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Image courtesy of The Loop

The Loop reports that Apple has sent out invitations for a media event to take place on October 23 at 10:00 am Pacific Time at the California Theater in San Jose, California.

Apple is widely expected to announce a smaller iPad, dubbed the iPad mini by the press so far, at this event. A strong focus on iBooks is also expected according to a report from The Next Web. If Apple does release a smaller iPad with a 7-inch screen, it will compete directly with Amazon’s Kindle Fire and tablets made by Samsung, Google, and others.

An updated 13-inch MacBook Pro with a retina display to complement the 15-inch model that debuted earlier this year may also be on the docket for this media event based on a report from 9to5Mac.

I’m hoping for an iPad mini, which I think could easily replace my current iPad 3 that I’m finding just a little too large and heavy for the amount of ebook reading I use it for. I also wouldn’t mind a version of the iPad that’s a bit more portable –– I rarely lug my iPad with me out of the house unless I’m going on a trip that will last more than a day. What are you hoping to see out of this event?

As expected, Apple has issued invitations to the press for an event on September 12 to be held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts at 10:00 am Pacific Time, according to The Loop. Everyone and their mother expects Apple to release the next iPhone model at this event. iOS 6, which was announced at Apple’s developer conference in June, should also get an official release date at this event.

The rampant rumors indicate that the new iPhone will have a larger screen that will measure four inches diagonally and a redesigned casing. All signs point to new materials for this casing as well, which would be a welcome move away from the easily-breakable glass back of the iPhone 4 and 4S in the humble opinion of yours truly. The new casing may or may not be two-toned with metal and ceramic portions – check out this post over at MacRumors with a video of what’s claimed to be the new iPhone’s casing.

The headphone jack appears to have been moved to the bottom of the device and a smaller dock connector also seems to be in order. Apple is expected to provide a dock adapter to allow users to continue using accessories with the 30-pin dock connector. I’m hoping this adapter will be fairly inexpensive since I’m going to need several of them myself.

Even though the new iPhone will actually be the sixth-generation model, it’s been commonly referred to as the iPhone 5. Apple seems to be reinforcing this technically erroneous nomenclature with the number 5 appearing on the press invitation.

I am very excited for the release of the new iPhone, whatever it’s called. Although my iPhone 4S is still running like a champ, I would welcome some more screen real estate and more processing power. I’m also looking forward to iOS 6 with Passbook, Do Not Disturb, and more.