Microsoft isn’t just releasing new versions of the Surface Pro and Surface RT this year. According to Paul Thurrott’s Supersite for Windows, Microsoft plans to unveil a smaller 8-inch tablet that will run on a Qualcomm ARM processor and Windows RT 8.1. Thurrott says that the smaller “Surface mini” tablet won’t be announced during the company’s big Surface press event on Monday but will instead be announced at a later date. We’ve known for a while now that Microsoft has been planning to release a smaller version of its Surface tablet that it will price to compete with Apple’s iPad mini, Google’s Nexus 7 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD. Microsoft made some important changes to its hardware certification standards earlier this year by lowering minimum display resolution requirements, thus making it easier for companies to produce smaller devices based on Windows 8.
UPDATE: The Associated Press also reports that Microsoft will release a Surface mini this year and, unlike Thurrott, it says Microsoft will announce the device at its Monday press event.
