Among the most persistent Apple rumors at present is that Apple is preparing to release a smaller 7-8 inch version of the iPad at a lower price. There has certainly been no shortage of guesses, rumors, and analysts claims predicting when wich a product might appear, and at what price.
Bloomberg now adss their own report to the mix, stating that they’ve received word from people familiar with Apple’s plans that the company is indeed planning to release a smaller, cheaper iPad – and that it will likely be announced in October.
Apple Inc. (AAPL) plans to debut a smaller, cheaper iPad by year-end, two people with knowledge of the plans said, to help maintain dominance of the tablet market as Google Inc. (GOOG) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) prepare competing handheld devices.
The new model will have a screen that’s 7 inches to 8 inches diagonally, less than the current 9.7-inch version, said the people, who asked not to be identified because Apple hasn’t made its plans public. The product, which Apple may announce by October, won’t have the high-definition screen featured on the iPad that was released in March, one of the people said.
If Apple is indeed aiming to compete more directly with budget-priced tablets, it makes sense to leave out the Retina display on the smaller version of the iPad. Considering that Bloomberg is typically a very reputable source, this report may well be worth actually paying attention to!
