Invitations bore only time and location details along with the message “We’ve got a little more to show you.”/FILE
As is its style, Apple has remained mute regarding what it plans to unveil at the media event, which will be held in the California city of San Jose in the heart of Silicon Valley.
Invitations bore only time and location details along with the message “We’ve got a little more to show you.”
However, rampant rumour fuelled by industry insiders foretells the arrival of an “iPad Mini” priced from $249 to $399.
“I don’t think they have any choice,” said independent analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group in Silicon Valley.
“The reality is that the smaller tablets seem to be much more popular because they are lower priced and easy to hold.”
Apple set the tablet computer market ablaze with the first iPad in early 2010 and stuck with its 9.7-inch (24.6-centimeter) screen while rivals introduced lower-price tablets with screens closer to seven-inches (18 centimetres).
Amazon’s seven-inch Kindle Fire proved popular last year, and a new version was launched last month.
Meanwhile, a Google Nexus 7 powered by Android software joined the Samsung Galaxy in the seven-inch tablet market.
With Kindle and Nexus tablets starting at $199, Apple will be forced to keep its price low for its new model and “will not have its normal profit margin,” said Roger Kay, a consultant and analyst with Endpoint Technologies Associates.
Some blogs say Google may come out with a tablet as low as $99.
“Apple is kind of late to the market with a small tablet,” Enderle said.
“This is the first launch of a product that is all Tim Cooks’ but it is a very crowded arena with prices hard for Apple to meet.”
Cook took over as Apple chief last year in the months before a battle with cancer claimed the life of Steve Jobs, the Cupertino, California-based company’s legendary co-founder and leader.
