iPad Mini On the Way?

Apple has not yet said a word about an iPad mini, but the rumor mill is churning vociferously and all arrows point to a smaller iPad being unveiled at an Apple event on October 23. Apple will hold a special invitation-only event this month, at which it will showcase a new, smaller iPad.

More importantly, Apple’s already held its big fall event — the unveiling of the iPhone 5 and the 2012 iPod line. The company pulled out all the stops for that one, holding it at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and recruiting Foo Fighters to close the show. It’s hard to imagine it mounting a second production of that caliber in such a short time. More likely that the iPad mini’s debut will be an intimate affair held close to home.

And beyond that? Well, details are slim. Sources say the iPad’s diminutive sibling will feature a 7.85-inch liquid-crystal display and a Lightning connector. It will also probably be thinner. And that’s about it.