“Apple Inc.’s Asian component suppliers have started mass production of a new tablet computer smaller than the current iPad, people with knowledge of the situation said, as the Silicon Valley company tries to stay competitive against rivals such as Google Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. that are offering smaller, less-expensive alternatives to the iPad,” Lorraine Luk reports for The Wall Street Journal.

“Two of the people said the smaller tablet will have a 7.85-inch liquid-crystal display with a lower resolution compared with the latest iPad model that came out in March,” Luk reports. “South Korea’s LG Display Co. and Taiwan’s AU Optronics Corp. last month began mass production of the LCD screens for the new device, they said.”

Luk reports, “In July, people familiar with the matter told the Journal that Apple’s suppliers were preparing to begin mass production of the smaller tablet in September.”

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