By Michelle Maisto, eWeek
As the analysts promised, the tablet market is changing and growing and will soon be joined by a smaller, lighter iPad—which even in rumor form has seemingly played as large a role in shaping these changes as Apple’s third-generation iPad. While Apple was once firmly against the 7-inch form factor—Steve Jobs, during a 2010 earnings call, famously called the size “dead on arrival”—times have changed. Dell’s 2010 launch of the 5-inch Streak was a failure, with analysts criticizing its not-quite-a-phone, not-quite-a-tablet physique. Two years later, consumers and enterprise users in particular jumped at the 5.3-inch Galaxy Note, and in a matter of months, Samsung sold more than 10 million of them. Consumers, now comfortable with the tablet form factor and well-acquainted with paperback-sized e-readers, are ready for a smaller, lighter, less-expensive iPad, and by all accounts but Apple’s, they’ll soon get one.
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