Rumor: iPad Mini Coming Soon? (Photo credit: methodshop.com)
Anyone with an eye toward upcoming gear has been pondering the possibility of a smaller iPad. That includes me, as well as many Forbes readers. Now that we are receiving reports that the iPad Mini is in production, the gadget-hungry masses may be forced to wipe an ever-growing pond of viscous drool from their collective jowls. If it’s true and the new Apple tablet’s release is an inevitability, what will we find inside it and how will it do on the market?
On this column, ‘The Players & The Game,’ we discussed the possibility of a mini iPad, when it might emerge (if at all), what would it contain and how it might stand up to competition from other products already on the market.
It was mentioned that profit margins in the 7-inch tablet space were not robust enough to entice Apple to offer up a product in that category. I also heard it suggested that perhaps the Cupertino-based company wished to take a look at how Google’s Nexus 7 fared before it pulled the trigger on a smaller iPad. Did Apple find a way to grow its margins with a 7-inch tablet? Did it look to Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) offering to decide whether to jump into the fray? (If so, if tooled up for production incredibly quickly). Or, did Apple plan this all along?
Possible Features?
Forbes contributor, Anthony Wing Kosner, noted that OSXDaily listed a number of possible features for the new product, including A5X CPU from the current iPad 3, 8GB of storage, iOS6 and a price of $299. All of this with a 7.85” display and 1024x768 resolution.
A commenter for a previous piece on the possibility of a new tablet speculated that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) could use a 163 pixel-per-inch screen and then laud it as ‘50% higher resolution.’
Another Forbes reader felt that the company would not likely release a smaller iPad for less than about $349. Another reader commented that though Apple could be successful with a higher price tag with some consumers, Nexus 7’s lower cost would make it a winner with businesses, developers and professionals.
Areas Apple could improve upon the Nexus include expandable storage. Google’s tablet doesn’t have it. Integration of a virtual PA, a la Siri (likely to happen), well-developed magazine and newspaper reading experience and HDMI compatibility would all be features improving upon areas where critics found the Nexus 7 lacking.
As far as the Kindle Fire is concerned, a Forbes reader suggested that the Nexus has replaced the Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) product as the 7-inch tablet to have. If this is so, iPad Mini will be going head to head with Google in that space. On the other hand, rumor has it Amazon will be unleashing Kindle Fire 2 soon, which will add another very worthy player to the market. Given the competition for consumer attention, this holiday shopping season could make for an exciting showdown.
Should the small tablet space continue to develop more compelling products from more competitors (I'm looking at you, Microsoft Surface [NASDAQ:MSFT]), players like Google, Amazon and Apple will be spurred on to release ever more impressive gear. In that sense, no matter who gets the upper hand in the mini tablet wars this year, consumers are likely to win no matter what.
**NOTE: Latest rumors of the release of Amazon's Kindle Fire 2 were added at 4 p.m. EST.**
