Apple Announcing iPad 'Mini' this Fall?

     According to sources cited by the Wall Street Journal, Apple is developing an iPad Mini to combat the newly-released Nexus 7 and the upcoming Kindle Fire 2. The smaller iPad is rumoured to be priced within the same range as its competitors (both the Kindle Fire 2 and the Nexus 7 will sell for $199) in order to capitalize on the more price-conscious market that the current iPad eludes. Speculation regarding new Apple products has always been high and the rumours surrounding the iPad Mini should be read with caution. However, tech sites across the internet seem to be increasingly convinced that the new product is in development and will be coming to consumers this holiday season. The question now is whether Amazon or Google have any chance of making an impact on the tablet market, especially considering it's a market that was created by Apple.

     Though speculation remains high, a number of sources agree that the iPad Mini would need to sacrifice screen quality in order to reduce the cost of the device. This would mean that the highly-promoted "Retina Display" would be abandoned and replaced with a cheaper alternative. Adrian Diaconescu, a writer from Android Authority, recently discussed possible screen modifications developed by Apple. He states that it's possible for the iPad Mini display to have a 7.85 Sharp IGZO panel with a 330 ppi density. According to Diaconescu, who got his information from a MyDrivers' report, IGZO technology allows thin-film transistor screens to be thinner than usual but just as reliable. For the full article click here.

The iPad Mini may not boast the Retina-display of the regular-sized iPad 3 (Cnet.com).

   

     However, not everyone is convinced that Apple plans to release a smaller iPad, as is shown in a recent post by Joseph Thomas. Thomas argues that the company has no need to compete with the smaller tablets because the compact devices are "in a class of their own" and targeted to a different market than the iPad. He continues that support his post by claiming that possible fragmentation, as seen in Android devices, is a risk that Apple would not be willing to take by releasing a smaller, less powerful tablet. He concludes by stating that the company simply does not care about targeting the market that's interested in the cheaper Kindle Fire or Nexus 7. While he raises a number of good points, fragmentation concerns in particular, I believe that he is mistaken. By releasing an iPad Mini for $299 Apple would be able to capture those consumers who are unable to afford their higher priced tablets. They've done this before by releasing iPods of varying cost and capabilities and are sure to do so again in order to compete with other 7-inch tablets.

The Kindle Fire 2 supports a resolution of 1280x800 and has an internal memory of 8GB. The tentative release date for the tablet is stated for July 31 2012.

     While Apple has dominated tablet sales thanks to their successful iPad, competition has spiked among the lower cost tablets. The successful Kindle Fire is being succeeded by the Kindle Fire 2, a device which has an HD display, camera and physical volume buttons (which is actually a big deal). Another new entry to the 7-inch tablet market is Google's Nexus 7. The specs of the Nexus 7 include a 1280x800 display with a pixel density of 216 ppi, a quad-core processor with 1024MB of RAM, video calling, HTML 5 support; as well as WiFi and Bluetooth technology. The tablet also uses Google's newest release of the Android platform, 4.1 Jelly Bean. Microsoft has also declared their claim to enter the tablet race with the announcement of Surface, a larger and more robust tablet that can include a 128GB hard drive. The Surface uses Windows 8 as its OS and is designed to bridge the gap between tablet and laptop. 

                    

     Although speculation has been taking place since 2011, it seems likely that Apple is preparing itself to launch into the 7-inch tablet war. The popularity of the Kindle Fire, in conjunction with Google's recently released Nexus 7, has unveiled a market that Apple has been unable to capitalize on with their more expensive iPad models. By releasing a smaller, and more affordable tablet, Apple will be able to fill the demand that it created back in 2010. They will also be able to ensure that their only real competition, Google, is unable to gain any ground in the tablet market. This is all speculation until confirmation is received but the reality of a smaller, cheaper, iPad is becoming more certain every day.