Apple to unwrap mini-iPad to take on Amazon, Google

Apple hopes to beat back their charge onto its home turf of consumer electronics hardware, while safeguarding its lead in the larger 10-inch tablet space that even deep-pocketed rivals like Samsung Electronics have found tough to penetrate.

Amazon's Kindle and Google's Nexus 7 have grabbed a chunk of the lower end of the tablet market and proved demand for a pocket-sized slate exists, helping force Apple into a space it has avoided and at times derided, analysts say.

A smaller tablet would mark the first device to be added to Apple's compact portfolio under Chief Executive Tim Cook, who took over from co-founder Steve Jobs just before his death.

Apple sensed early that they had a real winner with the iPad and that has proven to be correct, said Lars Albright, co-founder of mobile advertising startup SessionM and a former Apple ad executive.

They have a large market share, and to protect that market share they have got to be innovative, he said.

Wall Street analysts have said for months that Apple was planning a less expensive version of the iPad to take on cheaper competing devices, a move they say might hurt its margins, but prevent its rivals from dominating an increasingly important segment.

The chief rival is Amazon, which proved a 7-inch tablet at around $200 has consumer appeal. The Kindle

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