iPad Mini launch today: All you need to know is here...

The new iPad Mini will get its launch today. Although Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is playing its usual silent game, we know plenty about the 7.85-inch device, including its features and price range. Richi rounds it up for you.

In IT Blogwatch, bloggers ponder the latest BYOD-worthy, pomaceous shiny.

By Richi Jennings: Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment.

 
Gregg Keizer has rumor background and pricing:

Although rumors of a smaller iPad...with a 7.85-in. display...have circulated for years, talk in mid-September centered around the tablet hitting production. ...last week, Apple invited reporters and analysts to an event [today] where virtually everyone expects...the small "iPad Mini".
...
Although iPad Mini prices have not yet been revealed...bets by experts and pundits have ranged from $249 to $329 for the entry-level configuration.  MORE

 
All these leaks and rumors! Jacqui Cheng analyzes thuswise:

...the public wants its products details early, and it gets them in the form of leaks, rumors, and grainy...shots of dubious authenticity. ... Products have always leaked out of Apple...[it] gives disgruntled employees a simple but powerful way to vent their frustration.
...
[However] the majority of leaks...don't originate within Apple corporate anymore [but] from somewhere within Apple's lengthy global supply chain.
...
[One] employee said that only a handful of people [are] allowed to take a new device off campus. ... "That's really disturbing for something you're about to ship millions of." ...such restrictions have some worried whether they can "test things to the level we want to...before they ship."  MORE

 
As if to confirm the supply-chain-leak issue, Christina "queen ginger" Bonnington questions someone's sanity:

It takes a lot of guts to push out an accessory before its corresponding product has even been announced. ... But Gumdrop Cases has done just that.
...
[It] features buttons for a volume rocker on the righthand side...when held in portrait...a headphone jack on the upper left...a homescreen button centered on the bottom [and] spaces for speaker grates on either side of the area where the Lightning dock connector would be.  MORE

 
Meanwhile, Jonny Evans says the display won't be made by Samsung -- but not for the reason you might expect:

Samsung has apparently chosen to terminate the long-standing deal...because it believes the Apple business just isn’t good enough. ... The decision marks the growing discord between the two companies.
...
The news also emerges [amid] claims that iPhone 5 production is being impacted by Apple’s decision to use other suppliers. ... Samsung is not manufacturing the display used in the iPad mini, the report also confirms. ... [Apple] does face unexpected challenges moving forward as it attempts to bring its new component suppliers up to speed. ... Will this affect Apple product availability across the coming months?  MORE

 
But Shara Tibken disagrees:

Samsung [is] saying the report from a Korean publication...was 100 percent false [and] is asking the Korea Times to revise its story.  MORE

 
Don't miss Jonny's live event coverage:

Expectation ... is high. Will it indeed cost from $249? Is Apple preparing to cannibalize the iPod touch market ... ? Will it have a Retina Display and does Apple plan to introduce lovely new iBookstore elements within the next version of iTunes? ... We'll be here bringing you the answers to these -- and any other -- questions during the Apple keynote."  MORE

Richi Jennings is an independent analyst/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and security. He's also the main author of Computerworld's The Long View and IT Blogwatch -- for which he has won ASBPE and Neal awards. A cross-functional IT geek since 1985, Richi also publishes a full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.