'IPad Mini' Release Date & Rumors 2012: New Concept Design From Federico Ciccarese [PHOTOS]

The idea of an 'iPad Mini' has set Apple enthusiasts abuzz with rumors and release dates circulating the Web, taking heat off the highly anticipated iPhone 5 launch.

Last week, an analyst told Apple insider that Apple has been putting some serious thought into a 7-inch version of its tablet and it'sa question of when, not if.

Concept designers have been quick to work at feeding people's imagination's with potential designs.The latest comes from Italian designer Federico Ciccarese, who is recognized for his creaative iPhone 5 concepts.

Ciccaresi's iPad Mini' designs show the tablet lined up next to the current iPad and iPhone 4S. In the picture, he tablet appears to be the height of two iPhone's lined up on top of one another.

The late Steve Job's publically dismissed the idea of an iPad Mini, but Apple fans are convinced that the company will pursue the smaller tablet in order to stay competitive in the market.

The Amazon Kindle, which comes in various smaller sizes starts at $99. Even the Amazon Kindle Fire, which is one of the iPad's biggest competitors, is priced modestly at $199. Google is expected to offer its own 7-inch tablet priced at $250.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 will be released on April. 22 and will come in two different sizes. The 7-inch version will cost $250 and goes on sale on April 22. The 10-inch version will cost $400 and goes on sale on May 13.

The Galaxy Tab 2 Series, available in both 10.1 and 7.0 screen sizes, are powerful dual-core tablets running the latest version of Android -Ice Cream Sandwich, said Samsung in a press release. The devices feature an integrated IR blaster for universal remote capabilities, as well as an easily accessible memory card slot for convenient loading of multimedia files in a range of supported file formats.

As far as iPad rumors go, the tablet is expected to come with a 7.85 inch 1,024 by 768 pixel display. A source told Apple Insider that Apple has been experimenting with smaller screen sizes for years.

Some optimists are predicting that an 'iPad Mini' could herald the revolutionary 2048 x 1536, 3.1 million-pixel Retina display found on the most recent iPad. This could be difficult given the smaller size of the tablet. A retina display requires a bigger battery size and thicker case to hold it.

iPad users have complained about an 'Overheating Problem, caused by the bigger battery in the current iPad. The new third-generation iPad gets up to 10°F warmer than the iPad 2, according to tests carried out by Tweakers.net. Their team ran GLBenchmark for five straight minutes on both the iPad 2 and the new iPad, and then performed a thermal image comparison. The lower left side of the new iPad measured up to 92.48°F, which Apple maintains is within normal thermal levels.

Despite some of its reported problems, the new iPad topped the tablet rating chart of Consumer Reports, beating the likes of the Galaxy Tab 7.7 and Toshiba Excite 10LE.

A new benchmark in excellence, providing the best rendering of detail and color accuracy we've ever seen on a tablet display, ConsumerReports.org says about the tablet.

Should the tablet be released in the third quarter (as predicted) it will come with a $300 price tag, according to Concept Phones.