Apple Gets Official With Ipad Mini

[Tywais]

Apple gets official with iPad mini; upgrades iPad again

Summary: What might have been one of Apple's worst kept secrets is finally here.

After months of speculation, Apple officially introduced the iPad mini during a media event in San Jose on Tuesday morning.

See also: CNET's Apple event live blog

But Apple's SVP of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller started off with a surprise when he announced the fourth-generation iPad -- which was a bit of a shock considering the last one was only introduced earlier this year.

Here are some of the upgrades:

• New LTE chipset that works on more networks worldwide
  
• Front camera now supports FaceTime with 720p HD video capture
  
• 2x faster Wi-Fi connectivity
  
• New cables for SD and USB connectivity
  
• 10 hours of battery life
  
• Same configuration/pricing starting points (i.e. starts at 16GB Wi-Fi only for $499, etc.)
  

But Schiller didn't disappoint anyone expecting a smaller tablet, quickly introducing the "thin as a pencil" iPad mini. Here's the rundown on the sized-down iOS tablet thus far:

• 7.9-inch display
  
• Dual-core A5 processor
  
• 53 percent lighter than full-sized iPad at 0.68 lbs
  
• 7.2mm thin and 0.68 pounds light
  
• 23 percent thinner than 4th-gen iPad
  
• Same resolution as 1st- and 2nd-gen iPads: 1,024 by 768 pixels
  
• 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi @ 5.2Ghz
  
• FaceTime HD front camera
  
• 5-megapixel iSight rear camera
  
• Lightning connector
  
• 10-hour battery life
  
• New Smart Covers available for iPad mini
  
• Comes in white and "slate black" -- no aluminum hinge; all one matte material
  
• LTE options
  

More here - zdnet

[Tywais]

iPad Mini: $329, 7.9-inch screen (hands-on)

CNET Editors' Take

October 23, 2012 10:55 AM PDT

Apple has finally officially unveiled its iPad Mini and it is, indeed, extremely light. The iPad Mini sports a 7.9-inch screen and it feels as airy as the iPhone 5, though maybe a tad wide for some jacket pockets. Nonetheless, the iPad Mini feels solid for reading with one hand -- it's lighter than most books you own. It's also relatively expensive at $329.

You'll be able to get an iPad Mini Wi-Fi model in three memory configurations starting on November 2: $329 for 16GB, $429 for 32GB, and $529 for 64GB. Two weeks later on November 16, we'll see Wi-Fi + 4G models hit the shelves at $459 for 16GB, $559 for 32GB, and $659 for 64GB.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

The 1,024x768-pixel resolution matches that of the iPad 2, but on a 7.9-inch display, text is more readable at smaller fonts. This definitely isn't Retina Display, but it's better-than-iPad-2 display. Videos look excellent, and the IPS screen has great wide-viewing angles.

Video review and more - Cnet.com

[Tywais]

With iPad Mini, Apple poised to shake up tablet market. Again

Apple skirts the low-end line with a more affordable, but smaller version of its blockbuster iPad that could bring tablets even more into the mainstream.

Apple's smaller, lower-cost iPad Mini could hasten the company's goal of getting its products in every consumer's hands.

The iPad Mini, which will retail for as low $329 and features a 7.9-inch display, dramatically expands the base of customers for Apple, and gives the company a new area of growth at a time when its highly profitable iPhone, as well as its MacBook and iMac lines, reach maturity.

The iPad Mini, which will sell at a 34 percent discount to its larger cousin, simultaneously puts the rest of the competition, including Amazon's Kindle Fire HD and Google's Nexus 7, on notice. The original iPad redefined what a tablet could look and feel like, and what it could do, turning a once niche segment into a blockbuster success for Apple. The iPad Mini isn't anywhere near as revolutionary, and indeed is a response to other emerging low-cost alternatives, but could still transform the tablet's status from a luxury gadget to a mainstream item. "At $329 you should expect more people getting into the tablet market," said Julien Blin, an analyst at Infonetics Research.

Source - news.cnet.com

[Tywais]

iPad Mini vs. Google Nexus 7 vs. Amazon Kindle Fire HD

We compare the just-announced iPad Mini with its closest competition, two solid 7-inch tablets based on Android's OS.

After dominating the larger tablet market it popularized, Apple has turned its attention to the slightly smaller screen. The 7.9-inch iPad Mini has Apple's attention to style and detail behind it, but it certainly isn't the only slate of this stature that's worth considering, especially with the Mini's stepped-down processor and screen resolution.

When you line up the specs and the intangibles, which tablet has the upper hand: the iPad Mini, the Asus-made Google Nexus 7 (an original Android 4.1 Jelly Bean device), or the Amazon Kindle Fire HD?

As the days march on after the iPad Mini's announcement, we'll continue to update this story with further impressions, hands-on details, and results from our iPad Mini rated review.

More here - reviews.cnet.com

[Chicog]

Did no-one else notice the iPad 4 then?

[Tywais]

Did no-one else notice the iPad 4 then?

My first link points indirectly to it. Here is the Cnet article - http://reviews.cnet.com/ipad/

Surprise! Apple not only introduced a smaller iPad today -- the iPad Mini -- but also unveiled a fourth-generation iPad that looks the same as the iPad 3 (aka the "new iPad"). The difference? The fourth-generation model has upgraded components, including an A6X processor, which, according to Apple, doubles CPU and graphics performance.

Hitting stores November 2, the fourth-generation iPad will come in white and black, and starts at $499 for the 16GB version. It has the same new Lightning connector found on the iPhone 5, an upgraded "HD" front-facing camera (720p), and 2X faster Wi-Fi.

[Lobo4819]

Anyone know when the mini will be available in Thailand?

[nikster]

It's pretty interesting that they took a high end approach to this and priced it over $100 more than a Nexus 7. No cutting corners here!

But if you look at the thing, and especially reading the specs, it's going to be yet another device from the future. An 8" tablet that's 6mm thin?? That's crazy. Very slim mobile phones are 9mm!

So what do we get from this: It's that the primary reason for buying a mini is not the price, but the smaller size. Reading will be a lot nicer on this, it will be almost pocketable.

[Tywais]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6Yml8LRD6w

[Chicog]

It's pretty interesting that they took a high end approach to this and priced it over $100 more than a Nexus 7. No cutting corners here!

But if you look at the thing, and especially reading the specs, it's going to be yet another device from the future. An 8" tablet that's 6mm thin?? That's crazy. Very slim mobile phones are 9mm!

So what do we get from this: It's that the primary reason for buying a mini is not the price, but the smaller size. Reading will be a lot nicer on this, it will be almost pocketable.

It would be if it wasn't the old 4:3 format - useless.

And if you just want a reader you can get a perfectly acceptable Android tablet for well under $100 these days. It will have a 7" screen in 16:9 or 16:10 format and actually *will* be pocketable.

Not to mention the Mini's crappy screen resolution worsened by the extra inch are garnering well-earned criticism.

The only people that will buy this will be the ones that will probably replace their almost brand new Ipad3 with the iPad4 - because they feel that they have to, not because they're actually getting something worth the money.

Edited October 26, 2012 by Chicog