Apple To Launch 7.85-inch iPad In 2012 Apple iPad Mini Full Specifications And Review With Price Details India US UK

Is Apple set to release a 8-inch iPad Mini in 2012? 

Apple has been known to maintain a veil of secrecy surrounding its products. However the more tight lipped the company has been about its product the more number of rumors we have heard about its products be it the upcoming iPad 3 or the iPhone 5.

Well the rumor mill is now buzzing with Apple's another exciting offering a – 7.85-inch iPad Mini (mock up picture above: courtesy macrumors).

We had reported earlier about Taiwan’s Economic Daily News which had published that LG Display and AU Optronics have sent samples of a 7.85 screen with a resolution of 1024 x 768p to Apple.

The latest details emerging from Digitimes confirm that Apple is "purchasing 7.85-inch panels from LG Display, and AU Optronics (AUO)."

According to Digitimes' sources the company is likely to launch a 7.85-inch iPad prior to the fourth quarter of 2012 with the production beginning at the end of Q2 2012. 

If these rumours are true it could mean that Apple is starting to take its competitors, like Amazon's Android powered 7-inch Kindle Fire, seriously.

Apple is also expected to reduce the price of its mini tablet while maintaining the same specs and features as that of the iPad 2.

Apple already leads the game in the high end tablet market with its iPad 2. If the company is able to conquer the mid size segment as well, it will be able to consolidate its number one position completely and ward of all competition for a while.

In addition to the iPad Mini, Apple is also slated to release its new iPad (the third generation iPad 3) at the end of the first quarter.

The Apple iPad 3 is expected to posses a thicker chassis (0.7mm) to accommodate the twin light bar system for the higher-resolution display. The device is also rumored to pack in a A6 processor and a 128 GB memory.