According to a new report from Taiwanese publication Digitimes, Apple is gearing up to produce a 7.85-inch iPad. The rumored device is reportedly set to enter mass production by the third quarter of this year.
According to Digitimes:
Makers in Apple’s iPad supply chain have started delivering samples of 7.85-inch iPads for verification, with volume production likely to begin in the third quarter of 2012 at the earliest, according to industry sources.
The price of the 7.85-inch iPad is likely to be set at US$249-299, since Apple is also expected to release an 8GB iPad 2 for US$349-399, and has lowered the price of the 16GB iPad 2 to US$449, the sources noted.
Another report from Digitimes just said that Apple is also set to release a 8GB iPad 2 model alongside the iPad 3. If you ask us, it doesn’t make much sense for Apple to sell a 8GB and 16GB iPad 2 unless there’s a big difference in price point.
The ‘iPad Mini’ rumors haven’t seemed to die over the last several months, and many still believe that Apple will inevitably introduce a smaller, cheaper iPad to take on the likes of the Kindle Fire. The Wall Street Journal recently said that Apple is prototyping a 8-inch iPad, so it’s probably true that such a device exists. One should remember that Apple prototypes all kinds of products simultaneously, and that what’s being played with in the Cupertino labs may not necessarily hit the store shelves anytime soon.
