7.85" Apple iPad Coming in 2012?

It looks like the Amazon Kindle Fire, the 7" tablet that everyone is raving about, will soon have some fierce competition. If the rumors are true, Apple has been “persuaded” to begin development of an iPad with a smaller 7.85” display. The current iPad model has a 9.7” display.

The California-based company is purchasing the panels from LG Displays and AU Optronics, and the smaller iPads will likely begin to be mass produced around the end of the second quarter of 2012. The screen resolution is not specified, but it is probably safe to assume that 1024x768 will be used, in order to stay compatible with existing iPad apps.

It will be interesting to see if Apple lowers the price of the 7.85” iPad to better compete with the Kindle Fire, but that remains to be seen. In any case, competition is great for us consumers, and those that found the normal iPads to be too heavy in-store will probably adore the smaller size.