It’s obvious that Apple have changed a lot, and their goals today are not exactly the same as they used to be some years ago. The company has had to make some changes in order to adapt to a rapidly evolving market, and even though there are still plenty of people willing to pay premium prices for their products, they’ve had to diversify their offers somewhat.
On the other hand, there are also rumors that Apple could be looking into shrinking their product line in order to more effectively focus on a smaller number of more polished devices.
We’ve heard this rumor in other contexts before, such as the possibility of killing off the iPod line and combining it with the iPhone. The iPad Mini has even been mentioned in this line of thought before, although not as often.
This could actually be one of the explanations for the lack of news about the device, as Apple might have simply decided to put it to rest for now. That would be a shame, considering how much the iPad Mini has to offer for many users, but if that’s what Apple need to do in order to survive in this climate, then so be it.
If no announcement about the device comes in the next 2-3 months, or after January in the latest, it’s probably safe to assume that it’s not in the company’s major plans right now, or at least not for the next half year.