With so many iPhone rumors popping up as of late, here’s an iPad Mini rumor to keep things well rounded. The Taiwan-based Liberty Times is reporting that Apple has certified both LG and AU Optronics to supply the display on the rumored 7.85-inch iPad.
The report, translated via Macotakara, also claims that the iPad Mini will likely be released either during the third or fourth quarter of 2012 with shipments expected to fall in the 6 million range. Other suppliers on board are rumored to include TPK Holding and CHIMEI Innolux who will each supply 4 million and 2 million backlight modules respectively.
Rumors of an iPad Mini have been growing increasingly louder over the past few months, and while Steve Jobs once said that 7-inch tablets would be dead on arrival, the success of the Amazon Kindle Fire has shown that there is a market for smaller tablet devices at cheaper pricepoints. Also, remember that Tim Cook said that Apple noticed a noticeable uptick in sales from various educational institutions and other groups when it lowered the base price of the iPad 2 down to $399.
Price wise, the iPad Mini, according to a few reports, will be priced in the $200-$250 range to compete with devices like the Nook and Kindle Fire. Much like Apple’s strategy with the iPod, it will attempt to prevent the creation of a price umbrella under which competitors can perhaps thrive. And helping to keep the prices low will likely be relatively little storage, say around 8GB, and don’t expect the iPad Mini to sport a Retina Display either.
via Macotakara
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Thu, May 17, 2012
News, Rumors