq.in.), and the much rumored 10.2" tablet screen would be a whopping 8.5X as big (10.2" x 5.8" = 60 sq.in.)!
 

t0mat0

macrumors 603
Aug 29, 2006
5,473
284
Home
The consensus is on 10" screen - A 3" difference is a big change in size -that affects not just the form factor but also the use and capabilities.

Wouldn't Apple have guided the rumors if the rumormongers had got the wrong screen size? Surely more people would want 10" than 7".

http://9to5mac.com/book-publishers-talk-tablet-34566345

9to5mac has had word from book publishers - Apple's been said to be touting 10 inch screen tablet.
Casiotone - leo's fickle as anyh
thing. He's on a OLED high from his new Android handset. He's freely admitted the viewing in bright light sucks. Pixel Qi and others have shown you can improve screens.
 

lee.anderson

macrumors regular
Aug 28, 2006
158
0
UK
I would love an 11" screen. Imagine the multi-touch goodness :D

Look at the Microsoft Surface, I would love to fully use my 2 hands on the tablet, and some very interesting apps could be created for it...
 

w00master

macrumors 65816
Jul 18, 2002
1,126
345
Someday this thread is going to sound really funny. ;)

7 inches... 8 inches... 10 inches? :eek:

LOL. Sorry everyone, I couldn't help it.

w00master
 

Michael CM1

macrumors 603
Feb 4, 2008
5,682
277
If a report I saw was true about the tablet being able to run iPhone applications, I don't see why there won't be two versions. I doubt I could justify more than $600 for this device because I already have an iPhone and MacBook Pro. I'm curious as to what is going to make this thing so good for people like me, which is a lot of us.
 

CarlisleUnited

macrumors 6502
Jan 30, 2007
275
0
Nederland
7" is really going to be too small for a tablet, it would be more like those disgusting UMPC's intel tried to make popular a few years back, even 9 would more suitable, a lot bigger and weight and battery life will be an issue.
 

invisionblue

macrumors member
Aug 5, 2009
77
0
not to sound like a size queen lol but I'll be happy with 10 inches. I think 7 inches will be to small if this will be used as I think it will be.
 

hitekalex

macrumors 68000
Feb 4, 2008
1,624
0
Chicago, USA
I'll be happy with 10 inches. I think 7 inches will be to small

That's what she said.. OK, OK.. seriously, I think 7" would achieve a perfect balance between screen real estate and portability. 10" would basically make one-handed operation impossible. 7" device is narrow enough so it can be held by one hand, which significantly increases the number of possible use cases (e.g. on public transport standing up, etc).

I think over time, they will offer both 7" and 10" models.. but probably just one at the launch.
 

Nostromo

macrumors 65816
Dec 26, 2009
1,358
2
Deep Space
10" is a good size if there's not too thick a border around.

The upscale paperbacks (e.g. the Raymond Chandler books) measure 9 1/2 " diagonally, and are very good to hold.

Size is relative. If the ergonomics is good(which also included distribution of weight within the tablet) it can be larger.

I don't see the point of a 7" screen. It's just like an inflated iPod Touch: not handy enough to take everywhere, but too small to work on it.

I personally would love it to replace a laptop. In combination with a foldable keyboard it would be like a full computer for text work that you can take everywhere.
 

reallynotnick

macrumors 65816
Oct 21, 2005
1,257
1,296
3.5 x 2 = 7"
So a 7' inch diagonal is twice as big as a 3.5" diagonal. The difference in area of a 3.5" and 7" screens are something else.
It's 4 times the area, I would say the screen is 4 times as big, the diagonal is twice as big.


The Kindle form factor to me is the perfect size since it is easy to carry and can fit into my jeans pocket when I walk.

What kind of jeans do you wear?!?!
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.