Steve Jobs was pondering a 7-inch iPad, email shows

An email discussed during the Apple-Samsung trial last week revealed that Steve Jobs was not entirely opposed to the idea of a 7-inch tablet, which could be more evidence that an iPad mini is on its way.

The email was sent from Eddie Cue, Apple senior vice president of Internet software and services, to several others in the Cupertino company’s leadership, including current Chief Executive Tim Cook.

In it, Cue said that after trying a 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab, he believed there was a market for tablets of that size, and that Apple should go after it.

Cue then wrote, “I expressed this to Steve several times since Thanksgiving and he seemed very receptive the last time,” according to a copy of the email, which you can see on CNET.

Cue’s January 2011 email shows just how much Jobs’ stance on how large tablets should be changed before the Apple co-founder passed away in October.

Prior to that email, Jobs had been blatant about his opposition to a smaller tablet, saying 7-inch tablets should come with sandpaper so people can file their fingers down to an appropriate size to use such small tablets, according to Reuters.

“There are clear limits of how close you can physically place elements on a touch screen before users cannot reliably tap, flick, or pinch them,” Jobs said. “This is one of the key reasons we think the 10-inch screen size is the minimum size required to create great tablet Apps.”

The email, which carried a link to a GigaOM article titled “Why I just dumped the iPad (hint: size matters),” has added to the heavy speculation that Apple will reveal an iPad mini alongside the next iPhone at an event in mid-September.

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