NYT fuels Apple iPad mini rumours

July 16, 2012

The New York Times says Apple is working on a smaller iPad.NEW YORK, July 16 – The New York Times is the latest media outlet to suggest Apple is working on a smaller iPad.

The diminutive device will sport a 7.85-inch display and will attract cost-conscious tablet buyers who want a smaller device and might otherwise be enticed by tablets such as Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Google’s Nexus 7 said The New York Times.

“The company is developing a new tablet with a 7.85-inch screen that is likely to sell for significantly less than the latest US$499 (RM1,584) iPad, with its 9.7-inch display, according to several people with knowledge of the project who declined to be named discussing confidential plans. The product is expected to be announced this year,” wrote The New York Times.

The report follows similar articles from both Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal, which claim a smaller tablet will help Apple maintain its market dominance. Technology blog iMore said the new iPad would be priced at a “killer” US$200 to US$250 price point in an article published in May.

While rumours point to the release of a smaller iPad in late 2012, technology blog BGR says that Kindle Fire maker Amazon is working on a bigger 10” tablet that looks like a “thinner version of the first-generation iPad” devoid of front-facing buttons. According to the blog, the upsized Kindle tablet will run on a fast quad-core processor and has a front-facing camera.

The tablet market is certainly heating up. These new rumours, coupled with the recent launch of Google’s Nexus 7 and the impending launch of Microsoft’s Windows 8-powered Surface, will make for an interesting, and increasingly competitive tablet market. – AFP