14 DAY TRIAL // The unstoppable flow of rumors coming from Asia have churned up another story about the purported 8-inch iPad that Apple is allegedly prototyping. According to some supply chain blokes, Apple wants volume production to commence in Q3 2012.
The usually ambiguous industry sources are telling Taiwan’s DigiTimes that “Makers in Apple's iPad supply chain have started delivering samples of 7.85-inch iPads for verification, with volume production likely to begin in the third quarter of 2012 at the earliest.”
Apple’s alleged goal is to go head to head with Amazon, which produces the $199 Kindle Fire tablet, as well as with “a comparable model from Barnes & Noble,” the sources said. Apple is still expected to grab more than half of the tablet market, either way. As far as pricing is concerned, the Asian sources said “the 7.85-inch iPad is likely to be set at US$249-299.”