Apple (AAPL) Looks to Dominate All of Tablet Market with Smaller iPad

Though chatter around the topic has been circulating for a while, Apple, Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) might finally be close to creating a new, smaller tablet device.

According to the WSJ, suppliers in Taiwan have said the new panel size for the iPad will be less than 8 inches, compared to the current model's 9.7-inch screen. Screen makers on Apple's new device may include LG Display (NYSE: LPL) and AU Optronics (NYSE: AUO).

Word comes just a week after Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) debuted its new Nexus 7 tablet and two weeks following the launch of Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) first PC, the Surface tablet. The smaller Apple tablet will be more competitive with offerings from Google and Amazon's (Nasdaq: AMZN) Kindle Fire, while its larger counterpart will retain a stronghold in the larger-panel tablet segment, a bragging right Microsoft is aiming to break.

Apple's iPad boasted a 62 percent share of the relatively young tablet PC market. IHS sees overall tablet sales growing 85 percent in 2012 to 126.6 million units.

Shares of Apple are indicated for a higher open Thursday.

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