John Gruber wrote a great (as usual) and well thought (also, as usual) article on the rumored, smaller, iPad with a potential 7" screen. It’s so good, I could quote almost every paragraph.

For me, his article – and Apple’s possible intentions with a smaller iPad – boils down to this:

Apple is repeating the same process with the iPad as it did with the iPod (and to an extent, the iPhone with the different price points). Changing the form factor, price, whatever, to compliment an existing ecosystem and offer a variety of products to satisfy different market segments. And if Apple has to radically shift it’s own profit and product offerings to help ensure long term growth by defining new segments or stealing volumes from others, it will.

So the quote I think I’ll offer (though read John’s full post for context) is this:

Apple followed that strategy a decade ago with the iPod. Though the stakes are now far higher, I see no reason they wouldn’t do the same this decade with the iPad.

I hope they don’t call it an iPad Mini or a Mini iPad, though. There’s got to be a better name than that.