Is the iPad Mini too small for the Classroom?

Apple announced the new iPad Mini today and as so often the rumors and leaked pictures of prototypes we have seen over the past couple of months were pretty accurate. And we can be sure that the latest product in the Apple lineup will sell like sliced bread.

As you know, education and especially the K12 space is one of the major markets for Apple products. During Apple’s third quarter conference call both Apple’s CFO Peter Oppenheimer and CEO Tim Cook underlined Apple’s strong growth in education.

Especially the iPad 2 which saw a significant price drop when the new iPad was introduced in March was driving the growth in sales.

So what about the new iPad Mini? With a price starting at $329 and good hardware features this could be a great tablet for the education space, right?

Well, Scott McLeod pointed out that the new Common Core assessments which have been released in April require tablets to have a screen size of at least 9.5 inches.

#Apple fans: iPad Mini = 7.9″ diagonal, iPad 4 = 9.7″ diagonal. Common Core assessments require 9.5″ or greater bit.ly/TwA3aC#edchat

— Scott McLeod (@mcleod) October 23, 2012