Apple launches iPad mini in time for Diwali, Christmas festivities

Tuesday, 23 October 2012 - 10:50pm India News Bulletin Desk

Apple has unveiled iPad mini -- which is 23% thinner and 53% lighter than the third generation iPad -- just ahead of the festive season. It will be available from Friday, November 2 for a starting price of $329 (£269) but eager customers in the US and Europe can pre-order it starting October 26.

the iPad mini featuring a 7.9 inch display

Image: Apple website

The iPad mini, which weighs 0.68 pounds, features a 7.9-inch display and includes features such as FaceTime HD, a 5 megapixel iSight camera, faster wireless performance and a10-hour of battery life.

It also has a dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi support for speeds up to 150 Mbps, which is twice the Wi-Fi performance compared to previous iPad models, according to the tablet-maker.

“iPad mini is every inch an iPad. It features the same number of pixels as the original iPad and iPad 2, so you can run more than 275,000 apps designed specifically for iPad,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of global marketing.

It presents “35% more screen real-estate than 7-inch tablets,” according to Apple. Google’s Nexus 7 is a 7-inch tablet and a biggest competitor to iPad mini.

The wi-fi only models of iPad mini will be available in black & slate or white & silver for a suggested retail price of $329 (US) for the 16GB model, $429 (US) for the 32GB model and $529 (US) for the 64GB model.

Alongside mini, Apple has also announced the fourth generation iPad featuring a gorgeous 9.7-inch Retina display, new Apple-designed A6X chip, FaceTime HD camera and ultrafast wireless performance.

Both iPad mini and fourth generation iPad come with iOS 6 Operating System.

Fourth-gen iPad

The fourth generation iPad, announced today comes just seven months after the third-generation iPad was launched in March. The new iPad features a 9.7-inch Retina display, A6X chip, FaceTime HD camera and faster wireless performance.

The fourth generation iPad with wi-fi models will also be available on Friday, November 2, in black or white for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) for the 16GB model, $599 (US) for the 32GB model and $699 (US) for the 64GB model.

iPad mini with wi-fi + cellular and fourth generation iPad with wi-fi + Cellular will start shipping a couple of weeks after the wi-fi-only models, Apple has said.

Apple does not have any plans as yet to sell iPad mini or the new iPad in developing economies such as India and China.