This morning’s Apple event yielded plenty of updates, but the reason everyone was there was the brand new product, the iPad Mini. Easy to remember the new size is 7.9” instead of 9.7” which runs the same resolution as the iPad 2, and is not a retina display.
Apple made comparisons to Android tablets and spent a decent amount of time discussing the extra screen area. Given the aspect ratio and additional 0.9 inches, Apple say the iPad Mini allows for significantly more content to be seen on the screen. Apple were also quick to point out the disaster that is Android tablet apps which are mostly made up of upscaled phone apps.
Specs
7.2mm thin (23% thinner than iPad)
308g (53% lighter than iPad)
7.9” (1024×768 resolution)
A5 processor
5MP iSight camera
LTE / 4G (optional)
802.11N WiFi 2.5 + 5Ghz
Lightning connector
10 hours battery life
Reasoning
There’s a thinner bezel on the sides and while it won’t fit in your pocket, it can be held in one hand. Despite this, Apple still failed to adequately explain why someone with an existing 9.7” iPad would need an iPad Mini. Essentially the choice is really for people upgrading, you will now have the choice of the two sizes.
Availability & Price
The iPad Mini goes on sale on pre-order on Friday 26th (Windows 8 launch day) and ships on November 2nd. The LTE version will ship 2 weeks later. The iPad Mini starts at A$369 for the 16GB model Wi-Fi model and is also available in 32 and 64GB models.
Apple also announced an update to the existing 10” iPad, known as the 4th generation iPad. Essentially it got the Thunderbolt connector, an A6 processor and will be the same price.
More info @ http://www.apple.com/au/ipad-mini/overview/