From time to time, the possibility of Apple introducing a 7-inch iPad has been batted around among the pundits. Since Apple traditionally deals in the “high-priced spread” and especially since the late Apple leader, Steve Jobs, always talked smack about the small tablets, an Apple 7-inch tablet has not seemed  very likely… until now.

Things are changing.

The first serious 7-inch tablet competitor was Amazon’s Fire. Recently Google’s Nexus 7 entered the fray. That impressive product, along with the rumored pending upgrade of the Amazon Fire, are likely to spur the 7-inch market. Also Microsoft’s announced Surface tablet, while a 10-inch, not a 7-inch display, is likely to take market share from Apple’s traditional market dominance. So this would appear to be a good time for Apple to abandon its snubbing of smaller, less expensive tablets, and enter that marketplace itself.

To compete in this arena, Apple will have to at least come close to the price point of the 7-inch competitors of $200. That means there will have to be some compromises from the current iPad. Notably, the high-resolution screen of the new iPad will probably be the first casualty. How will Apple fans respond to the feature downgrade? I suspect we are going to find out soon.

Just yesterday I posted the rumored new 7-inch Kindle Fire that may appear as early as next month. Now today, yet another rumor of a 10-inch version coming by the end of this year.

The new 7-inch Fire is needed to keep Amazon in the hunt and compete with the new Nexus 7. A 10-inch product would presumably enter Amazon into a position to compete with the iPad.

If true, this would be Amazon’s first 10-inch tablet. It is rumored to have a higher build quality than the first Kindle Fire, which was, admittedly, a little cheap looking. Higher quality in both a 7-inch and 10-inch Fire could result in a resurgence of Amazon in the hotly contested tablet marketplace.

Things are heating up in the 7-inch tablet market. There are two notable “new kinds on the block”

New Kindle Fire

There have been rumors of an imminent new Kindle Fire before. And I fell victim to one of those rumors in this blog a few months ago. But this time, it really looks real.

The rumor has it that the next generation of Kindle Fire will be released by the end of July. Specks of this new Fire are also just rumor at this point, but among the speculations are a camera, physical volume adjustments, 1280 x 800 pixel display (an upgrade from the current Fire’s resolution of 1024 x 600), and continue to sell at the current price of $199. Some people thought that this might be a 10-inch tablet, but at that price, that is very doubtful.

The rumor of a new Kindle Fire had better be true this time, for Amazon’s sake. Because a serious competitor has just come on the market.

Google’s Nexus 7 Tablet

Google is expected to announce it’s Nexus branded slate this week. We won’t have to wait long to get the specs on this, but at first glance, it appears to be targeting Amazon’s Kindle Fire directly. Like the Fire, Nexus 7 appears to be optimized for content from the Google Play marketplace, just as Fire is for Amazon’s collection of books, mp3s, games, TV shows & movies, etc.

The Nexus will be built by Asus and will supposedly sport the newest version of Android, named “Jelly Bean.” The 7-inch display has 1280 x 800 resolution, the same as is rumored for the new Fire. Nexus 7 offers 8 and 16 GB storage options. The entry level price point is expected to be $200, head-to-head with Fire.

Google Play is simultaneously being updated to more completely compete with Amazon’s content offerings. It will be offering movies and TV shows, as well as magazines.

With the hardware, content offerings and price running so completely parallel between Google’s Nexus 7 and Amazon’s new Fire, this is going to be a competition showdown to watch!