With the iPad Mini expected to launch soon, the question is not will people want it, but how much will they pay

It won't be a few weeks until Apple actually holds its iPad Mini event. But the October 23 date can't come quick enough for some who are already speculating about all the details Apple is expected to reveal later this month.

One of the big revelations we're all waiting for regarding the new mini tablet is how much it will cost. And today rumors that sound at least possible (if not probable) began to circulate about the iPad Mini's price.

One of the leaks, first reported by German blog Schimanke, reportedly comes from the inventory of Media Market, a European electronics retailer, and sets the iPad Mini's starting price at around €249 (about $322 U.S.) That includes the Value-Added Tax that applies in Europe or on European goods sold in North America.

German blog Schimanke leaked the reported price of the new iPad Mini: starting at €249

Meanwhile, TechCrunch, which reported on the Schimanke leak, has had the good sense to ask whether this estimate is even remotely possible.

After having looked into the newest iPad's bill of materials (BOM) cost – which essentially summarizes the total cost of each of the tablet's major components – TechCrunch found that Schimanke's estimate is, in fact, within the realm of possibility.

The Bill of Materials cost for the newest iPad

Factoring in "Apple’s famed commitment to high profit margins," TechCrunch writes that "the iPad Mini reportedly starts at $316.05 for BOM and manufacturing cost per unit, and is sold for $499, giving a rough margin of $182.95."

As for the the top of the line devices, "the margin jumps considerably, with the $829 64GB Wi-Fi+LTE iPad apparently carrying a manufacturing cost of $408.70, parts included, for a difference of $420.30."

We won't really know for sure until Apple officially announces the new device's cost, as it's expected to do at the October 23 event, but it seems likely that it'll be in the neighborhood that the rumors so far have described.

Whether by accident or not, Apple seems to time its events to overshadow those of its competitors.

Here's the thing with Apple. Rumors surface, and create a little buzz, until one of its competitors announces news of their own, and the Apple rumor dies. And then wham! Apple comes out and makes the revelation everyone thought they would, trumping all the interest in whatever it was their competitor has just announced.

Pure Mobile reported yesterday that Samsung has sent out invitations for a special Galaxy Note II event in New York City scheduled for October 24. It's the kickoff to the the new device's world tour, and was likely to get the lion's share of tech reporting and headline space. Until...

Well, it turns out that the Galaxy Note II will have to share the spotlight, since Apple's just announced it will be holding an event for the iPad Mini – get this – October 23.

Likely to be unveiled October 23, Apple's iPad Mini is expected to be slightly smaller and slightly cheaper than its predecesor

When we initially reported on rumors of an iPad Mini event, we cited Forbes (among others) who said to expect invitations to start rolling out on the October 10. That makes us only a couple of days behind schedule.

The New York Times' AllThingsD reports that Apple is likely to officially unveil the new iPad Mini at the event. That's just one day ahead of Samsung's event, and only three days ahead of Microsoft's plans to launch Windows 8. Seems, like Apple is well timed, indeed.

Apple promised earlier this year that 2012 would give Apple fans "a lot to look forward to"

Meanwhile, says the Wall Street Journal, we can expect more than just a display of the smaller next generation iPad October 23:

"Traditionally, when Apple unveils its new devices, it offers two things that competitors sometime do not: a specific date for when the device will be available and a specific price."

But we're already guessing that the new tablet will be cheaper than the full-sized iPad and we'd be willing to stake a fortune on an iPad Mini launch safely before Christmas.

It might look like Apple has its hands full with out of control iPhone 5 sales and an impending iPad mini launch, but they have made time to put a couple of great new iPod models together. Apple has just hit us with a seventh-generation iPod nano and a fifth generation iPod touch.

At a glance, you might mistake the iPod touch for the iPhone 5. The new iPod touch uses the same 4-inch display and is exactly the same height as the iPhone 5, making it taller than the iPhone 4/4S and all previous touch devices. With its loop button and wrist strap in place, it looks like a really thin digital camera.

