The rumor mill is hitting again. Just yesterday there were doubts in some people's minds to whether there even was an iPad Mini. Now the rumor mill is not only saying that there is, but that it will be released along with a focus on iBooks, and that the event will take place October 23.
What makes this announcement somewhat conspicuous is that these Apple events usually don't happen on Tuesdays. They are Wednesday events, smack dab in the middle of the week. So why would this event be taking place on a Tuesday? Could they not book the venue for the day they wanted? Or could they just not wait one more day to make this announcement?
Some were also wondering what Apple could possibly roll out along with the iPad Mini. In the last two events, they've rolled out Mountain Lion, Retina Display MacBook Pro, iOS 6, and the iPhone 5. What's left other than the Mini?
The answer is new and improved iBooks. That would be great. I like using the Kindle app, and the iBooks app just always seems a little lesser than in terms of what it offers. It would be great to have the iBooks app working in those terms so that I could buy books the same way I buy my music, movies, and TV shows, through iTunes.
Yet, the very first thought in my head is that Apple is surely going after the market that has been taking a bite out of them. There's a low-priced tablet market out there with the Kindle Fire, Barnes & Noble's Nook, Google's Nexus 7, etc. Those all go after iPad, saying they are cheaper, do some of the same things, and are great readers on top of it.
Enter the iPad Mini with improved iBooks. It looks like they're trying to take that share of the market back. They'll offer a cheaper iPad with an improved ability to read books, giving consumers something more to think about. I'll stick with my third generation iPad, as I can still read books on it, and it does more, but it will be interesting to see what consumers looking for an e-reader tablet will choose this holiday season.
