It is no secret that Apple’s (News - Alert) line of tablet computers, iPads, are the most popular tablet computers on the market to date: statistics show that ever since Apple has released its first generation iPad in March 2010 ( the iPad 2 was launched a year later, in March 2011) it has been the must-have PC tablet for users.  More than 15 million Apple’s tablets were sold in the fourth quarter alone; with Apple selling 172 million of their devices in 2011.

According to a new report from Gartner (News - Alert), Apple’s iPads, which are available as Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n) and cellular models (with 3G or LTE wireless network interface), will remain the top selling tablet PC up until at least 2015. Most mobile users know that Apple’s tablets are extremely good mobile operating system devices with easy-to-use business apps; in fact, it is the iPad’s impressive user interface, splendid graphics, appropriate storage capacities and Wi-Fi capabilities, as well as the variety of accessories that attract people to buy them.

The iPad 2 brought users a thinner, lighter and faster device; in fact, it is 15% lighter and 33% thinner than the original iPad. The iPad 2 still, however, has the same 9.7-inch LED-backlit, XGA 1024 × 768 px 132 PPI multi-touch touchscreen display. The iPad 3, Apple’s successor to the iPad 2 launched in March 2012, instead, features a “Retina Display” – a higher resolution – of 2048×1536 px 264 PPI and weighs a bit more than its predecessor (with a weight of 1.44 pounds against 1.33 pounds).

What has impressed buyers is iPad 3’s additional features, improvements and benefits: high-resolution retina display, improved rear camera (a 5 megapixel and 1080p video recording), and an A5X processor with quad core graphics processing.

There is still no news from Apple’s CEO ‘Tim Cook’ and his team on when they will bring forth the new “iPad mini,” mentioned on AppleInsider that states, “A new report out of China claims Apple is gearing up to build 6 million units of a new, smaller iPad to launch in the third quarter of 2012.”

The report indicates that the so-called iPad mini, which is claimed to be somewhere in development, will contain a 7.85-inch screen display with a resolution of 1,024 by 768. Steve Jobs (News - Alert) had considered a 7-inch screen would be “too small to express the software;” some people questioned whether or not this smaller iPad, costing anywhere from $249 or $299, will be as popular in the marketplace as other smartphones and tablets, if not admired by Apple iPad users? Will size matter?

Despite Jobs' public announcement about Apple Inc. having no intention to produce a smaller tablet, will the iPad mini be able to stand up to others of the same size, like the 7-inch Amazon Kindle Fire which runs a customized Android (News - Alert) 2.3 Gingerbread OS or the 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab powered by the Android 2.2? Both tablets have led the low end of the tablet market up until now.

It may be due to the fact they are both small enough to transport and cost $199. For now, one must wait and see if this iPad mini will, in actuality, be developed and marketed this year to know for sure what Apple is up to; Apple may simply be testing and pioneering new designs again.