Apple iPad 3 and the rumored Mini, badly needed?

Apple ready to sell the iPad 3, and iPad Mini in Q4 2012? Meanwhile, Apple’s rivals have shipped millions of small Android tablets. 
A stream of rumors flowed from the tech category about the iPad 3, the 2012 Apple tablet that will reportedly include new LCD screen, better cameras and new design. But two possible release dates are circulating, one is claiming that Apple will release a new tablet computer by March, while another version of the story is saying that the iPad 3 is set to follow the “iPad tradition” of April.
The Apple iPad 3, if it is true, is expected to face a set of new Android rivals, and the latest is coming from the Mountain View, California-based company Google. According to this week’s Android tablet rumors, Google will release a “Nexus Tablet” or tablet running the pure Android 4.0 operating system before the third quarter of 2012, or “in less than six months.”
If accurate, the Nexus Tablet might ship before the release of the next iPhone, around June or July, so it looks like the iPad 3 will get a three-month long advantage (if it will debut in February or April).
Google is not the only rival of the upcoming iPad 3. In fact, two new players are reportedly enjoying strong demand for smaller tablet computers. The latest spill is coming from Asian tech website Digitimes quoting “sources in the supply chain” that book retailer Barnes and Noble has placed more orders for its new Android-based Nook tablet computer and will ship at least 1.5 million Nook Tablet with TI OMAP4 CPU by the end of this year.
Amazon is also expected to ship millions this year. This month’s estimates from IHS iSuppli said Amazon will ship at least 3.9 million Kindle Fire tablets this quarter alone and the volume would make them the second most popular tablet computer after the iPad 2. The success of the Amazon is reportedly coming from its price, only $199 which is $300 more affordable than the cheapest iPad 2 with 16GB of onboard storage.
The Nook Tablet is also popular, and according to reports, the success is due growing demand for mobile applications and e-books and e-readers.
But Apple’s iPad is still the most popular tablet computer, however, new reports are suggesting that the demand for smaller tablet computers is “forcing Apple” to create one, and one rumor said last week that an 8-inch iPad will arrive before the Black Friday or Christmas next year, while the new iPad 3 with the more conventional 9.7-inch LCD screen will take over the first half of 2012.
According to an editorial of a Mac-centric tech site, the Mac Observer, Apple must offer a smaller and cheaper iPad to maintain its tablet market lead, and because Amazon has found its own market share.
Apple’s current tablet market share according to iSuppli is 65.6 percent share with more than 18.5 million iPad shipments for this quarter alone. But here’s the catch, Amazon’s market share is 13.8 percent and it was achieved in just two months.