iPad Mini: Top 5 Things You Need To Know

 

By Pamela Perez

Rumours of an iPad Mini has been going around for years and with news that Apple has just sent out invitations to an event highly believed to be the launch of the new Apple tablet, the tech world has gone into a flurry.

 

By Pamela Perez

Rumours of an iPad Mini has been going around for years and with news that Apple has just sent out invitations to an event highly believed to be the launch of the new Apple tablet, the tech world has gone into a flurry.

The rumour mill just keeps on turning and churning out speculation after speculation. We sifted through the muck and came up with the top 5 things you need to know most about the iPad Mini.

7-inch Screen

The Mini will have a 7.85-inch screen with a 1024×768-pixel display. This display size preserves the 4:3 aspect ratio used in the larger iPad models, avoiding compatibility problems with tablet-specific apps written for those devices. It will join the ranks of Google's Nexus 7 and Amazon's Kindle Fire at that measurement.

Storage Capacity

It will be available in 8GB, 16GB, 32GB and 64GB of on-board storage and there will be both mobile data-ready and Wi-Fi only models, despite previous rumours that the device would be Wi-Fi exclusive, according to leaks from retailers.

Price

Since it is a lower version, it will definitely be cheaper than the latest full-size iPad, but more expensive than the Kindle Fire HD and Nexus 7. The most frequently cited figure is US$250 for an entry-level device, which would presumably be Wi-Fi only and pack just 8GB of storage.

Models and Colours

The iPad Mini will come in 2 colours and 24 different flavours. You can choose between black and white and the stock-keeping units, or SKUs, are currently being described as P101, P103, P105, and P107. Within those, Apple assigns ratings of "good", "better" and "best". The four SKUs may indicate storage options ranging from 8GB to 64GB and the rankings describe Wi-Fi-only, 3G and 4G LTE models

October 23 Launch

Apple has sent out invites for an event on October 23. On the invitation, Apple said “We’ve for got a little more to show you”, which may indicate that something “little” is in store for us. In addition to the iPad Mini, speculation is that Apple will unveil other products, such as a 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display.

The iPad Mini stories seem to be a definite at this time despite critics believing that Apple will buck the trend. The late Apple boss Steve Jobs once famously dissed mid-sized slates during an Apple earnings call in October 2010, saying, “The 10in screen size is the minimum size required to create great tablet apps. 7in tablets are tweeners: too big to compete with a smartphone, and too small to compete with an iPad.”

“These are among the reasons that the current crop of 7-inch tablets are going to be DOA – dead on arrival,” he said.

Apple’s move to go into the Mini game may be more out of necessity as its answer the cheaper tablets of Google and Amazon, among others.