iPad Mini "Confirmed" By Samsung Official

An anonymous Samsung official has been quoted this week as confirming a next generation iPad coming from Apple this year. This new iPad will have a display smaller than the current model iPad and larger than the iPhone and iPod Touch, this leading analysts to call it "iPad Mini" in the interim. This news came amid assurances from Samsung that they were sending out record amounts of iPad and iPhone components in this year's mobile-minded market.

Specifically it seems that Apple's 7.85-inch slate, as its been rumored to size up as, will be coming by the end of 2012 – and likely nearer the second half of the year at that. This device will be released aside a new model MacBook Air with upgraded SSD storage, Samsung producing a litany of parts in both devices. This smaller model iPad has been rumored before just as much as its been dismissed due to comments from Steve Jobs which led users to believe that the original iPad was and always will be the ideal size, leaving no room for improvement on the small side of the scale.

As the Anonymous source speaking with The Korea Times said,

"The contract is expected to rise to $11 billion by the end of this year as Apple is planning to release a smaller iPad, probably with a 7.85-inch screen, and to sell more of its MacBook Air PCs using Samsung's faster solid state drive (SSD) storage." – Unnamed Samsung Official

Apple's current contract with Samsung is estimated at 9.7 billion USD with much more on the way. This is all part of Samsung's supposed $41.1 billion dollar scheme hatched amid creation of NAND flash memory, mobile processors, displays, and much, much more not only for Apple but for their own vast collection of devices as well. Check out the rest of the story here and note the numbers!