B2B Survey App Marketers Should Not Sacrifice Screen Size, Agreed Steve Jobs

There has been much debate about whether there is a place, for the iPad Mini,

in the enterprise marketing world. Is it really needed in today’s already over-saturated device market, where a lot of employees already command a 9.7” iPad?

Everyone following the tablet marketplace knows the competitive nature of the marketplace all too well. As Samsung released the 5.5” Galaxy Note 2, Apple followed it up with the release of their own 7.9” iPad Mini.

The world’s leading tablet-based data collection company TabbleDabble believes that the bigger the screen, the better for enterprise solutions.

1.8 inches may not be a lot to consider, but Steve Jobs famously said that users would have to “sand down their fingers to about one-quarter of the present size of their tablet”, in a famous rant dated October 2010.  TabbleDabble theorizes that a larger screen size helps increase focus, usability, pinpoint touchscreen accuracy, and retention of information.

The late Steve Jobs, believed these same things two years ago, as well:

“Apple’s done extensive user-testing on touch interfaces over many years, and we really understand this stuff. There are clear limits of how close you can physically place elements on a touch screen before users cannot reliably tap, flick, or pinch them. This is one of the key reasons we think the 10-inch screen size is the minimum size required to create great tablet apps.”

And yet Apple announced the release of the iPad Mini two full years later. Steve Jobs must be rattling around in his grave. Even VentureBeat recently reported that people who own smaller device sizes, tend to browse 20% more pages, reducing the retention of information.

It is therefore clear that the 9.7” iPad is clearly the ultimate enterprise tool, that is just both small and large enough. It is just difficult for smartphone and tablet users to perceive the iPad Mini as a device, that should be used in the same way. That’s because consumers have been brought up on the concept, that smaller devices are intended, for on-the-go tasks and entertainment.

In the enterprise world, a smaller screen size for increased mobility is a great thing. However, a businessman in a client or live presentation, can’t sacrifice visual quality. Nor can they risk the potential of people, having difficultly reading what’s on the device. It’s hard to say then that the iPad Mini, would be better for enterprise applications like QuickTapSurvey, a survey app, which is like SurveyMonkey, for the iPad.

The iPad clearly makes enterprise apps much easier to use for all, versus the iPad Mini. After all, two hands on a tablet, is akin to two hands on the steering wheel. It’s challenging to get away with things one-handed.