Smaller iPad expected at Apple event in Calif.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Apple is holding a presentation in San Jose, Calif., during which it is expected to unveil a smaller iPad.

Tech bloggers and analysts expect a device with a screen measuring 7.85 inches on the diagonal, making it about half the size of the regular iPad. It would be slightly larger than the 7-inch tablets from Amazon.com Inc. and Google Inc. The regular iPad is 9.7 inches.

Apple has sold 84 million iPads since their debut in April 2010. Although Apple dominates the worldwide tablet market with 70 percent of shipments in the second quarter, according to IHS iSuppli, Amazon and Google have been able to make in-roads with the smaller alternatives. A smaller iPad from Apple Inc. could help the company cement its dominance.

The event at the California Theatre comes a few days before Microsoft Corp. starts selling a new version of its Windows operating system, one designed to work well on both traditional computers and tablets. Microsoft is also releasing its own tablet, the Surface, on Friday. It will be slightly larger than the full-sized iPad.

Here's a running account of Apple's event, presented in reverse chronological order. All times are PDT. Presenters include Apple CEO Tim Cook.

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10:15 a.m.

Cook began the presentation with a customary update on past products.

Cook talked about the success of the iPhone 5 and the new iPod Touch, both released last month. He said there have been 3 million iPod Touches sold.

He also talked about an upgrade to Apple's software for mobile devices, iOS 6. He said there were now 200 million devices running iOS 6.

He said the app store had more than 700,000 apps, including 275,000 for the iPad. Customers have downloaded more than 35 billion apps, he said.

He touted an e-book app called iBooks and announced a new version with a new reading option: continuous scrolling. With that, you keep scrolling down the screen rather than flip pages to keep reading. You can also tap on a quote to share instantly on Facebook or Twitter.