It's been a long time coming: Windows 10 and Surface Pro 3 were launched way back in May and there is still no news of when the Surface Mini will be available. However, there are now rumors that although there will be a limited supply, it will arrive around Christmas.

According to PC Advisor, Bloomberg had reported that Microsoft top brass Satya Nadella and Stephen Elop both decided to cancel the project because the Surface Mini doesn't have unique features that will differentiate it from the rest of the tablets already out on the market.

Microsoft continues to perform poorly against its competition right now. Microsoft Surface conquered only 1.3 percent market share in Q1 2014, whereas their smaller tablets contributed about 53 percent share during the same period.

Still, if rumors are to be believed, the Surface Mini will be available this year. Despite its low market performance, the Surface tablets are fully functional personal computers running on Windows 8 OS. Surface Mini is rumored to have an 8-inch display, Windows RT 8.1 OS and Qualcomm processor. It will have 1 GB of RAM and supports both microSD and USB. There are reports that it will be able to work as a PC or tablet and comes with an integral digital pen.

It is still not clear how much it would cost, but it could be around £300 in the U.K. and about $480 in the U.S., which will make it an iPad Mini 2 and Nexus 7 rival. On the other hand, a mid-range Surface Pro 3 sells for about $1,300.

Based on a submitted report by Neowin, the Surface mini looks very much like a smaller version of the Surface Pro 3. It also has the same pen that comes with the Surface 3. The case has a kickstand, screen protector and pen holder. It comes with a full-sized Windows button and front-facing camera.

These are just the initial specs and things may change once the Surface Mini gets launched.