Mini iPad set for release by end of 2012: report

An iPad with a 7.85-inch screen is allegedly due to arrive here by the end of the year. But is the iPad "Mini" for real? 

On Friday, Apple will officially launch its latest iPad. 

And a second iPad – this one a little more portable – could follow close behind. Speaking to the Korea Times this week, an official with Samsung, which supplies some parts to Apple, claimed an iPad with a 7.85-inch screen is set to hit shelves by the end of 2012. (Hat tip to the Washington Post for the link.) Samsung and Apple are currently locked in a legal battle over patents, but the official said Samsung would continue to work with Apple through 2014. 

Standard caveats apply: Apple has said nothing about an "iPad Mini," and the Korea Times article has no substantiation. That said, rumors of a smaller iPad have been circulating for a while now: In December, for instance, the Korean paper DigiTimes also reported on the existence of an iPad with a 7.85-inch screen, and placed the release window in the fourth quarter of this year.  

Moreover, it makes sense that Apple would want to sell tablet computers in a variety of sizes. The current iPad – the one shipping on Friday – is equipped with a 9.7-inch display, making the machine perfect for movie watching, but difficult to stuff in a purse or jacket pocket. The Amazon Kindle Fire, on the other hand, has a 7-inch display and a smaller frame and a whole lot of portability. 

The Kindle Fire is reportedly selling very well indeed. Apple isn't stupid. Faced with a challenge from Amazon, the logical response would be to box out its competition, and the best way to box out the competition is to create a device that goes head-to-head with the Fire on price and size. (Nothing has been said about the price on this as-of-yet-imaginary iPad Mini, but presumably the thing would be cheaper than the new iPad.) 

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