IPAD MINI LOOKS

Check out the Latest iPad Mini Mockups

In one (on the glass surface), the smaller tablet has an antenna-friendly black plastic bar like its older cousin, and both front- and rear-facing cameras.

The more recent mockup (on the wooden table) looks like a wifi-only model, with the same small hole on the back side we've seen before, and no view of the device's front side.

These aren't the first "leaked photos" of the iPad mini we've seen, but they're the most convincing - the high resolution and close range of the shots feel real even to practiced eyes.

So why are we skeptical? Well for one thing, we're looking at two convincing yet conflicting pictures purporting to be the same product. One set of pictures doesn't show the front side at all (big red flag), but the other set shows a not-yet-released tablet running iOS 5 (just look at the YouTube app) - an OS that was never optimized for a 7.85-inch screen.

Still, both designs square up (more or less) with what we already know about the iPad mini. So while we're hesitant to call either set of images a "leak," here's what they can tell us about Apple's next tablet:

It's a smaller iPad. We already knew Apple would keep its tablets' general design consistent and crop the display to 7.85 inches. But while that would only make it two inches smaller diagonally, the device itself should be closer to three inches smaller in-hand, thanks to the slimmed-down bezel you can see here.

It's got a front-facing camera. We're not totally sure why, especially if Apple is looking to compete with 7" budget tablets here, but all the mockups we've seen show an upper-corner camera like the iPad's.

Lighting port (Surprise!) Here's a good side-by-side look at just how much smaller Apple's new, reversible proprietary connector is than the old 30-pin style.

This thing sounds expensive. But it won't be. Apple already sells the iPad 2 starting at $400; will it really sell a more compact version for less? It's looking more and more like the iPad mini will sacrifice display-quality and/or CPU power to keep costs competitive with the Kindle Fire HD and Nexus 7. Speculatively, we'd expect pixel-density similar to the iPhone 3GS, along with the A5 chip from the iPhone 4S and new iPod Touches.

Of course, bright colorful iPad minis would be cool too:

Will the iPad mini be Apple's next big break or a big mistake? Let us know in the comments.