7 could be the magic number for Apple

The Apple marketing team is highly praiseworthy when it comes to creating hype around product launches. A recent press invitation which had a weve got a little more to show you feel, was no different. Rumours are rife that todays event will be the unveiling of a 7-inch addition to the iPad range; a move that might seem unwise to many people for a number of reasons. Steve Jobs previously dismissed the idea of a smaller tablet, labelling the devices tweeners, too big to compete with a smartphone and too small to compete with an iPad. As history has proved before, when Apple has not followed Jobs advice, thats when it has made some of its biggest mistakes; typically when they prioritised profit over product. To put it bluntly, a smaller iPad is an example of a potential mistake in the making. No matter how slim and sleek the product may look, you cant escape the fact it could be seen as a gap-filler, with the product lacking that va-va voom in innovation. As the Financial Times pointed out last week, while a smaller iPad might steal the thunder of its rivals in the 7-inch screen arena, it still needs to solve the dual problem of price and purpose. The Kindle Fire and Nexus 7 are successful, cheap ($200) options for consumers.  To succeed Apple would need to reduce its famously generous profit margins to join the 7-inch screen party. But what else can 7-inches of screen do for Apple? According to M&C Saatchi Mobile, global advertising spend on tablets has led to an average conversion rate four times greater than on smartphones. The rising trend in dual screening makes brand advertising 1.7 times more effective than TV advertising alone, as we recently revealed in research carried out in partnership with Mobext. From this it is clear that tablet use is great news for the advertising ecosystem, a place where Apple has previously struggled. Is the move to increase tablet market share a sign that renewed efforts from iAd are imminent? Wed hate to have to welcome them all over again