(Reuters) - Apple Inc is expected to make its biggest product move on Tuesday since debuting the iPad two years ago, launching a smaller, cheaper tablet into a market staked out by Amazon.com Inc and Google Inc.
stake out：标志
Apple hopes to beat back their charge onto its home turf of consumer electronics hardware, while safeguarding its lead in the larger 10-inch tablet space that even deep-pocketed rivals like Samsung Electronics have found tough to penetrate.
home turf：监视区
Amazon's Kindle and Google's Nexus 7 have grabbed a chunk of the lower end of the tablet market and proved demand for a pocket-sized slate exists. That has forced Apple into a space it has avoided and at times derided, analysts say.
a chunk of：一大块
A smaller tablet would mark the first device to be added to Apple's compact portfoliounder Chief Executive Tim Cook, who took over from co-founder Steve Jobs just before his death.
"Apple sensed early that they had a real winner with the iPad and that has proven to be correct," said Lars Albright, co-founder of mobile advertising startup SessionM and a former Apple ad executive.
"They have a large market share, and to protect that market share they have got to be innovative," he said.
market share：市场占有率
In a departure from its usual practice of tightly controlling events, Apple will livestream an invitation-only San Jose event -- where it is expected to unveil the mini tablet -- to Apple devices such as the iPad and Macintosh computers at 10 am PT (1700 GMT). [nL1E8LGBFT]here
Wall Street analysts have said for months that Apple was planning a less expensive version of the iPad to take on cheaper competing devices, a move they say might hurt its margins, but prevent its rivals from dominating an increasingly important segment.
hurt its margin：伤害利润率
margin：原意为边缘，还有利润的意思
The chief rival is Amazon, which proved a 7-inch tablet at around $200 has consumer appeal. The Kindle Fire, released last year for $199, was one of the hottest-selling holiday gadgets. It pressured Amazon's margins but gave it potentially millions of new high-spending customers.
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