iPad Mini Debuts at $329

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Apple took the wraps off its long awaited iPad mini, which sports a screen measuring 7.9 inche–small enough and light enough to hold in one hand, yet roomy enough to display apps better than just a “scaled up phone,” said the company at a press event Tuesday.

ipad mini
iPad mini Photo credit: Engadget

The iPad mini screen gives you 35 percent more display area than a leading 7-inch tablet, said Apple.  The device also provides just about the same features as the iPad 2, and even though the screen on the iPad 2 is 9.7 inches, both screens have the same number of pixels.

iPad Mini
iPad mini Credit: Engadget

The iPad mini ships November 2 starting at $329 for a 16GB WiFi version.  It steps up to  $429 for 32GB and $529 for 64GB. The cellular versions via AT&T, Sprint and Verizon ship a few weeks later at $629, $729 and $829, respectively.

Pre-orders for the mini begin October 26.

The mini is joined by an upgraded larger iPad 4th generation with a faster A6X processor, at the same starting price of the gen 3 iPad at $499.  The iPad 2 now drops in price to $399.

The iPad mini also gets a new SmartCover in 5 colors plus Red.

The mini is half as light as as the 4th gen iPad and weighs .68 pounds. It’s features are the same or better than the iPad 2, Apple said, according to Engadget.

It has a front facing FaceTime HD camera  and a 5 megapixel iSight camera on the back with 1080p recording. It also sports a Lightning dock connector.

Apple said Lightning accessories are available to support cameras, SD cards and VGA or HDMI digital video. (Nothing on composite video).

Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing said,  “iPad mini is as thin as a pencil and as light as a pad of paper, yet packs a fast A5 chip, FaceTime HD and 5 megapixel iSight cameras and ultrafast wireless―all while delivering up to 10 hours of battery life.”

The mini is compatible with more than 275,000 apps designed specifically for the iPad.

Apple said it has sold 100 million iPads to date (in 2.5 years).

Source: Apple, Engadget

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