Here are your Apple rumors and AAPL news items for today:

Smaller, Cheaper iPad Coming: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) will release a smaller iPad featuring a 7.85-inch screen by the end of 2012, according to the New York Times. The Times joins a number of other media outlets citing unnamed sources close to Apple who say that an iPad Mini is on the way. The smaller iPad will be priced well below the least expensive version of the current generation iPads, which retails for $499, according to the report.

iPad to Continue to Rule Tablet Market: An analyst with Evercore Partners says that Apple will sell 69 million iPads this calendar year, Apple Insider notes. That number will put the iPad’s share of the tablet computer market at 60%. Meanwhile, sales of traditional PCs will drop 4% during the third quarter, compared to last year, as tablets contribute to at least half of PC sales decline. The analyst does not predict a significant boost in PC sales even after Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) releases its Windows 8 operating system later this year.

Samsung Outpaces Apple: Samsung has increased its sales lead over Apple, selling roughly 50 million smartphones during the second quarter, according Reuters. That compares to just 30.5 million iPhones sold during the same time. Samsung’s sales are being driven by the popularity of its Galaxy S III smartphone, which has proven a hit with consumers and features a screen more than an inch larger diagonally than the iPhone. The companies are also locked in heated litigation over claims of patent and design infringement. Samsung’s success is also driving Google‘s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android operating system to 51.8% of the U.S. market, compared to iOS’s 34.3%.

For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.