The iPod touch has Apple’s dual core A5 chipset, with twice the processing power and up to seven times the graphical abilities of the last touch. This chipset is more than enough to keep iOS 6 in the groove. It really shines when it comes to gaming and multimedia apps. The 5th-gen is available in 32 GB and 64GB versions. This touch also gives you Siri, Apple Maps, the new Facebook integration, and AirPlay Mirroring.

The iPod nano is the most frequently redesigned Apple product. This nano is smaller than the palm of your hand, but twice as long as the last nano version. It definitely is a stripped-down mini music player. It's a typically Apple-slick device, but it does little more than play audio files.

In one of the first nano reviews, The Verge noted that the lack of iCloud capability keeps users stuck in the traditional iPod setup of having to manage their music files via iTunes, a concept dating back over decade.

As The Verge report put it, “It’s like taking a time machine to 2010. If you’re cool with managing files, the new iPod nano is the best dedicated music player on the market. It’s the sort of product that only Apple can make; a seamless slice of metal and plastic that feels essentially inevitable once you hold it.”

Just like the iPhone 5, the new iPods use the tiny Lightning jack. Be warned, neither model ships with an AC adapter. You’ll need to charge them up using your computer or through a USB-based AC adapter.

Samsung and HTC have gotten very good at making smartphones, but few would argue that Apple’s iPhone creations always raise the bar. The iPhone 5 may not be the stunner that we were hoping for, but it is a wondrous phone. Focusing on the Apple world for a minute, we were wondering how the iPhone 5 stacked up against the iPhone 4S.

The iPhone 5 case has a sleek two-tone glass and aluminum look. While it’s more drop-resistant, the aluminum scratches and shows fingerprints more easily than the 4S shell.

Dimensionally, the iPhone 5 is markedly different than its predecessor. It’s lighter - 112g compared to 140g. It’s also 1.7mm thinner than the 4S, measuring 7.6mm.

The screen is a full 4” and has a 1,136×640 resolution – an expansion that was necessary due to the popularity of watching movies and playing games on mobile phones.

The iPhone 5's change in aspect ratio is 16:9 compared to the previous 3:2, and has become a problem for both running the current apps and the urgency for designing new. Some apps will show a black bar at the top and bottom until they’re updated.

The speakers seem to have lots less distortion, or at least they seem louder than they were on the 4S. There is still nothing better than sound from a good pair of headphones.

Neither the 5 nor the 4S has a removable battery or SD card. The batteries are very similar – the 4S has a 1,432mAh and the iPhone 5 has a 1,440mAh. This means around 40 hours of music and eight hours of talk time – similar times for both models.

They both come in 16, 32 and 64GB versions.

The iPhone 5 has 4G LTE support, a huge upgrade over the 4S 3G limitation.

The A6 chip is twice as fast as the 4S’ A5. The A5 chip is 1GHz and the A6 is 1.3GHz, which in real life use is a noticeable boost. The iPhone 5 also has 1GB of RAM compared to the 512MB in the 4S.

The new 9-pin Lightning connector significantly shrinks the footprint of the ancient 30-pin connector, but the change has irritated many because the new dock connector is necessary to using old Apple equipment. Get over it.

The 4G LTE capability is terrific, but unless you’re a Verizon subscriber, you’re still stuck on some version of 3G/4G.

Both the iPhone 5 and the iPhone 4S are amazing phones. Hopefully, this comparison has provided lots of reasons to upgrade - or not.

This week, Verizon customers fell victim to an iPhone 5 bug that sucked data like a vampire

Just in time for Halloween, Verizon has unleashed a horrible and terrifying monster: it's the fabled iPhone 5 data vampire, and for Verizon subscribers lucky (or unlucky?) enough to have Apple's latest smartphone, it's causing huge overages.

"I have had an iPhone on AT&T since launch. I never went over a gig in any month," wrote one such user in the Mac Rumors forum. "I have used half a gig [on the iPhone 5] in 2 days with Verizon! Worse, it uses LTE while I am at home with a rock solid Wi-Fi connection. If I turn cellular off altogether I can still see, for example, a YouTube video. But if I leave it on, while still connected with wifi, it sucks data like a vampire. WTF??? And, all day, it leaks data even with no apps running!"

