Apple Reportedly Testing New 8-Inch Screen, Possibly for the iPad

By Karla Robinson
February 15, 2012

Apple may be making a smaller iPad model to challenge competitors as the tablet market heats up. According to a person familiar with the matter, Apple is working with Asian suppliers to test a device with an 8-inch screen, breaking away from its current 9.7-inch screen standard.
The sources say that the smaller device will have a screen with a resolution of 1024 x 758, very close to the display on the current model. According to Engadget: “This jibes with what we’ve heard about the iPad 3 toting a Retina Display — unless the smaller unit is aimed at budget buyers.”
The Wall Street Journal notes that this doesn’t mean anything for certain: “Apple, which works with suppliers to test new designs all the time, could opt not to proceed with the device.”
Thus far, Apple has remained committed to the current standard size, which Steve Jobs declared in 2010 as the “minimum size required to create great tablet apps.” However, with their iPods and iPhones, the company eventually provided offerings of various shapes and sizes.
In early March, Apple is expected to announce its new iPad, which will reportedly have the standard screen size and be 4G LTE capable.
The market researcher IDC found “the iPad represented more than 60 percent of worldwide tablet shipments in the third quarter,” reports WSJ.

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