He also repeated earlier assertions that a smaller, lower-priced iPad Mini would sell well to education, in developing markets, and in China, where for all Apple's cachet, White has seen relatively few iPads during his regular trips there.

"There will be some percentage of the likely buyers who will say, 'This [iPad Mini] will do,'" said Gottheil. "But there will be others who will say, 'I'll get two.'"

If Apple does debut an iPad Mini this month, some analysts have bet that it will only tighten the screws on competitors. Last July, for example, IDC predicted that a Mini-armed Apple would keeps its share of the tablet market above the for the foreseeable future.

"From a corporate priority standpoint, I'd think that their top [priority] is to destroy the competition in the tablet market," said Baker. "And [an iPad Mini] is an important part of that."