iPad Mini? iPad Nano? iPad Air? We don't really know what Apple will call the smaller version of its popular tablet, but we've got a pile of reports from anonymous sources to suggest that the device is actually coming. The latest of these reports claims that the shiny new iPad will be a 7.85-inch gadget.
Bloomberg's Tim Culpan writes that four people familiar with Apple's plans listed out the companies which may supply parts for the device and in the process revealed its diagonal measurement.
The detail fits with what we've heard before, that the smaller iPad will be close to eight inches diagonally (rather than 9.7 inches like the current models).
Leaked parts have also suggested that the device will use a 19-pin connector like the next-generation iPhone and be offered in a choice of black or white. Both 9to5 Mac's Seth Weintraub and Apple watcher John Gruber agree that chances are high that this smaller tablet will look a lot like a large iPod Touch, with a smaller bezel.
Of course, the folks at Apple certainly haven't given any official word regarding the existence of a smaller iPad. (It's their policy not to address such rumors, after all.) So, for now just pick your favorite bit of gossip and let's keep speculating until the cows come home — or until the Apple executives come to the Moscone Center for an announcement.
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