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The much-rumoured iPad mini will be shipping before Christmas, according to new rumours that reportedly come via British bank Barclays.
An analyst working for the bank expects Taiwanese tech factory Pegatron to construct and ship 3 million miniature iPads, Focus Taiwan reports. The tiny tablets are reckoned to ship in the fourth quarter of 2012, or the three months leading up to the end of the year if you’re not fluent in management speak.
The iPad mini didn’t arrive alongside the iPhone 5, as some had predicted, but rumours that it really exists and is ready to pounce are still doing the rounds.
This latest tip sees Pegatron’s expected iPad mini count revised down to about 30 per cent of Apple’s yearly total, which — if our calculations hold up — means 10 million iPad minis could be built this year.
That doesn’t seem like very many devices, especially as Apple sold 3 million of its newest iPad during the tablet’s first three days on sale. The iPad mini is tipped to be a significantly cheaper version of Apple’s tablet too, so impulse shoppers could drive sales numbers higher still. The analyst in this case reportedly thinks a thinner bezel could be behind the lower ‘yield rate’ numbers.
If the iPad mini is real, it’s expected to be revealed at an event this month. If Apple is true to form, we won’t know about any launch plans until about a week before the event itself, however.
If Apple is plotting a smaller, cheaper iPad, now is the time to unleash it. Rival tablet makers like Google, Amazon and Barnes and Noble are all touting £160 slates that could easily eat away at the iPad’s share of the delicious tablet pie.
Do the Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD or Nook HD appeal to you, or will you wait to see what Apple has planned? Tell me in the comments or on our Facebook wall.
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