Apple To Take On Kindle Fire With 7.85-Inch ‘iPad Mini’ In Late 2012 [Rumor]

That’s right — rumors surrounding an “iPad mini” have been resurrected by DigiTimes, which claims Apple is really going to give Amazon’s Kindle Fire something to worry about next year with an 7.85-inch model of it’s hugely successful tablet.The Cupertino company will reportedly take on increasing competition from smaller tablets with a pocket-sized pad of its own during the fourth quarter of 2012, according to sources:

However, in order to cope with increasing market competition including the 7-inch Kindle Fire from Amazon and the launch of large-size smartphones from handset vendors, Apple has been persuaded into the development of 7.85-inch iPads, the sources indicated.

Despite its smaller display, the iPad mini will reportedly sport the same resolution as the existing iPad, which is 1024 x 768. That means existing apps could run without modification on the smaller device, with a high-resolution feel.

Rumors of a smaller iPad — around 7-inches in size — are certainly not new, with the iLounge mockup you see above published over a year ago. However, they seem to have a little more credence this time around as Apple looks to address competition from smaller and more affordable devices, like the $199 Kindle Fire, which attempt to take on its 9.7-inch iPad.

• Via MacRumors

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