A Ten-Inch iPhone? Apple Knows Better

What's the worst kept Silicon Valley secret since the Apple switched from PowerPC chips to Intel? It has to be the Apple tablet. Everyone is convinced that in the not too distant future Apple will release a ten-inch, sub-notebook, plus-sized iPhone. And that is all that anyone seems certain about, the rest is entirely based on speculation.

While there are vague assertions that the still-imaginary Apple tablet will be yet another device devoted to acquiring and playing music, tv shows and movies those rumors aren't as persistent as the idea that the tablet is going to be a big-ass iPhone.

What isn't to like about a 10" iPhone?

Sure, the iPhone is adequate for browsing the web, but if you had a ten-inch screen instead of a 3.5" screen you could really have the full internet experience. Sure, the virtual keyboard is easy to use, but a bigger virtual keyboard would be even better. And internet everywhere on an easy to carry ten-inch iPhone? Maximum social network enjoyment plus you'll be the envy of your peers—Mr. Cool Guy rocking the ten-inch iPhone!

From Apple's perspective, the idea makes perfect sense. The app store can keep chugging along and even grow a little bit because some applications will benefit from optimization for the new Supersize iPhone. To make it even sweeter, Apple will be piggybacking off the substantial success of the iPhone; heck if you can figure out a way to associate scabies with the iPhone you'd probably make some money. Apple could also opt to sell it via cell carriers and get more ongoing revenue the company has likely learned to love with the iPhone. Finally, it's another gadget to get people to move from just an Apple gadget to a full blown Mac. Win all around right?

Not so fast.

A 10" iPhone seems like a no-brainer at first glance, but so does a house out in the country. You fall in love with the seclusion, the beauty of the surroundings and your two-acre lot. The fantasy you build up in your head about your house in the country is shattered the first time you forget to buy milk in the store and have to spend an hour driving back out to get it.

If the realities of mowing two acres of grass in 96 degree heat and worrying about snakes kills the idyllic notion of country living, what kills the allure of a 10" iPhone? The first thing that really hurts is the size. Ten inches seems to be all the rage with netbooks right now so the argument will be that if people can haul around a netbook they can haul around a great big iPhone.But Imagine every netbook you see being used is instead a gigantiPhone and you might conclude that there is a decent-sized market. That analysis assumes everyone will want an iPhone on steroids over a netbook. A lot of netbooks are sold just because they are cheap (which the megiPhone won't be). So the idea of an iPhone that completely replaces netboooks is little more than silly.

Cost aside, it is doubtful that a gigantiPhone would be preferable to a netbook. Sure, manufacturers are always trying to make netbooks smaller and lighter but they are also trying to retain as much notebookiness as possible. If you had a choice between a dedicated keyboard of a decent size and a ten-inch screen or just a ten-inch screen which would you pick? You don't gain any screen real estate by jettisoning the keyboard and you don't save enough size to make carrying the device convenient by jettisoning the keyboard. An elephant-sized iPhone doesn't offer true improvements over a 10 inch MacBook and is, likely, a much worse option for most users.

While netbook makers are trying for a full notebook experience in the smallest and lightest package possible cell phone makers are all trying to make another iPhone. That there isn't a wildly popular ten-inch cell phone out there should make you wonder just how appealing the device would be.

But what if Apple sweetened the deal a bit?

A ten-inch iPhone that could double as a second monitor or something? The second monitor idea is far too geeky to actually sway anyone that wasn't searching for a reason, any reason, to buy the monstrosity that a ten inch iPhone would be. Put simply, the things that make the iPhone great won't work on a tablet.

If the inherent notion of the of a ten-inch iPhone is getting you down, don't let it. Apple is smart enough to know that a ten-inch iPhone might have superficial appeal while you're dreaming about it but no real appeal in the tech marketplace.

While Apple does occasionally come put with an inexplicable product an iPhone that won't fit in your pocket isn't one of them. If Apple, as everyone expects, rolls out a tablet don't expect it to be a giant-sized iPhone or a micro-sized Mac. Expect it to do things differently and make a lot of sense.