Philip Elmer DeWitt at Fortune says a major Apple investor has heard from "multiple sources" that the company is going to send out press invites for the iPad Mini on October 10th. Apple usually sends those out a week before the event happens, so that would suggest Apple reveals the new iPad on October 17th.

We don't know if this specific timing is accurate, but Apple is widely expected to host an iPad Mini event at some point in October.

The iPad Mini will be 7.85-inches measured diagonally, compared to the normal iPad which is 9.7-inches. It is expected to be about the same size overall as 7-inch tablets from Amazon, Samsung, and Google. Apple will have a bigger screen by giving the tablet smaller edges.

Apple has totally dominanted the tablet market, but it's left some room for rivals to come in with smaller tablets. The iPad Mini, if priced right could help Apple seal the market, just like it owned the MP3 player market with the iPod and the iPod Mini.