Rumors of an iPad Mini have been making waves for a long time now, and for a good reason. With the rise of 7-inch tablet popularity, which began with the Amazon Kindle Fire, and now the Google Nexus 7, Apple has no choice but to consider taking on the market despite Steve Jobs once saying, "7-inch tablets are dead on arrival." Recently, AllThingsD reported that one of its sources confirmed to them the iPad Mini is real, and is expected to make its debut at an event in October after the iPhone 5 goes on sale.

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The next version of Apple's largely popular iPhone is expected to make its debut at an event on September 12, 2012. According to the source, the iPad Mini will not be mentioned at this event because the device would have to compete with the next version of the iPhone for attention.

Nothing is yet known about the specs, but if Apple is interested to shaking up the market, it would be wise to release an iPad Mini with a 7- or 6-inch display, and quad core CPU, or the same display technology found in the new iPad along with a host of connectivity options to boot.

A smaller iPad could mean trouble for Google and Android, as the 7-inch space is where Android OEMs have managed to find any form of success in the tablet market. This would surely force OEMs to reduce the price of products to compete more effectively with Apple. If iPad Mini carries a price tag between $299 and $399, Apple could potentially control a larger portion of the tablet market.

The ball is in Microsoft and Nokia's court right now to come out with competing tablet devices to give the iPad Mini added competition. Many believes the only real competition to the iPad will come from Windows 8-based tablet devices such as the Microsoft Surface.

Are you excited about a smaller version of the iPad? Share your thoughts with us.

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