The rumor mill is at it again.

UnwiredView is reporting that Apple has ordered the first screen samples from LG Display and AUOptronics. According to sources, Apple has already set the spcs for the new iPad Mini, which is rumored to ship next spring.

The screens that Apple ordered are supposed to be the iPad mini display panel size, which is 7.85”. Screen resolution is the same as the iPad, reportedly.

While I’m sure any gadget lover would to see the iPad Mini, it simply doesn’t fit with Apple’s plans in the past or with what Steve Jobs has said in the past. Steve was vociferously opposed to a 7″ iPad, and his objections are still as true now as they were then. “It’s meaningless unless your tablet also includes sandpaper, so that the user can sand down their fingers to around one quarter of their present size.”