The bug has been a common one for Verizon subscribers using the iPhone 5, causing most of them to go through insane amounts of data in a really short period of time.

Fortunately, there is a way to slay this monter, but it's not with a wooden stake. Instead, Apple has offered a patch available directly on the iPhone 5 that should fix the issue quickly and without too much hassle.

To install it, go to Settings > General > About, and wait for the following message and follow the instructions.

Apple swiftly offered an update for Verizon subscribers on the iPhone 5

"Basically, turn your phone off and on again," says Gizmodo. "After doing that, you should check to make sure the carrier software has been changed to Verizon 13.1."

Aside from the fact that your iPhone should stop sucking data like Dracula at the blood bank, there's also another piece of good news. Verizon issued a statement clarifying that they're aware of the bug and won't be charging subscribers for the overages it has caused:

"Under certain circumstances, iPhone 5 may use Verizon cellular data while the phone is connected to a Wi-Fi network. Apple has a fix that is being delivered to Verizon customers right on their iPhone 5. Verizon Wireless customers will not be charged for any unwarranted cellular data usage."

So you can sleep soundly tonight after all.

Next month, all you'll need is your smartphone equipped with the Square Wallet app to buy your latte at Starbucks. In November, Starbucks’ customers will be able to use the Square mobile payment system in about 7,000 U.S. stores.

Starbucks and Square formed a big partnership last August. Starbucks invested $25 million in Square. The deal allows Square to process credit and debit card transactions and implement the Pay with Square system at Starbucks stores.

To use Pay with Square you link a credit card to the app. When you’re paying at the counter, leave your wallet in your pocket. Through the app the store can sense your phone's location and charges your account for the amount of your purchase. The cashier verifies your identity through a picture ID and name that pops up on their screen.

Apple users aren't being left out. The latest update to the Starbucks iOS app lets Starbucks card owners add their accounts to Apple’s Passbook directly through the app. Then you can pay for food and beverages, check your card balances, reload the card with more cash, and add rewards to score free drinks, all through your iPhone.

Unveiled in iOS 6, Passbook lets users store electronic copies of tickets, coupons, boarding passes, and loyalty cards.

Starbucks first launched a Square-powered mobile payment app in 2011. Since then, Starbucks has processed more than 70 million mobile transactions.

Samsung has already patched the dirty USSD code that threatened Galaxy S II and Galaxy S III

As far as sheer volume of interest goes, Samsung outdid Apple this week, with more stories flying around about the Galaxy S III than about the iPhone 5.

Top of the list was security. According to most of the top tech sites, Galaxy S III owners might have had a bit of a scare this week. That is, if Samsung hadn't already dealt with the problem before anyone even knew it existed.

Apparently, says Mashable, a vulnerability was discovered in Samsung's Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) that "potentially allowed attackers to remotely wipe the contents of Galaxy S II and III devices," essentially restoring them to factory settings.

This video, of Technical University Berlin researcher Ravi Borgaonkar at a security conference in Argentina, shows how it's done.

Thankfully, Samsung's already come out with a patch, and the company issued a statement to Engadget urging users to update:

“We would like to assure our customers that the recent security issue concerning the GALAXY S III has already been resolved through a software update. We recommend all GALAXY S III customers to download the latest software update, which can be done quickly and easily via the Over-The-Air (OTA) service.”

So, now that your smartphone is safe and sound, how about encrusting it with crystals? If you're nodding your head in agreement, and if you have upwards of £2099 (about $3370 U.S.) to spare, maybe consider upgrading to the Samsung Galaxy S III Swarovski Edition?

This crystal-encrusted "Swarovski Edition" Galaxy S III may cost you upward of $3370, but at least the case is free

The device, available from Amosu Couture, is set with 500 Swarovski crystals around the bezel, plus an extra 16 around the home button. Sort of pricey and all, but you do get a free calf leather case.

Now for the really juicy stuff. Hot on the heels of all the rumors surrounding an iPad Mini launch, Samsung's brewing its own big news about something small.

This leaked German invite to a rumored Samsung Galaxy S III Mini launch reads: "So big can be small. And so small can be big."

