Mini iPad Tablet Coming Next Year? We Shall Call It the iPhone [Analyst Suggests Smaller Apple Tablet in the Works; Mini iPad Still Flash-less]

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Before verifying if all this is even remotely true, someone needs to tell Apple that we definitely don’t want a tablet version that’s bigger than the iPhone but smaller than the iPad. An in case such a 5- or 7-inch tablet becomes real, could it possible come with a much cooler name than the Mini iPad? I’d hate to see a 11- or 13-inch Maxi iPad in the following years hit Apple stores too.

So where does this unusual rumor come from? Well it seems that China is, yet again, the right answer. According to some analysts Apple is interested in making smaller 5- to 7-inch tablets which will retail for less than $400 starting with 2011. The device(s) in questions will apparently be made for those “consumers that focus mainly on reading and do not have a high demand for text input.” And I thought they might just be gaming-dedicated handhelds!

Seriously folks, if you’re going to buy a smaller iPad that, in two years time, will cost more than a first-gen 9.7-inch tablet then something is really wrong with the future and someone needs to rewrite it. Where is John Connor when you really need him?

Of course, if you hate the iPad because it’s too big, because really, it isn’t, and you’d have to hate it for other reasons instead its size, then go get an iPhone or an iPod touch. You know, they look like iPads only they’re smaller.

No matter if this rumor does turn out to be true or not, one thing is certain, all future iPad versions will not be offering you any Flash, although by 2011 HTML5 will grow even more popular so you won’t have to worry about the Mini iPad not being capable of rendering all your favorite web pages anymore.

Since this rumor did arrive before Apple’s iPhone OS 4.0 announcement, an event that might reveal more hidden details about the future of the iPhone and the iPad, let’s hear it from iPad users and developers. Do you need smaller or bigger tablets from Apple?