Every Leading Tablet Supplier Will Support Multi-Screen Formats

Leading tablet suppliers are going both smaller and bigger, depending on where they have been positioned in the tablet market, in large part because, as some have suggested, there is room in the market for devices of varying screen sizes.

Most 10-inch devices get used on couches, and many tablets essentially never "leave the house." In other words, a 10-inch tablet is an "untethered" device, not a mobile device. They aren't used when people are really "on the go." There are some exceptions.

Some people do carry their iPads "everywhere." Many business people substitute a tablet for a PC. But most people also carry a smart phone, which suffices for the quick Web and app experiences one typically wants to use when out and about.

Some might argue pricing differentiation is the reason for the "smaller device" demand. In that view, less-costly tablets allow more people to buy them. There certainly is logic to that point of view. It worked really well for Apple's line of iPods.

On the other hand, over time, it is likely that application differentiation also will occur. An iPod shuffle is better suited for listening to music than a full-size iPod, if you are running, for example. In that case, the application setting drives the purchase, not the cost of the device.

Something like that eventually will be true of the tablet market as well.

Most 10-inch devices get used on couches; they are not really "mobile" devices. A greater proportion of seven-inch devices likely are carried in purses, backpacks or pockets, and one might argue that is because a 10-inch device is too big to carry everywhere, or most places.

The other argument might be that, as more people carry a smart phone, there is not such a compelling reason to carry another web-capable device "on the go."