Smartphones didn't kill mini tablets, they became them

The small tablet market is virtually dead ... or it's over a billion of devices strong. That's a matter of perspective.

Until around 2014, small tablets, slate PCs ranging from seven to 10-inches, were all the rage. The iPad mini and a host of Android tablets from various manufacturers ruled this space. Consumers looking for portability, affordability and enough screen real estate for comfortable web surfing, media consumption, gaming and more, found mini tablets appealing. Larger tablets were capable devices, of course, but for many people, they were too big and too expensive.

Mini tablets fit into a small bag or even a large pocket. They also offer the same personal computing benefits larger devices do. Sadly, though small Windows tablets like the seven-inch HP Stream made it to the market, Microsoft never had a first-party offering in that product category.

The Surface Mini, which was scheduled to debut in late 2014, was canceled by Microsoft because it didn't offer enough to differentiate it from the competition. Microsoft may have dodged a bullet by avoiding the mini tablet space at that time. Smartphones were getting bigger and better and less discernable from mini tablets.

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