The iPad Mini — a US$249, 7-inch tablet incoming? [Rumour]

Rumours, gotta love ’em. This Chinese site claims that an iPad Mini is on its way come the third-quarter 2012. It’ll be priced from US$249 to US$299, apparently.

The site, NetEase claims that a mini iPad will launch to “attack” the incoming Windows tablets and bases its rumours on “Taiwan media reports”. The rumour was mainly brought to life when sources discovered that Samsung was supplying Apple with “new PLS-based LCD technology for smaller iPads.” These snippets of info come from a Korean website which also said “Apple is planning to release a smaller iPad, probably with a 7.86-inch screen”.

This may pan out to be nonsense, as the man himself Steve Jobs apparently hated 7-inch tablets, or “tweeners” as he called them. Then again, Jobs has passed on and new CEO Tim Cook may resurrect Job’s passed over device.