Apple to Unveil iPad Mini on Oct. 23, Competes with Amazon's Kindle Fire HD, Google's Nexus 7

Again, the Apple rumor mill is spinning.

According to AllThingsD's John Paczkowski, the company will hold a special event this month to reveal its new, smaller iPad.

"People familiar with Apple's plans tell us that the company will unveil the so-called "iPad mini" on Oct. 23 at an invitation-only event," Paczkowski said.

If that turns out to be true, the big reveal will take place only three days before the street date for Microsoft's new Surface tablet and two days before Apple reports earnings for its latest quarter.

Paczkowski said the location has not been confirmed, but he suspects that the event will be held at Apple's Town Hall Auditorium where they have debuted OS X Lion, a next-generation MacBook Air and the iPhone.

According to Paczkowski, details about the iPad Mini are "slim."

"Sources say the iPad's diminutive sibling will feature a 7.85-inch liquid-crystal display and a Lightning connector," Paczkowski said. "It will also probably be thinner. And that's about it."

The current iPad is 9.7 inches and the new iPad will be easier to users.

People can expect to pay up to $300 for the iPad Mini. The device will be released two weeks after the announcement and will have to compere compete with Amazon's Kindle Fire HD tablet and Google's Nexus 7, both of which have 7-inch screens and are priced at $199.

Last month, Apple introduced the new lineup o iPod touch and the reinvented iPod nano. The new iPod touch is the thinnest iPod touch ever and features a 4-inch Retina display; a 5 megapixel iSight camera with 1080p HD video recording; Apple's A5 chip; Siri®, and iOS 6.The new iPod touch comes in a new ultra-thin and light anodized aluminum design, in five colors. The new iPod nano is the thinnest iPod® ever featuring a 2.5-inch Multi-Touch^TM display; convenient navigation buttons; built-in Bluetooth for wireless listening; and the new iPod nano comes in seven new colors.