Apple could be preparing an answer to the $199 Amazon Kindle Fire. According to AppleInsider, Apple has plans for a low-cost iPad that will be released in the beginning of 2012.
AppleInsider got its intel from Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White, who has been traveling in China and Taiwan and meeting with component suppliers. During his tour, he has reportedly “heard rumblings” of a device dubbed “iPad mini,” in the pipeline for the early months of next year.
But don’t be fooled by the name; mini refers to a smaller price rather than a smaller form factor, White said.
With such a low price, the Kindle Fire has been framed as the first tablet that will be able to grapple with the industry-dominating iPad. But Apple could be taking a note out of Amazon’s playbook. By launching a less expensive iPad, White said Apple is attempting to break into a “more price sensitive consumer market,” as well as better compete with Amazon’s affordably priced tablet.
In a note to investors, White estimated that this device would be priced in the “mid-to-high $200 range.” Apple will reportedly release the cheaper iPad just before it introduces the iPad 3.
Amazon has already revealed its 7-inch tablet, but it’s also rumored to have a souped-up 10-inch tablet in the works that will launch later this year. Early reports suggest that Amazon has already found success with the Kindle Fire. One report claimed that in less than a week after Amazon took the lid off its tablet, it had sold more than 250,000 units. To put that into perspective, Apple sold 300,000 iPads on the first day the first-gen device was on sale. Amazon still has time to catch up, too. The device doesn’t ship until November 15.