Can iPad mini help Apple sustain tablet dominance?

To consolidate its dominance in the tablet segment, Apple is gearing up to launch the iPad mini in September, website iMore reported on Monday, quoting sources.

The iPad mini is likely to have a 7-inch screen and be priced much lower than the latest $499 iPad, which has a 9.7-inch display.

As the tablet segment attracts more competition, Apple would be trying to protect its flanks by offering customers different sizes of the device from the iPad product family.

iPad mini would appeal to customers who might find the 9.7-inch tablet difficult to carry.

Google has already made a big splash in the tablet segment with Nexus 7, a seven-inch device which costs $199.

Apple had earlier fought off competition in the digital player market dominated by iPod by coming with the the $49 iPod shuffle.