Online chatter has long pointed to the launch of an 'iPad Mini' – chatter that, to date, has always proved to be fruitless.

The unveiling of Google's Nexus 7, however, may have caused Apple to realise plans for a smaller, cheaper iPad.

Bloomberg reports the company's hand has effectively been forced by Google, with two anonymous sources "with knowledge of the plans" suggesting a 7 to 8-inch Apple tablet will go toe-to-toe with Nexus 7 before the end of 2012.

Price wars

Rather than simply delivering a standard iPad in mini form, the sources claim the new iPad would be designed to take on both Nexus 7 and Amazon's Kindle Fire in terms of price – a reported lack of a Retina display helping to cut down on costs.

Sterne Agee & Leach analyst Shaw Wu has claimed an iPad Mini with a low RRP would be a "worst nightmare" for Apple's competitors, helping the firm to claw back market share from both Google and Amazon.

The device could also undercut Microsoft's Surface. Though the Redmond giant to name a price for its range of tablets, it's expected even the cheapest Surface SKU will sport a higher RRP than Nexus 7's $199.

A cheaper iPad Mini could, as a result, leave Surface looking isolated at the higher end of the market.

Apple itself has, naturally, declined to comment, though Bloomberg's sources suggest the new iPad could be unveiled as early as October.

[source: Bloomberg]