Tim Cook and his gang in Cupertino have been hard at work, or at least that's what the ceaseless Apple rumor mill is telling us. Just weeks after the company's latest high-profile launch, the tech community is aflutter with news that Apple is coming out with a new big product. But this time, they're thinking small.

Get excited for the iPad mini, which is likely to launch at an Apple press event as early as next week. Of course, all of the news of this is speculative because Apple is notoriously secretive about how and when it rolls out new devices.

Those who have been burned before by excited bloggers can put a little bit more stock into these reports, since the ones concerning this fall's iPhone 5 turned out to be largely true.

So what can you expect? Reports say that the iPad mini will largely be a scaled-down version of the iPad that everyone knows and loves. It is all but confirmed that this tablet will be seven inches, aimed to take out competition from Google and Amazon, who both have big-selling tablets at this size.

Apple enthusiasts are suggesting that this new technology will have handy features such as front and rear facing cameras, a Lightning dock connector and that it will run on iOS 6. And the company is expecting this tablet to be a big seller. The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple has ordered a whopping 10 million of the devices.

There's really no way of knowing what's in store for the iPad mini until it comes out, but the tech community is clearly excited about the next big launch. We'll keep you updated on what's in store for this new tablet until it launches, and don't forget that we can customize your mini iPad in order to make it the perfect device for you.