The IPad Mini set to hit Apple shelves just in time for Christmas boom
APPLE is set to announce the launch of the iPad Mini just in time for a Christmas boom.
The iPad Mini is set to generate a whopping £5million by Christmas, some experts have predicted.
At 6pm, this evening or 10am pacific time, Apple CEO is set to announce a smaller tablet to rival the likes of the Kindle Fire and Google's Nexus 7.
Both products have grabbed a chunk of the lower end of the tablet market - an area which Apple founder Steve Jobs had previously derided.
A smaller tablet would mark the first device to be added to Apple's compact portfolio under Chief Executive Tim Cook, who took over from co-founder Steve Jobs just before his death.
"Apple sensed early that they had a real winner with the iPad and that has proven to be correct," said Lars Albright, co-founder of mobile advertising startup SessionM and a former Apple ad executive.
Apple set to launch the iPad mini
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"They have a large market share, and to protect that market share they have got to be innovative," he said.
The chief rival is Amazon, which proved a 7-inch tablet at around $200 has consumer appeal. The Kindle Fire, released last year for $199, was one of the hottest-selling holiday gadgets. It pressured Amazon's margins but gave it potentially millions of new high-spending customers.
Amazon sold more than a million Kindles a week during December, paving the way for others like Google with its Nexus 7 to try and beat Apple in a market the company created.
The Internet retailer has now put its second-generation Kindle Fire HD in the market, which it says is the "best-selling product across all of Amazon worldwide", based on undisclosed U.S sales figures and international preorders.
Google's Nexus 7 tablet, built by Asian manufacturer Asustek , quickly ran out of stock after its July launch.