Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs was not a fan of a 7-inch iPad, describing the current 10-inch form factor as ideal.

However, emails leaked during the Samsung-Apple trial revealed executives at Apple were in favor of a 7-inch tablet, and found Jobs to be “very receptive” to the idea.

The email between Apple’s Eddy Cue, Tim Cook, Scott Forstall, and Phil Schiller hints at the possibility of a smaller iPad.

“I believe there will be a 7″ market and we should do one. I expressed this to Steve [Jobs] several times since Thanksgiving and he seemed very receptive the last time. I found email, books, facebook and video very compelling on a 7″,” Cue said in the 2011 e-mail. Just a year after launching the iPad, and basically the credible device, Apple seemed to be looking at expanding.

Rumors of a 7-inch iPad have been circulating for years, with the most recent claim finding Apple launching the device in September, alongside the next iPhone.

It’s not known how Apple will position the device in terms of price or non-display specifications, but it’s likely to be a similar in price to Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Google’s Nexus 7 – both $199.

 

[Reuters]

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