NYT Says iPad Mini Is In Development, Becoming Third Prominent Source

With iPad Mini rumors firing up, we’ve had quite a few promising sources back and verify the tablet. Now the New York Times becomes the third source to back the iPad Mini. So lets see what they had to say.

The New York Times has released an article, and the tone wasn’t explaining why they need to release an iPad Mini, it was more broadly stating, the iPad Mini is coming. For example, they came out and stated the iPad Mini would be 7.85″ in size, and would cost “significantly” less than the iPad. Here is the NYT’s full statement:

“The company is developing a new tablet with a 7.85-inch screen that is likely to sell for significantly less than the latest $499 iPad, with its 9.7-inch display, according to several people with knowledge of the project who declined to be named discussing confidential plans. The product is expected to be announced this year.”

But that wasn’t all NYT’s had to report. From a former Apple engineer, the source cracked out of him that Apple had a 7-inch iPad in the labs during 2000:

“the first tablet prototype Apple began developing in the mid-2000s had a seven-inch screen, said a former engineer at the company who helped build the smaller prototype and declined to be named to avoid upsetting people at the company today.”

With anticipated tablets such as the Microsoft Surface and Nexus 7 Apple is bound to release a smaller tablet. For the fact Apple has had a smaller tablet in the labs during 2000 shows the Cupertino company was waiting for the right time to make a release. If Apple could manage a sub-$299 tablet then they could dominate the market all around. Currently Apples share in the tablet market sits around 60 to 70 percent.

A few other leaks during the past two weeks include Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal.

[Via iDownloadblog]