iPad Mini Render via Martin Hajek’s Flickr stream

Like many others, I was anxiously awaiting news this week that Apple had issued invites for a special event next week to announce the iPad Mini, or iPad Air or whatever name they give to the new, smaller iPad. That was the timeframe that previous rumors had suggested.

When that news never came I was beginning to wonder whether dates had just shifted slightly or whether there might be some substantial delay in the whole (expected) release timeframe. It looks like it’s more of the former, at least according to AllThingsD and the venerable Jim Dalrymple. Here’s John Paczkowski at AllThingsD on this subject:

The silence from Apple left some to wonder if it still plans to debut a smaller iPad this fall; others speculated that production delays may have forced it to postpone the device’s unveiling until later in the year.

Neither is the case.

As AllThingsD reported in August, Apple will hold a special event this month, at which it will showcase a 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.

What really grabbed my attention this morning was a slightly shorter post in response to the AllThingsD from Dalrymple:

Yep.

Dalrymple’s yeps have become as close as it gets to an official confirmation prior to Apple actually putting us out of our misery.

If we take 10/23 as a safe bet now for the iPad Mini unveiling event, the next big question is when the actual launch day might be. The previous consensus had been Friday November 2. I still hope and believe that’s a good possibility, given that it’s still 10 days after the new expected unveiling event date.

I’ve got my warm clothes ready, all I need is a date now Apple.