Apple is likely to debut
iPhone 5 and
iPad Mini at an event in September 12 and these devices may hit the stories nine days later on September 21, Apple fansite
iMore said citing sources.
The iPad mini is likely to have a 7-inch screen and be priced much lower than the latest $499 iPad, which has a 9.7-inch display.
As the tablet segment attracts more competition, Apple would be trying to protect its flanks by offering customers different sizes of the device from the iPad product family.
iPad mini would appeal to customers who might find the 9.7-inch tablet difficult to carry.
Google has already made a big splash in the tablet segment with Nexus 7, a seven-inch device which costs $199.
Apple had earlier fought off competition in the digital player market dominated by iPod by coming with the the $49 iPod shuffle.
When Apple reported financial results for its latest quarter last week, a new phenomenon was revealed: Buyers started pulling back on iPhone purchases just six months after the launch of the latest iPhone model.
Apple executives blamed the tepid sales on "rumors and speculation" that may have caused some consumers to wait for the next iPhone. In the April to June period, Apple sold 26 million phones, 28 percent more than it did in the same quarter last year.
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