iPad Mini release date

iPad Mini release date

There's not even an official sign from Apple that the iPad Mini/iPad nano is in the works, so a release date for the tablet is even more up in the air.

However, if the rumours turn out to be true, we can expect Apple to start rolling out the iPad Mini very soon after an extraordinarily over-hyped launch event. Most rumours suggest it's likely to happen well before Christmas.

Analyst Shaw Wu says the "exact timing" for an iPad mini release date "is difficult to predict", but said its launch is a "question of when, not if." Pretty confident are we, Shaw?

The latest rumour in the mill of iPad Mini release dates comes from an unknown source (*sigh*), which claims we'll see Apple take to the stage on September 12 to show off the next handset, alongside the iPhone 5.

Or... the iPad Mini may be getting its own launch event in November, because stock of the tablet won't be ready for a September release.

When Apple announced its annual WWDC event running from June 11-15, which sold out in just two hours, there was some speculation that we could see the Cupertino firm announce the iPad mini there, but no new iPad broke cover at WWDC.

Previous iPad Mini release date rumours include:

Update: A report straight out of China suggests that key Apple manufactures Foxconn and Pegatron have started to receive orders for the new iPad mini. It goes on to say the factories will have 6 million units ready for a launch in Q3 of 2012.

Update: An iMore source claims that the iPad Mini will be ready by October 2012. Hold on to your hats people!

Update: A Taiwanese source has claimed that the mini iPad will be in the hands of consumers before Christmas, with a third quater launch on the cards.

Update: According to Bloomberg, an unnamed source said a tablet with a screen size of "7 to 8 inches diagonally" will arrive before 2012 reaches its close.

Update: The Wall Street Journal reports that sources in Apple's Asian supply chain have revealed the iPad Mini will go into production from September.

iPad Mini price

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Apple is known for its extravagant products, launch events and pricing policies, but the iPad Mini may herald a new era for those who long for an Apple device, but simply can't part with an arm and a leg to buy one.

It's thought that Apple's idea behind the iPad nano is to tackle the budget end of the market, where the Amazon Kindle Fire is currently king.

The New York Times has spoken to people "with knowledge of the project", who claim the iPad Mini will be significantly cheaper than the current iPad.