iPad Mini Cases Appear and Disappear at Case Maker

As the rumored launch of the iPad Mini draws near we’re starting to see a few cases designed to fit the rumored 7-inch Apple tablet.

According to 9To5Mac, case maker DeviceWear showed off cases for the iPad Mini before the device’s official announcement. The cases look very similar to the iPad Mini engineering samples we saw a few weeks ago. They show a smaller device with the new 19-pin dock connector and dual speakers around the new port.

The new cases are certainly based on the same designs we saw, but DeviceWear images show the iPad Mini with a widescreen, which seems unlikely.

DeviceWear took the images of the iPad Mini cases shortly after they appeared online, but it’s enough to know that it’s working on the cases. That doesn’t mean the device is real, as we’ve seen false cases for Apple products before. Given the evidence for the iPad Mini, however, we’re inclined to believe that Apple is actually preparing such a device.

The latest rumors say Apple will announce the iPad Mini on September 12 at the same event as the iPhone 5. The same rumors say the iPhone 5 will launch on September 21, but we don’t know if the iPad Mini will ship on the same day. We doubt the two devices will ship at the same time, however.

It seems odd that Apple would launch two big mobile devices on the same day, however. The company will likely release the smaller tablet sometime later this year, we’re just not sure exactly when.