Type of Article: MacTech Blog

There are rumors that Apple will roll out an iPad mini in 2012. In the past I’ve doubted this; after all, the late Steve Jobs said the screen size of the current Apple tablet was the optimum size for what Apple wanted to accomplish with the tablet.

Now I’m less certain. I think there’s a good chance that Apple will roll out an “iPad mini” to take on the very popular Kindle Fire. In fact, Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com) says Apple is likely to launch 7.85-inch iPad mini in the third quarter of 2012 with LGD and AUO seem to be the potential suppliers.

The trend of viewing “live” and on demand programming on devices such as smartphones and tablets is accelerating — with 76% of 18-44 year olds indicating they’re watching more TV on these devices than just one year ago, according to research by video service management specialists, QuickPlay Media (http://www.quickplay.com/).

Here’s one rumor I certainly hope is true as I’ve wanted it to happen for a long time:

In a note to clients — as reported by “Forbes” (http://macte.ch/qmKzI) — Wedge Partners analyst Brian Blair thinks that Apple will bring some features of its rumored “iTV” to the iMac next year, in effect allowing the all-in-one to double as a television set. Apple hasn’t announced ANY plans to make an iTV (an Apple-branded HDTV), so take this with a grain of salt. But I’m hopeful.