Apple Launching 7-inch iPad to Leave No Space for Competitors - Report

A source talking to an Apple-centric blog claims to have learned that Apple is pushing forward with plans to release a smaller version of the iPad to go on a rampage, just as it did with the iPod media players.

Despite having vocally expressed discontent towards the 7-inch tablet form factor, Apple Inc. now seems keen on launching a smaller tablet computer to kill competition, rumor has it.

The latest word comes from a source telling iMore that “Apple will be going forward with the 7-inch iPad, currently targeting an October 2012 release alongside the new iPhone.”

The device will allegedly sell for $200 to $250 with potentially limited storage capacities (8GB). The reason - “leave absolutely no space for competitors.”

The source is said to have told the site that Apple wants to do to the tablet market what it did to the MP3 market almost a decade ago, with the evolution of the iPod.

While it could make sense for Apple to pull such a stunt, it still doesn’t seem very likely for the company to introduce such a niche product with the iPhone 5 just around the corner.

Plus, considering how long it took Apple to blend laptops and smartphones into the iPad as a product for the masses, and given the mindset behind this product, a 7-inch version does’t have much of a space to launch in.

Then again, if we got these things right every time we issued an opinion, we’d be working for Apple’s marketing department. So it’s still anybody’s guess, and every such rumor deserves a fair amount of attention.

For example, iMore’s theory about decreasing the storage to save costs does seem plausible. The source’s info regarding Apple’s reasons - to smite competition - also sounds like a strategy brainstormed at 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California.

The source also indicated that the tablet will have a scaled down appearance, but that it would otherwise look identical to the current line of iPads. The screen would boast a 2048x1536 resolution that would put the pixel count at around 326 ppi - the same as on the newer iPhones.