With the next big Apple reveal coming just a day away at a special press event in San Francisco, where the company is expected to debut the new iPhone 5, another hotly-anticipated device has just hit the Internet for all to see! Well, allegedly, anyway.

On Tuesday, French blog Nowhereelse.fr posted seven pictures it proclaims to be the new iPad Mini.

The photos show what appears to be a white iPad Mini, displayed from various angles. Two of the photos demonstrate the difference in size between the regular iPad and the iPad Mini, as well as the iPhone.

Giving credit for the photos to the Chinese website DGtle.com, the French blog says that while it is possible that what it posted could be “a simple Chinese clone,” it also says that there are characteristics of the device in question that indicate it really is a leaked iPad Mini.

“Interestingly, as you can see for yourself on the assembly that I have created here against this new model fits perfectly in the holster unveiled earlier this week by a reader of MacRumors calling itself Rouser,” wrote Steve Hemmerstoffer, founder and editor in chief of Nowhereelse.fr.

“In addition, the location of the holes cut into multiple accessory supposedly designed to protect the iPad Mini correspond perfectly with the positioning of components.”

Despite some previous speculation that both the iPhone 5 and the iPad Mini would both be released in September, debuting with in a week or so of each other, or perhaps even at the same time, an unconfirmed report from last month said that the iPad Mini will actually be released in October.

Nothing about the actual release date has been officially confirmed, though, so we could see the actually unveiling of the iPad Mini as early as tomorrow.

The iPad mini will likely have a seven or eight inch screen and is expected to sell for $200 to $300, which would be a major blow to other tablet retailers, who consistently relied on providing a cheaper alternative to Apple products.

In comparison, the new iPad released earlier this year costs from $499 to $829.

Expectations for the iPad Mini

In June, the International Data Corporation increased its tablet sales forecasts for this year, and 2013 as well. Predictions were boosted by strong sales predictions for the back half of 2012 based on the sales of Apple’s new iPad released earlier in the year, and on rumors of the iPad Mini.

"After a very strong launch of new products in March, Apple's iPad shows few signs of slowing down," Tom Mainelli, research director, Mobile Connected Devices at IDC, said in the report.

"The addition of the Retina Display and 4G capabilities to the third-generation products clearly enticed many current owners to upgrade. And Apple's decision to keep two iPad 2s in the market at lower prices—moving the entry-level price down to $399—seems to be paying off as well. If Apple launches a sub-$300, 7-inch product into the market later this year as rumored, we expect the company’s grip on this market to become even stronger."

(On a side note, I went onto DGtle.com to see if that website may have had the original source of the photos, but the post in question doesn’t seem to exist. So take from that what you will.)

Apple could not be reached for comment.

Check out the pictures below, courtesy of www.nowhereelse.fr