According to TechCrunch, which cited "a recently released press invitation," Samsung may be unveiling a smaller scale version of the Galaxy S III (the Mini) at a store in Frankfurt, Germany. The invite, written in German and loosely translated as "So big can be small. And so small can be big," is so far the only proof of such an event.

But it's already got Samsung fans more than a little excited, if you'll excuse the pun.

Now even the process of charging your phone can be entertaining. A new app from the Toyota car company called “Plug-in Championship” makes a game of plugging in your phone. This is the first app of its kind.

The goal of the game is to plug in your phone’s charger when the power meter on the screen is at its highest. The better your timing, the better your score. You score every time you plug in the connector to your phone. Once the phone is plugged and you’ve gotten your score, the app gives you a fast-paced video to add to the fun.

The Plug-in Championship game isn’t complex or challenging. It's just another way to pass some time and compare scores with your buddies.

Toyota developed “Plug-in Championship” as part of its promotional campaign for the Prius PHV hybrid car. The app is available for iOS and Android.

PLUG-IN Championship http://plugin.toyota-digital.com/

iTunes App Store http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/plug-in-championship/id551957032?mt=8&uo=4

Google Play https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.toyota_digital.plugin

A report in Fortune magazine says it’s likely that Apple will show the world its iPad Mini in a launch event on October 17th. An Apple investor claims to have heard about Apple’s plans from multiple sources and predicts that invitations to the event will go out on October 10th, we’ll have a first look at the iPad Mini on October 17th , and we could see it on the market as soon as November 2nd.

Leaked photos of the little tablet have been circulating for quite a while showing a 7.85-inch device with a rear-facing camera. The casing looks to be aluminum-backed with a front display that is similar to the current iPad’s. It will probably have a black or white bezel surrounding the screen and a home button at the bottom. There is no doubt that tablet will be set up with the new Lightning connector.

Thankfully, the iPad Mini is rumored to be priced in the range of other major tablets like Nook, Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire. Apple offering a tablet for around $200 will probably make everyone except Barnes and Noble, Google and Amazon very happy.

Since neither the development of a smaller version of the iPad nor any dates for the launch of the alleged device have ever been acknowledged by Apple, all this information could be completely wrong. Since we’re hearing it everywhere, we’ll just let Apple be the one to prove us right.

Rumors swell about an iPad Mini launch as a mockup video suggesting its design details emerges

As this week opened, the major news at all the top tech sites was, well, mini.

Amid all the buzz is Apple's much-anticipated, diminutive successor to the iPad.

The iPad Mini, of course, isn't even available yet, but techies and Apple fanatics alike nearly blew a gasket this morning when rumors of an upcoming iPad Mini event began to swirl.

Now, don't get hasty. The rumors aren't even about a supposed date for said event, but rather about a date for the first invitations to get sent out. Citing a major Apple investor as a source, Fortune reported that the press should expect invitations for October 10.

That date led 9to5 mac to speculate that an iPad Mini launch could be expected for mid-October, followed by shipping in November. Since that would be an apt time for Apple to capitalize on the Christmas shopping frenzy, we tend to lean toward that projection holding true.

But if tablet and Apple junkies got excited about mere rumors about event invitations, just imagine how they must have felt when a leaked mock-up of the new tablet showed up on Japanese Apple blog Macotakara.

The video, which shows a non-functioning iPad Mini dummy, seems to confirm all "previous design rumors," says BGR. That includes the conjecture about a 7.85" display, thinner bezel, and a thickness comparable to an iPod – most of which had already been hinted at by the discovery of third party cases for the iPad Mini.

Among the conjecture is that the iPad Mini will be about as thick as an iPod

The new tablet also appears to have speakers at the bottom rather than at the rear, which is in line with yet more rumors.

But that's not the last bit of tantalizing gossip to emerge this week. Macotakara also reported that production for the iPad Mini has, in fact, begun in Brazil. though, they say, they "don't have information if it has been produced in [a] Chinese factory, yet."

Nor do we at Pure Mobile expect this to be last we hear about the next big – or is it little – thing to happen to the iPad.