Apple has revealed a smaller version of its iPad, dubbed the ‘iPad mini’ as it looks to take on Amazon’s Kindle Fire, Goolge’s Nexus 7 and Samsung’s Galaxy Note in the growing mini tablet market.
The device will be available for pre-order from 26th October and will ship from November 2nd. The company has also launched a new version of its full size iPad.
The iPad mini is roughly two-thirds of the size of the full-size model and the cheapest option will cost £269, making it more expensive than alternatives.
Marketing chief Phil Schiller launched the new device in San Jose, California.
“It’s not just a shrunken down iPad, it’s an entirely new design,” he said. “Others have tried to make tablets smaller than the iPad and they have failed miserably. The technology inside is equal to, if not better to, the iPad 2 in every way.”
Chief executive Tim Cook presided over the launch of what is considered his first Apple product not bearing the thumbprint of late co-founder Steve Jobs, who derided small tablets.
The gadget is 7.9in (20cm) high and weighs 0.68lbs (0.3kg) – half as much as the normal iPad. At 0.3ins (7.2mm), it is also as thin as a pencil.
The screen resolution is 1024 by 768 pixels, the same as the iPad 2 and a quarter of the resolution of the third-generation iPad.
The iPad mini will start at £269 for a version with Wifi connectivity only and 16GB of storage, compared to £210 for Google’s similarly-equipped Nexus 7 or £159 for Amazon’s matching Kindle Fire HD.
Watch the keynote presentation here:
Industry analysts had expected Apple, which currently dominates the tablet market, to mount a more direct attack on its rival with pricing from around £200.
At £529, the top-of-the-range version has 64GB of storage and superfast mobile broadband technology, compatible with Britain’s first network, due to be introduced next week. It costs only £130 less than the top full-sized iPad, however, despite lacking the latter’s high definition “Retina” screen.
Watch a promo video from Apple here:
New full size iPad
In another surprise, Apple said it was upgrading its full-size iPad tablet just six months after launching a new model, while doubling the speed of the processor.
Previously, the company has updated the iPad once a year. The fourth-generation iPad will have a better camera and work on more LTE wireless data networks around the world.
Apple is also replacing the 30-pin dock connector with the new, smaller ‘Lightning’ connector introduced with the iPhone 5 a month ago.
The US firm has now sold more than 100 million iPads since 2010 and had stuck with its 9.7in screen while rivals introduced lower-price tablets with smaller screens.
Amazon’s 7in Kindle Fire has proved popular and a new version was launched last month. A Google Nexus 7 using Android software and the Samsung Galaxy have also been successful.
The firm also introduced a new version of its iMac desktop computer only 5 millimetres thick at the edge, achieved partly by removing the DVD drive. Schiller said people who still use DVDs in their computer were “stuck in the past”.
Apple also updated its Macbook laptop range with a 13-inch “Retina” display version and improved the performance of its small Mac mini range.
View the official site here
