We’ve been hearing about the smaller version of iPad i.e. the iPad Mini for quite some time now. Many tech enthusiasts believe that Apple can’t be making a smaller iPad because Late Steve Jobs once said,
“The reason we [won't] make a 7-inch tablet isn’t because we don’t want to hit that price point, it’s because we think the screen is too small to express the software, As a software driven company we think about the software strategies first.”
He believed that anything under 10-inches won’t be able to give users the experience that led to the inception of iPad.
No doubt, there is a major market for portable 7-inch tablets but the question here is whether Apple would be interested to jump into this sub-category.
Apple’s retina display packed new iPad is doing very well globally but it isn’t an option for somebody who wants a basic tablet that isn’t heavy on the wallet. This low-cost tablet domain is currently reigned by Amazon’s Kindle Fire but that’s soon gonna end soon because Google has recently released Nexus 7 tablet that would be priced $199 for the 8GB model and feature Quad-core CPU, 12-core GPU.
Well, even if Apple decides to conquer this sub-category, it would have to release a tablet that costs no more than 200 bucks, maybe 250. Would Apple be willing to reduce its margins?
The Internet has been buzzing with rumors regarding the new iPad Mini. WSJ’s MarketWatch recently reported that Apple’s component suppliers are preparing for mass production of smaller iPad in September. WSJ’s sources claimed that the new iPad would come with a screen size smaller than 8-inches; 7.85-inches perhaps.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg has been reporting similar stuff — that Apple is working on a smaller iPad that will début by the end of 2012.
Apple has decided to remain silent on this matter which could be an indication that something like this is on their mind because when the world is talking wrong stuff about them, it isn’t very difficult and come out and say that ‘we have no plans of releasing the smaller iPad. Full Stop.”
If these rumors are correct, we might see Apple announcing iPad Mini sometimes in October and the tablet in the market around November-December.
