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The long-running rumors surrounding Apple and the release of a smaller iPad are circulating once again, this time courtesy of two sources with knowledge of the plans speaking to Bloomberg, with both asking not to be identified as the iconic retailer hasn’t yet made the plans public.
They say the smaller iPad is very likely to be announced along with the new iPhone in October, just in time for Christmas shoppers. It would be an ideal addition to the lineup and would enable the American retailer to directly compete against popular tablets like Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Google’s latest effort, the Nexus 7.
The tablet would have a screen that’s 7 to 8 inches diagonally and feature the same 1024 by 768 resolution as the first two iPad models -- in other words no retina display. The smaller and less costly screen would presumably allow Apple to price the device closer to the ~$200 mark targeted by Google and Amazon.
Apple has dominated the tablet market since the first iPad went on sale in 2010, and currently has a 61% share, according to figures from Gartner. Despite this, the market is still growing and estimated to reach $66.4 billion this year, with the competition between the tablets that make up the remainder of the market fierce.
“It would be the competitors’ worst nightmare,” Shaw Wu, an analyst at Sterne Agee and Leach told Bloomberg. “The ball is in Apple’s court.”
Manufacturers have been releasing a stream of smaller tablets with a primary focus on media content consumption, like e-books and videos, which for tablet makers like Amazon has proven to be very popular. The lower pricing has attracted consumers and enabled those producing them to increase their market share without having to directly compete against the dominant iPad.
While competition would be much stronger for Apple if they released a smaller tablet to the market, it would certainly help them maintain its dominant position. As always, rumors should be taken with a pinch of salt, but it would certainly be interesting to see the impact it has on the market should a mini iPad come to fruition.
Image credit: CNet.
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User Comments: 14
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I want the Iphone Nano not this.
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Quickly, somebody patent the "smaller rectangular shape" and then have these things banned from sale in the US for looking too much like a rectangle and claim unfair business practices by Apple.
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I thought this was common knowledge. My "inside" sources have said that it will be a 7.85" display.
Also, the Apple/Samsung litigation doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The two tablets are different proportions and I don't believe the Samsung has the big Apple logo on it's backside!
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I thought this was common knowledge. My "inside" sources have said that it will be a 7.85" display.
Also, the Apple/Samsung litigation doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The two tablets are different proportions and I don't believe the Samsung has the big Apple logo on it's backside!
The rumour is the screen will be 7.85". Regardless, 7.85" is between 7" and 8" as this article has stated.
The recent patent disputes have nothing to do with the exterior of Samsung devices.
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"The recent patent disputes have nothing to do with the exterior of Samsung devices."
I believe it has a lot to do the the exterior of the Samsung devices. If not, why are there so many comparison photos/sketches of the two tablets in the litigation paperwork, and why was Apple cited for manipulating the Samsung images, making them look more like the iPad, etc?
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This product (if it comes out) will not be anything of innovation.. It's the same damn thing as the iPad or the iPod Touch just medium-sized. I love it when Apple makes break-through products and works from their instead of making things like this. I have a feeling they're not doing this for 'innovation', I think they're doing this for money because if they put their creative minds towards creating great products they wouldn't of done something like this.. I know this isn't even out yet but I'm just saying though..
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Does this mean people will sleep on the Apple store sidewalk twice this year, come fall and christmas?
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I have a feeling they're not doing this for 'innovation', I think they're doing this for money
It took you a quite a while but hey, Welcome to the Apple Haters Club
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Rippleman said:
dtourond said:
I have a feeling they're not doing this for 'innovation', I think they're doing this for money because if they put their creative minds towards creating great products they wouldn't of done something like this..
HAHA, you mean a business isn't out to make money? Wow, you are really on to something there I think. /s
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Tablets are for people who don't do anything useful with their computer....mmm....like 98% of the population.
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Rippleman said:Tablets are for people who don't do anything useful with their computer....mmm....like 98% of the population.
"Useful" is subject to someones own uses of the said device. Porn, Facebook, Email, etc are all "useful" to someone
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So basicaly a larger Iphone
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once Windows Surface surfaces out (hehehe), the concept of tablets being merely "consumers" will change, and laptops themselves might become useless for a given market.
We will shift from phone/tablet/laptop for the phone/tablet, and soon might be even tablets+headset
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Tablets are for people who don't do anything useful with their computer....mmm....like 98% of the population.
I use my ipad for work more than leisure. So...speak for yourself!
keeps me from developing a fat a$$ sitting at the computer all day.
Maybe you just don't know how to do anything useful?
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