Rumors of a smaller version of the iPad have been flying around for some time now and even though there has been no official word from Apple, chances are this year could get better for the Apple fans. Initially, there were question marks over the need of a smaller iPad but if you come to think of it, it is perfectly logical – smaller size increases portability and makes it more affordable. The only question that remains is that when the Apple faithful will have the iPad Mini in their hands.

iPad Mini Nowhere in iPhone 5 Launch:

Apple did not reveal or mention the iPad Mini at the press event held in California this past Wednesday when they announced the iPhone 5 and the new iPods and that seems a reasonable strategy. After all, who would want to take the gloss and attention away from the most anticipated tech product of the year? Several sources are of the view that Apple will hold a second press event in October to showcase the smaller iPad and it should be in the grasp of the users by the end of that month.

iPad Mini: Cheap and Productive!

Amazon has already showed how smaller tablets can prove to be lucrative with their Kindle Fire series and Google and Apple have taken note. The iPad Mini is believed to have a screen size of 7.85-inches running the latest iOS 6.0 and will be having a resolution of 1024×768 pixels thereby ensuring that apps run seamlessly. Apple users will now have additional cloud storage and streaming options, allowing them to exploit a number of Apple devices to access their content. In order to compete with the Kindle Fire in the market, analysts expect the smaller iPad to have starting price somewhere in between $250 and $300.

It be difficult for Apple to prove the necessity of iPad Mini but that is where they excel at Cupertino. You can expect them to clearly explain why the reduced size iPad is a fascinating device in its own right. They will have to be careful about it as they would like to avoid the overlapping of the feature set of the third generation iPad and the iPad Mini. We all like to believe in these hyped up tech rumours but there no guarantees, this could turn to be a hoax too!