Apple Planning a $249 to $299 ‘iPad Mini’

A month after Apple delivered its new iPad, rumors are heating up about a new iteration of the tablet designed to compete with Amazon’s Kindle Fire.

The latest rumor to make the rounds is that Apple is planning to produce 6 million smaller iPads for sale some time in the third quarter. The report, from Chinese portal NetEase, was translated by Kotaku.

The NetEase report is based on “Taiwan media reports” and is said to be based on orders that Apple is placing to factories in the region, notably Honhai Precision (Foxconn) and Pegatron.

The report comes after The Korea Times wrote last month that Samsung was supplying Apple with “new PLS-based LCD technology for smaller iPads.” An unnamed Samsung official also told the publication that Apple was “planning to release a smaller iPad, probably with a 7.86-inch screen,” later this year. The current iPad has a 9.7-inch screen. - mashable