Microsoft plans to launch 7-inch Surface tablet?

Microsoft is planning to launch a 7-inch version of its Surface tablet later this year, according to sources cited by the Wall Street Journal.

The unnamed sources claim that the company had no plans to do so initially, but felt it had to respond to the growing popularity of smaller tablets, as research firm IDC reports that half of all tablets sold in the final quarter of 2012 were sub-8-inch. Though how successful this will be in the light of the rather lacklustre reception given to the full-sized version …