Is This Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s Newest Surprise Competitor?

The Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad mini has performed well over the past few months, pushing to the top of the tablet market and making things difficult on the competition. Although production problems are standing in the way right now (find out why), the future looks bright.

Many consumers are wondering when a competitor will come to the forefront and give Apple a run for its money. The tablet market is wide open, but as of now Cupertino is pretty much the only company that is doing things right.

With all this in mind, it is important to note that Toshiba is going to be jumping into the action in the near future with the release of a seven inch tablet. This does not necessarily mean it will equal the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad mini, however, it is another competitor that is giving it a go.

Digitimes touched on this story, adding this information:

“Toshiba has reportedly placed orders for an entry-level 7-inch tablet named AT7-A and may launch it to the retail channel as soon as the third quarter of 2013, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers.”

As you can see, Toshiba is not wasting any time getting involved in the tablet market. It makes good sense for the company to launch the tablet during the third quarter, giving it enough time to catch on before the busy holiday rush.

At this point, Dell is the only first-tier brand vender that is not taking part in the seven inch tablet market. Should we expect to see this company getting involved sooner rather than later?

Here is more from the article:

“Seeing that tablet demand has a chance to reach a scale of around 240 million units per year, despite the low profitability, most PC brand vendors are still aggressively trying to earn a stake in the segment.”

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is well aware of its position in the tablet market as well as the growth that is sure to come over the next few years. For this reason, Cupertino continues to do big things while holding off the competition.

This Toshiba tablet may not be able to grab much, if any, market share from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), but it will be interesting to see how it is received during the second half of 2013.