“Manufacturers in China have begun assembling a new, smaller tablet computer for Apple, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday,” Eric Zeman reports for InformationWeek. “Unnamed executives from component suppliers said that production of the tablet is under way. Production typically begins several weeks before Apple brings its new devices to market.”

“The tablet, which many refer to as the iPad Mini, will have a 7.85-inch screen. The regular iPad’s screen measures 9.7 inches diagonally. The most stunning revelation to come from The Journal story is that the iPad Mini’s screen will not be a Retina Display,” Zeman reports. “It will use the same liquid crystal display technology that the larger iPad does, but it won’t have a resolution high enough to merit the ‘Retina’ descriptor.”

Zeman reports, “Given how Apple prefers to make things easier for iOS developers, it might stick with a resolution that’s similar to its other devices. For example, it would make sense for Apple to pick 1024 x 768 pixels, which is the same resolution shared by the iPad and iPad 2. That would be a competitive resolution for a device with a 7.85-inch display, even if Apple can’t market it as a Retina Display.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: The only display that matters in that part of the tablet market is the price tag.

Apple can create a higher end iPad mini with Retina display whenever (ifever) they feel there’s a market for it.