Apple iPad Mini Could Complicate Things For Windows 8 Tablets

[wraggster]

Current rumor suggests that Apple is gearing up to unveil its iPad Mini Oct. 17 (http://slashdot.org/topic/cloud/apple-ipad-mini-could-complicate-things-for-windows-8-tablets/), with invitations to media arriving Oct. 10. That's according to Fortune (http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/10/01/rumor-ipad-mini-invitations-set-to-be-mailed-out-oct-10/), which obtained the information from an unnamed Apple investor who, in turn, heard those dates from other unnamed sources. While that attribution might prove a bit too vaporous for some people, it does align with earlier reports from AllThingsD that Apple is planning to reveal a smaller iPad sometime in October (http://allthingsd.com/20120825/confirmed-new-ipad-mini-will-debut-in-october-after-latest-iphones-september-bow/). If those rumors prove accurate, the unveiling of an iPad Mini in that timeframe could prove very bad news for the upcoming Windows 8 tablets. (Gizmodo offers a pretty complete rumor rundown on the iPad Mini's possible features here (http://gizmodo.com/5948203/ipad-mini-rumor-roundup-everything-we-think-we-know).) Unlike the traditional PC market, Microsoft doesn't dominate the market for mobile-device operating systems. Windows 7 tablets never gained much of a toehold among tablet users, who prefer iPads and Android-based devices by wide margins. When it comes to Windows 8 (and Windows RT, the version of next-generation Windows for ARM architecture), Microsoft is starting out as the underdog."
http://apple.slashdot.org/story/12/10/02/2018218/apple-ipad-mini-could-complicate-things-for-windows-8-tablets