Sick and tired of Google Tablet rumours? Try the iPad mini on for size instead.

According to a Chinese portal, Apple has already placed orders for as many as six million 7.85-inch iPads. The new iPad mini is expected to hit the market by the end of the year, in time to counter new Windows 8 tablets and to a lesser extent Google’s 7-inch tablet.

One of the companies named in the report is Honhai Precision, a subsidiary of Foxconn and other suppliers were named in previous reports. A few weeks ago a Samsung exec practically confirmed that a smaller iPad is on the way, but details are still sketchy, which is nothing strange in the secretive and smug house of Apple.

More here.