Apple ‘working on’ 7.85-inch iPad tablet to tackle Kindle Fire

Look out Kindle Fire, Apple is playing around with a 7.85-inch iPad tablet, according to Apple tipster John Gruber.

Apple is working on a smaller screen version of the iPad and already has a prototype in its labs, according to the notoriously well-connected Apple writer John Gruber.
Speaking on his Daring Fireball site’s podcast, Gruber says the in-the-works slate will boast the same resolution as the original iPad, rather than the recently-unveiled 2048 x 1536 Retina Display on the new iPad.
Replying to the question “Is Apple going to come out with a 7″ iPad, and if not: why not?” from the show’s host, Gruber said the long-rumoured smaller tablet would be like the regular iPad, just smaller.
He said: “Well, I don’t know. What I do know is that they [Apple] have one in the lab…a 7.85 inch iPad that runs at 1024×768…it’s just like the regular iPad shrunk down a bit.
“I’ve heard from multiple people that this is something that they’re kind of noodling with.”
A smaller iPad, would surely come at a cheaper price point than the new device’s $539 jumping-off point and perhaps boast more modest specs in order to compete with the US$200 Amazon Kindle Fire, which is dominating the low-end tablet market.
Could we see a smaller iPad unveiled alongside the heavily-tipped iPhone 5 this spring or will Apple wait until next March before unveiling a smaller companion to its all-conquering tablet?
Via: TheNextWeb, Daring Fireball
t3.com.au