iPad Mini, a 7-ish inch iPad priced between US$200-$300, has been one of the hottest gossips in the tech world for 2012. Many rumors have surfed over the past 8-9 months, rumors that not only speculate the specifications and price of the iPad Mini but also the release date. Up until now, most people have been saying Apple will debut the iPad Mini alongside the iPhone 5 later this year. Since the iPhone 5 is more or less confirmed for a September 12 curtain drop with sales starting September 21, iPad Mini was (is) predicted by some to tag along on the same dates. Now, however, AllThingsD is saying no this isn’t the case.

Quoting “several sources”, AllThingsD has “confirmed” that Apple will unveil the iPad Mini in October, after the iPhone 5 is out the door in September. Apple has made no official announcement yet about the Mini so, despite AllThingsD’s absolute conviction in its claim, dotTech is marking this one as a rumor. Still, even with rumor status an iPad-Mini-after-iPhone-5 is a plausible theory.

As Daring Fireball says, Apple are marketing experts and the iPhone 5 is Apple’s flagship product, even with iPad sales rapidly increasing. Both the iPhone 5 and iPad Mini are very likely to receive lots of media coverage, including reviews by tech blogs and magazines. Would marketing experts really reveal two products side-by-side and forgo their chance to dominate the headlines twice in two months (i.e. two separate product launches)? Would Apple really want the iPad Mini to steal the spotlight from its flagship device, iPhone 5? The answer to both questions is “probably not”.

Of course, as mentioned above, all this is only rumor. We don’t even know for sure if Apple will really release a smaller iPad, much less the date it will be released. For all we know the wizards of Cupertino could be playing a joke on the world. After all, it is a bit suspicious that so many iPhone 5 and iPad Mini details have leaked this year seeing as Apple is typically very tight about about details of in-development products (excluding the occasional lost-my-phone-at-a-bar incident). For what it is worth, though, September and October are right around the corner so we need not wait much longer to see which rumors are true and which aren’t. Feel free to share your thoughts on this topic in the comments below.

[via AllThingsD | Image via Ciccaresedesign]