There has been a lot of speculation as to whether or not Apple will enter into the smaller-tablet market with the launch of a mini iPad. Many have formerly claimed that Apple will be releasing a 7-inch iPad as well as 7.85-inch iPad, but so far we don’t have any sound reason to believe so. Now, an analyst from Sterne Agee, Shaw Wu has expressed his opinion that an iPad mini is simply a ‘question of when, not if.’

Wu sounds quite sure in his opinion and according to him, it makes every sense that Apple would eventually enter the mini-tablet market. Currently, Amazon is having modest sales with its Kindle Fire, the only relative success in the tablet market apart from iPad. This has led the analysts to believe that there is a huge potential for Apple to explore in the mini tablet market.

Apple’s iPad takes the crown for being the most sold and most used tablet in the world, even when its price tag is not too low compared to other tablets. iPad’s starting price was $499 when Apple eventually launched it. And now that we have the new iPad, iPad 2 has come down to a mere $399. This means that other competitors in the arena have been squeezed to a very tight corner in a world where iPad quite literally rules.

However, to diversify its sales as well as to ramp up their volume, Wu is of the opinion that Apple will have to enter the mini-tablet market. According to him, ‘We do not sense that the release of an iPad mini is imminent and quite frankly, exact timing is difficult to predict. However, we do believe it makes both fundamental and strategic sense for AAPL to address at some point.’

Also, Google is expected to enter the mini-tablet market this year. And if Google’s tablet is a hit, Apple will be forced to stand up to the challenge or Android will be able to take away a major scoop of Apple’s pie. In a way, Wu is quite right in saying that it is only a matter of time.

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