Is that it then? Are we all done with smaller tablets? Time to go large, is it?
There have been several claims in recent months suggesting a number of the tech industry’s big hitters are looking to launch tablets with screen sizes of 12 inches or more, with another report appearing over the weekend.
According to the Korea Economic Daily, Samsung is prepping a slate with a 12-inch screen, a whopper in anyone’s book. However, knowing the tech company’s penchant for pushing out mobile devices in just about every size possible, such news may not surprise too many observers.
Citing industry sources, the report said that Samsung is “engaged in the development” of a tablet with a 12-inch display and that it could launch as early as this October. The Korean tech company’s largest tablet at the present time sports an 11.6-inch screen.
And it’s not just Samsung. Late last month the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple had asked its suppliers in Asia for displays “slightly less than 13 inches diagonally”. While the Journal pointed out that a larger tablet from Apple may never actually see the light of day, the mere idea that the Cupertino company appears to be testing out these larger displays means there’s a fair chance we might see another iPad released alongside its existing 9.7-inch and 7.9-inch tablets in the not-too-distant future.
With so many companies launching small- to medium-size tablets in the last year, as well as news that tablet shipments slowed in the three-month period from April to June, it’s highly likely that companies like Samsung and Apple are assessing their options in the crowded market. Though price-conscious consumers looking for a portable tablet would likely give any 12-inch slate a miss, such a device could conceivably prove successful in the lucrative education and business markets.
[via Cnet] [Image: Adriano Castelli / Shutterstock]
