Apple officially introduces the latest addition to iPad line, the iPad mini with a smaller display. With a brand new design, the mini is 23% thinner and 53% lighter than the iPad 3rd generation. The new tablet gets a 7.9-inch multitouch IPS touchscreen with the same 1024×768 resolution as the iPad and iPad 2. It also sports new iSight and FaceTime HD cameras, dual-band ultrafast wireless performance, optional 3G and LTE and 10 hours of battery life.
The iPad mini has a new aluminum and glass design that is just 7.2 mm thin and weighs only 0.68 pounds. It is powered by the same dual-core A5 processor as the iPad 2. Its 5 Megapixel iSight camera features auto focus, face detection, backside illumination (BSI) sensor, f/2.4 apterture and Full HD 1080p video recording, while the 1.2 Megapixel FaceTime camera, with BSI sensor and face detection, is capable of 720p HD video recording. Like the new iPhone 5 and iPod nano 7, iPod touch 5, the new mini iPad uses Lightning connector, instead of 30-pin dock connector.
Apple’s iPad mini supports Bluetooth 4.0 and dual-band WiFi 802.11b/g/n connectivity and there are also WiFi+Cellular models with 3G and 4G LTE support. Two cellular models are available, the model A1454 with support for GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz) and LTE (Bands 4 AWS and 17 700bMHz), and the model A1455 for CDMA EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B (800, 1900, 2100 MHz), GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz), LTE (2100, 1800, 850, 700c, 1900Mhz).
The iPad mini comes in black/slate and white/silver colors. As for pricing, the iPad mini WiFi model is priced at $329 for 16GB, $429 for 32GB, and $529 for 64GB; and the WiFi+cellular model will be available from AT&T, Sprint and Verizon for $459 for 16GB, $559 for 32GB and $659 for 64GB. The WiFi iPad mini will be shipped on 2 November, and the cellular a few weeks after the WiFi model.
