The email was introduced on Friday as an exhibit in a high-wattage trial being played out in San Jose this summer before much of the technology industry. Apple and Samsung are going toe-to-toe in a patent dispute that mirrors a global struggle for industry supremacy between two rivals that together control more than half of worldwide smartphone sales.

Apple accuses Samsung of copying the design and some features of its iPad and iPhone, and is asking for billions of dollars in damages and a sales ban. The Korean company, which is trying to expand in the U.S. market, accuses Apple of infringing on some of its key wireless technology patents.

Cue, who rose to prominence overseeing the iTunes and Apps stores, became the company's senior vice president of Internet software and services in September.

Cue said in an email dated January 24, 2011 he had broached the idea of a smaller tablet to Jobs several times since Thanksgiving, and the co-founder was receptive "the last time."