Finally – after months of anticipation, tons or rumors and a bag full of question marks, the iPad Mini took a bow and flaunted its shiny new disposition in front of the millions that followed it from the ground up.
In a dazzling announcement that silenced, halted and shook the world, Apple finally unveiled its latest achievement – the iPad Mini. Still an iPad but a tad smaller, the iPad Mini has a beautiful 7.9-inch Multi-Touch display with 1,024x768pixels all wrapped in an aluminum and glass body. Also coming in line with its “Mini” suffix is the fact that the new iPad is a mere 7.2mm thick and only weighs 0.68 ounces – enough for the iPad Mini to be used with one hand without the added weight. It also boasts a 35% more screen space than most 7-inch tablets out in the market plus a 67% “usable viewing area” when surfing the World Wide Web.
Also, the iPad Mini will utilize Apple’s A5 dual-core processor, making it faster, efficient and trouble free and that it can speed everything up in a snap: videos load faster, images are displayed vibrantly and tasks are more fluid. For the modern workhorse, the iPad Mini will be your constant companion: up to 10 hours of battery life ensures that every detail, every work is accomplished by the end of the day.
Image capturing was also fine tuned by Apple and incorporated the iPad Mini with a 5 megapixel rear facing camera capable of recording 1080p videos plus a FaceTime HD clicker up front. iSight will render the Mini with video and image stabilization and an illuminated backside that will enable it to capture quality photos in poor lighting conditions. Of course, every captured moment can be instantaneously shared via Shared Photo Streams of the ever popular iCloud. Furthermore, Siri is also supported letting you voice command the tablet intelligently.
As for connectivity, the iPad Mini prides itself with a dual band 802.11n Wi-Fi that can reach speeds of up to 150Mbps – twice as fast as the previous model — or go LTE for an even faster connection. A Personal Hotspot enhancement was also relayed to the iPad Mini wherein it can share its data connection with five other devices under the same tree. It will use Apple’s new Lightning connector that has replaced the old 30-pin connector with additional accessories for support to various connectors. Custom designed polyurethane Smart Covers is also available in green, blue, pink, light and dark grey and red.
The iPad Mini with Wi-Fi will come in shades of black/slate and white/silver with different flavors: 16GB ($329), 32GB ($429) and 64GB ($529). It will be available on November 2 via the Apple Online Store and selected resellers worldwide. Its Wi-Fi + Cellular version will be made available soon after on US carriers AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. SRPs are slated at $459 (16GB), $599 (32GB) and $659 (64GB). Preorders will start on October 26th.
