New “small” iPad to be launched this year

Apple is set to launch a compact, lower-priced iPad by the end of 2012, Bloomberg has reported.

According to Shaw Wu, an analyst at Stern Agee & Leach Inc: “It would be the competitors’ worst nightmare. The ball is in Apple’s court.”

The rumoured new tablet is set to take on Microsoft’s Surface and Google’s Nexus 7, in an attempt to maintain the company’s dominance of the market.

According to figures from a Q2 YouGov/Connected Consumer survey, 12.5% of respondents already own an iPad and 11.8% intend to purchase one at some point over the next 12 months.

It is thought that the new model could have a seven or eight inch screen, compared to the current iPad’s 9.7 inches, and may be launched in October.

Apple, which currently has 61% of the tablet market share, has not commented on the speculation.

Amazon’s Kindle Fire, released last year and priced at $199, is thought to be a natural cost competitor for the new iPad.

Read the full Bloomberg article here.