Report: Apple Planning Smaller iPad to Vie With Google Nexus

Bloomberg: “Two people with knowledge of the plans” tell Bloomberg that Apple will launch a less expensive iPad with a 7- or 8-inch screen before the year ends, possibly as early as October. The Wall Street Journal ran a similar story, saying that Asian component suppliers are already gearing up for the new product.

According to the reports, the “iPad Mini” will come with price similar to Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Google’s Nexus 7, both of which cost $199. “It would be the competitors’ worst nightmare,” said Shaw Wu, an analyst at Sterne Agee & Leach Inc. “The ball is in Apple’s court.”