In the piece “The 7-Inch iPad’s Biggest Critic: Steve Jobs,” Ina Fried of AllThingsD discusses why Apple may very well release a 7” iPad, even if it goes against Jobs’ beliefs:

And what has changed, obviously, is the entry of some serious competitors in the smaller-screen tablet market. Amazon proved the market for a low-cost smaller tablet with the Kindle Fire last year and the market will no doubt grow with the arrival of the Galaxy 7 from Asus and Google.

Both Amazon and Google have razor-thin margins on their tablets; their strategy seems to be “give the hardware away and make money on services.” This is not how Apple rolls. They instead prefer to cater to those who prefer spending more money on a better experience.

Even more interesting is the lack of leaks we usually see before a launch. John Gruber linked to Marco Arment’s post on the lack of leaks that are more common than ever:

It’s unlikely that Apple would be able to manufacture millions of iPad Minis without someone leaking some parts a few months ahead of their release. So if we don’t see such leaks by September, I don’t think this product, if it exists, will be released this year.

To say I am skeptical would be an understatement. It just isn’t adding up, and having prominent publications announcing something does not guarantee anything. Who knows, I could be wrong, it wouldn’t be the first time.