Apple iPad Mini Production Planned, Will Likely Compete With Nexus 7, Kindle Fire

New rumors began circulating on the 4th of July that claim Apple is indeed working on the iPad Mini and that the device should be ready by the end of the year. According to a source at Bloomberg Apple decided to develop and release the unit to directly compete with the Google Nexus 7, Amazon Kindle Fire tablet and Microsoft 8 tablets that will soon begin to flood the market.

At least two reports claim Apple will shrink the current 9.7 inch display of the new iPad down to 7 or possibly 9 inches and that the Retina display will not be used, allowing Apple to lower the price of the Apple iPad Mini to be more competitive against the $199 Kindle Fire and the $199 Google Nexus 7.

Another report by CNET claims that Apple has already formulated a business structure for the iPad Mini. According to CNet’s source:

“There’s a business plan for it, there’s a mass production target for it, and we know that it’s for Apple.”

Apple could charge the same $199 found on other devices but researchers believe it will be closer to $249 to $299 since Apple buyers are typically willing to pay a premium for the Apple name.

Oddly enough the idea of an iPad Mini was something Steve Jobs was adamantly against because he didn’t believe buyers would be satisfied with a 7-inch display on an Apple tablet product.

If Apple can leverage the success of its Apple App Store alongside a smaller device one analyst says the Apple iPad Mini could become a competitors “worst nightmare.”