The 7.9-inch touchscreen device bridges the gadget gap between Apple's 4-inch iPod Touch, and the 9.7-inch

Potential buyers of the Apple iPad are often put off by the price or the size and weight of the ubiquitous tablet computer. The new iPad Mini could be just the thing to tempt those fence sitters – it's smaller and lighter as well as cheaper than the full-size 10in iPad.

It seems that Apple's marketing strategy involves a good deal of rumour-mongering. Or perhaps it is just their undeniable technological sex appeal that has us all so eager to get a glimpse of what will come out of Cupertino next. In any case, we're here to feed into the vicious cycle by …