14 DAY TRIAL // Apple Premium Resellers around Europe have been instructed by the mothership to make more room on their display tables for the iPad. The deadline is September 12, the rumored launch date of the iPhone 5. Apple might also introduce a so-called iPad mini at the same event.
The tidbit comes from Apple Premium Resellers around Europe with initial indication that Cupertino was preparing to introduce its long-rumored mini tablet this fall.
However, before they even got the chance to spread the word properly, MacRumors clarified in an update that these changes are actually not new at all.
These instructions were sent to resellers months ago. Moreover, “the reasoning behind the shift stems from the iPad accounting for 55% of dollar share and 61% of unit share among sales at the resellers but only representing 15% of display space,” the sources reportedly told MacRumors.
Apple now wants the iPad to account for 45% of the showroom space. That’s not to say the changes don’t include a new version of the iPad as well.
Word on the street is that Apple was planning a refresh anyway. A new version of the iPad 3 is expected with enhanced internals and a new dock connector.
The iPad mini is also just as plausible. Apple’s siege on the tablet industry is unfolding as planned, and the fact that it is making room for more tablets in reseller windows is added confirmation of that.
Right now, Authorized Apple Resellers are pretty much the same thing as the official Apple Retail Stores.
Cupertino puts a lot of emphasis on these venues, instructing their managers to try and reenact the look and feel of genuine Apple stores as much as they can.