Apple's next bright idea: iPad Mini in many colors?

EMILY: Hey, Im Emily Dreyfuss KARYNE: And Im Karyne Levy EMILY: Welcome to Rumor Has It! The show where we round up the week's biggest tech rumors. KARYNE: And vote on what sounds legit, and what seems like it'll never ever happen. EMILY: And remember: you can vote on all the rumors! Keep your eye out for the poll in the interactive player, if you're watching on CNET. But before we get to our rumors, lets get something horrible out of the way at the start. As you probably know, invitations went out for an Apple event to be held October 23, and everyone on earth including us believes its the coming out party for the iPad Mini. OK, Levy, you have 5 seconds to gloat. KARYNE: I dont need to gloat. You singing Etta James At Last outside the Apple Store is all I need. EMILY: Dear god. KARYNE: In case this is your first time watching Rumor Has It, Emily bet the iPad Mini was a mythical creature, and if shes wrong, I get to come up with an imaginative way to humiliate her on air. Im thinking public singing or a duck costume, but Im open to suggestions. EMILY: Anyhoo...lets change the subject. Two images appeared on Googles Picasa photo-sharing site this week showing what looks like two Sony Nexus phones running a pure Android experience. Android fans who like their operating systems raw and unrestricted started salivating, but a closer look at the pictures reveals two problems. First, the Google Play search bar that should be on any stock Android OS is absent. And there are some wonky artifacts in the image, which could suggest photoshopping. Now, rumors of a new Nexus phone from an unexpected manufacturer have been circulating all year, so this isnt unheard of. KARYNE: But recent leaks suggest that LG is making a Nexus phone, so either this is a red herring or its an early prototype thats not quite finished and well get a Nexus from both Sony and LG. EMILY: Next, 9to5Mac has a rumor that Im obsessed with, namely bc if true, maybe I wont have to suffer a humiliation. It claims that at Apples event next week we could see new Mac Minis, so maybe that is the little something Apple alluded to in the invitation. KARYNE: Um, Emily, even 9to5Mac says well see the Mac Minis AS WELL as the iPad Minis. EMILY: I know, Im just hoping irrationally that they got that part wrong. Maybe the main event is the rumored 13-inch Retina MacBook and the little something extra is the Mac Mini? Right? I could get lucky. Weirder things have happened. KARYNE: Name one. EMILY: Once I dropped my phone in a toilet and when I dried it off it was still working! See? Lucky! KARYNE: Let's get back to the iPad Mini invite. The invite reads: "We've got a little more to show you." So, if we explicate that line of poetry a little, we pretty much know that the worst-kept secret in history will be announced, but we still don't know what it will look like. According to an inventory system screenshot obtained by MobileGeeks, the iPad Mini will come in 16 different memory and wireless configurations. It says prices will start at $322 for a Wi-Fi-only 8GB model, and go all the way to $650 for a 64GB cellular version. EMILY: AppleInsider went on the record, citing "sources" that the iPad Mini will actually come in 24 varieties but it only reaches that number if the Mini comes in a Wi-Fi, 4G, and 3G option. I dont think it makes any sense to have a 3G option. A commenter agrees, pointing out that you can reach 24 configurations a more logical way: with a Wi-Fi and 4G option, in two colors, and three capacities on two carriers. As my 9th grade geometry teacher Mike Wade would say, QED. KARYNE: But now here's the rub: the new iPod Touch comes in a rainbow of colors, which has led some to believe that the new Mini will come in different colors as well. I don't think it will, however. The leaked spec sheets don't mention a million colors. EMILY: But the invitation has a rainbow, and we know that Apple never puts anything on those invites accidentally. Plus, if they want this to be the killer must-have holiday gift, having a bunch of different color options for kids would pretty much ensure that. So I think it makes a lot of sense. KARYNE: What do you guys think? Will there be a candy-colored assortment of Minis? Don't forget to vote in the poll while we go ask the people of San Francisco what they think. EMILY: And the CNET verdict is...man, a girl cant catch a break! Our editors say no, the iPad Mini likely wont come in many different colors, though they were split three to two. KARYNE: All our questions will be answered next week, and I'm pretty sure I'll get to humiliate Emily. If you have any humiliation ideas, please share them with us at rumorhasit@cnet.com or post them in the comments. And tweet us! EMILY: And please don't be too harsh! Tune in next week for more tech rumors.