iPad Mini is coming this fall, predicts an analyst.
According to Pacific Crest analyst Andy Hargreaves, Apple is prepping a 7.85-inch iPad with 8 GB of flash memory for $299. He even thinks the Cupertino tech giant will sell 10 million of the Minis by the end of 2012.
"We anticipate an entry-level 7.80-inch iPad with 8GB of NAND capacity to price at $299 with an initial gross margin of 31%," mentioned Hargreaves in a research note posted last Thursday.
In April, a technology news website TechnoBuffalo citing John Gruber of Daring Fireball revealed that Apple had 7.85-inch iPad prototypes in its labs. While Gruber was uncertain about the release date of the device, various rumors that time indicated a Q3 launch of mini iPad.
"What I do know is that they have one in the lab, a 7.85-inch iPad that runs at 1024 x 768. And it's just like the 9.7-inch iPad shrunk down a little bit. The apps wouldn't need to be redesigned or recompiled to work on it - it's just the iPad smaller," Gruber said.
This was not the first time rumors about iPad Mini hit the tech world. Even in last year December reports floated that Apple had purchased 7.85-inch panels from LG Display and AU Optronics. Again in February, the Wall Street Journal claimed to have a source who confirmed that Apple was testing the new, smaller screen line of tablets.
Why iPad Mini is Indispensable?
In a market which is predominantly possessed by Apple legendary iPads, Amazon took the first bold step to foray the market with a different sized pocket-friendly tablet, Kindle Fire. And, rest is history! Kindle Fire was a huge hit for the company, and according to Amazon, over 4.7 million Kindles were sold in the month of December, most of which were Fires.
Success of Kindle Fire encouraged many such tablet manufacturers to introduce small and budget-friendly like Barnes and Noble Nook, latest Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 2 and Google Nexus 7.
Despite Apple undisputable dominance in the tablet market, the Cupertino tech company is losing its grip in recent times. From 61.5 percent figure recorded in the previous quarter, Apple in the last quarter of the last year stood at 54.7 percent of the global market. And, according to IDC, the drop in the percentage of market share was done mainly by Kindle Fire. Even after receiving a rather lukewarm response from the reviewers, the attractive $199 price tag was one of the major reasons for the Fire to win over Apple.
Meanwhile, Google has also launched Nexus 7 tablet which sports 1280 x 800 IPS display, quad-core Tegra 3 processor, Android's newly launched 4.1 Jelly Bean OS, 1.2-megapixel camera, 1GB of RAM, Near Field Communication technology and a 4,325mAh battery. According to all leading reviewers, Nexus 7 is currently the best in the low-cost tablet segment. Samsung, Apple's biggest rival in the smartphone market, is also making its presence felt in the tablet arena. The Korean electronics giant has launched an impressive lineup of small tablets that includes Galaxy Tab 7.0, Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, Galaxy Tab 7.7and the latest Galaxy Tab 7.0 2.
In this situation where all the competitors are increasingly launching small tablets, Apple, to increase its market dominance, should launch a smaller iPad, believes Tom Mainelli, IDC's research director of Mobile Connected Devices.
"If Apple launches a sub-$300, 7-inch product into the market later this year as rumored, we expect the company's grip on this market to become even stronger," Mainelli wrote in a report.
Kindle Fire 2 Approaching - Mini's Prospective Rival
A recent report from BGR has claimed that Amazon is gearing to launch two new Kindle Fire tablets in the coming months. The iteration of Kindle Fire will pose the biggest threat to the highly rumored Apple iPad Mini.
The reports indicated that Amazon will launch a 10-inch Kindle Fire with quad-core processor, dubbed "Hollywood." Simultaneously, another 7-inch Kindle Fire tablet powered by a dual-core processor is also being prepared for an October launch.
According to BGR, the new Fire will be thinner and will resemble the first generation Apple iPad. Furthermore, the coming Fire will replace the original's plastic body by matte black metal, with a shiny, chrome-like "rib" on the back. Both new tablets will include microUSB ports and HDMI-out jacks, said the report adding that the 10-inch Fire will sport a front-facing camera.
According to DigiTimes report, the 7-inch tablet will sport a display with higher resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. The existing Kindle Fire's display has 600 x 1024 pixels.
Existing Mini Competitors
As rumors indicate, Apple is all set to release a mini version of iPad as early as in this October. The same time, a next generation iPhone is also expected.
If launched, iPad Mini has to face a host of low-cost tablets. Among them, the best are:
Google Nexus 7- With its quad-core Tegra 3 processor, Jelly Bean OS and Near Field Communication technology features, Nexus 7 is now topping the list of 7-inch tablets. It delivers fast performance, sports a responsive screen and provides great media options. Google's Nexus 7 is a sure thing for you!
Kindle Fire - Even when reviewers criticized the generic design of the Amazon tablet and lack of sophisticated features, the Fire tablet stream Amazon's impressive collection of music, video, magazine, and book seamlessly. With its affordable price tag, a great Web browser, dual-core 1GHz processor, 1 GB RAM, and Android app store with must-have apps such as Netflix, Pandora, and Hulu, Fire has everything that you would want in a low-cost tablet.
Nook Tablet - The Nook Tablet, which is powered by the TI OMAP4 chipset with 1GHz processor, comes in two variants - a 8GB model with 512MB of RAM, and a 16GB model 1GB of RAM. Moreover, the Nook tablet contains a microSD card slot with an additional memory space of 32GB. Nook is known for its friendly interface and battery life, the Barnes and Noble tab is surely one of the best device available today.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 - This new tab is the Samsung's first tablet to be shipped with the latest Ice Cream Sandwich OS. While the second generation of the Tab 7.0 has striking resemblance with its predecessors 7.0 Plus as far as the looks and designs, buttons and ports go, the new tab features a front-facing camera with VGA resolution and a dual-core TI OMAP processor that clocks at a lower 1GHz. The latest tab comes with 8/32 GB internal storage and a microSD card slot to expand the memory up to 64 GB, Li-Ion 4000 mAh battery, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth version 3.0 with A2DP, HS and microUSB version 2.0 with USB On-the-go support. And, all you can get at just $249.99.
While the late CEO and Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was against the idea of a mini iPad, the company's absence in the small tablet segment makes a difference in the market. The success of these sub-$300 tablets by companies like Amazon and Barnes and Noble, Samsung and the latest Google, Apple should also dip its toes in the market.
