The New York Times has joined the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg in saying Apple is building a smaller version of the iPad, and that it will be announced some time this year.
According to the NYT’s sources, Apple is working on a 7.85-inch tablet that will sell for less than the cheapest third generation iPad’s US$499 price point. The paper said its information came from several unnamed people that have “knowledge of the project.”
Rumors have been circulating that Apple is designing an iPad with a screen size to supplement the current 9.7-inch model. If true, companies like Amazon with its Kindle Fire and Google with its brand new Nexus 7tablets will find themselves competing with Apple for the small screen tablet market.
Apple isn’t saying whether or not it really is planning on releasing a smaller sized iPad, but with the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and now the New York Times all citing sources claiming it’s on the way, it seems likely that Apple will have two models on the market in time for the holiday buying season.