Could it be that Google is letting Apple to dominate the large tablet market for a few more months and defer the Nexus 10 2 release date until early 2014? Instead, the tech giant is colliding head-on with the Retina iPad Mini 2, using the Nexus 8 as its main weapon.

Android watchers were surprised that the refreshed Nexus 10 2, said to be project by Google with Asus, went MIA when the Nexus 5 was unboxed on Nov 1.

The likelihood is, according to CNET, the full-sized vanilla Android slate will defer its pre-holiday debut, leaving the 9.7-inch iPad Air to lord it over rivals in both the high-end and large-screen tablet markets.

There was no specific mention why Google would not allow the new Nexus 10 to slug it out with the competition considering that the last two month of any year is seen as lucrative for any gadget releases.

But Google might be leaning on the practical side. The same CNET report hinted that despite attracting positive reviews, the first Nexus 10 was not exactly a commercial success. So why not come out with something that has the capacity to generate real revenues?

Enter the Nexus 8 and as the name implies, it is an 8-inch tablet and image of which leaked out this week, prompting numerous chatters in the Android world. One of them: could this be the slate rival that Google will pit against the iPad Mini 2, now toting a high-resolution Retina display panel?

If indeed the second Nexus small tablet is real then Google should be giving the Mini 2 a fairly nice battle, perhaps beginning on Black Friday come Nov 29 and stretching into the full Christmas season during the whole month of December.

And why would consumers turn their eyes on the Nexus 8, the specs of which remain a mystery, when they have been waiting for the iPad Mini 2 since early this year. And most of the specs and features that were attached with the wild Mini 2 rumours proved true.

No doubt the Mini 2 is destined to sell millions but one serious issue is plaguing the 7.9-inch iOS 7 tablet - enough supplies on its release date, also yet to be determined, cannot be guaranteed by Apple.

The company's CEO, Tim Cook himself, has admitted that there could be some supply shortage haunting the Mini 2 availability in the immediate weeks after its supposedly late November 2013 release date.

And there is no telling when the supply crunch will be resolved. Mr Cook offered no definite timetable on the matter.

So the best thing to for frustrated tablet shoppers, who would want to take home a really nice-looking and powerful slate for Christmas, is to look for alternatives.

As always the case, when iOS devices fall short of expectations, Nexus presents the better proposition.

And for the small tablet options, besides the Nexus 7, it appears now that buyers can also take a serious look on the Nexus 8, which according to some blog report could be the Nexus rendition of the 8.3-inch LG G Pad.

In the leaked image posted by ArsTechnica, the Nexus 8 splattered on Android.com seems to radiate just the right form-factor that made the first iPad Mini a consumer magnet. It is slim and the bezels surrounding the tablet screen is thinner when visually compared with the Nexus 7 2.

As for the components packed inside the toy, they should be in the same class with those that rest inside of the Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 2013 build. They are high-end but the asking price is far from being unreachable.

Now the big question: Is the Nexus 8, said to be carrying the LG brand name like that of the Nexus 5, for real?

Google offers no clear answer for now and that should be case for some time as according to ArsTechnica, the supposed Nexus 8 picture has been pulled down from Android.com, replaced by the now familiar Nexus 7 2013 or build number 2 of the 7-inch tab.