iPad mini and 4th gen iPad announced by Apple

Apple has officially announced the new iPad mini and the 4th generation iPad. The smaller iPad features a 7.9-inch display with a resolution of 1024 x 768, giving it the same resolution as the iPad 2

 It comes in both black and white and measures 7.2mm thick and weighs 0.68lbs, which is 23% thinner and 56% lighter than the full sized iPad.

Inside, the iPad mini uses the iPad 2's A5 dual-core processor and features a FaceTime HD front camera, 5-megapixel iSight rear camera, 802.11 b/g/n for Wi-Fi, LTE capability in the cellular model, a Lightning connector and an estimated 10 hours of battery life.

The 16GB iPad mini will start at $329 (£269) for the Wi-Fi model, and $459 (£369) for cellular. 32GB and 64GB models will also be available for $429 (£349) and $529 (£429) in turn. Cellular models will be priced at $559 (£449) and $659 (£529) for the 32GB and 64GB models respectively.

Apple also announced the new 4th generation iPad today.

The new iPad features an improved A6X CPU, which the company claims provides twice the performance of the iPad 3 processor.

Like the iPad mini, it uses a FaceTime HD camera in the front and 5-megapixel iSight rear camera, and a Lightning connector port and boasts a 10-hour battery life.

It will also offer LTE capabilities for the cellular model with a wide range of networks across North America and Europe.

Pictured above: iPad mini (left) next to a 4th generation iPad

The 4th generation iPad will be priced the same as the previous iPad, with the 16GB model starting at $499 (£399) or $629 (£499) for cellular support. 32GB and 64GB models will also be available.

Both the iPad mini and 4th generation iPad will be available for pre-order beginning Friday, October 26, with the first shipments of Wi-Fi models arriving the following week on November 2. Apple said that cellular models will begin shipping a few weeks after that, though no specific date was provided.

Watch a video introducing the iPad mini below:

Apple iPad Mini 'launches on October 23'

Apple to launch iPad Mini on October 23, report claims

Apple will reportedly hold a special launch event on October 23 in the US where the world's largest technology firm is expected to announce its much-rumoured iPad Mini tablet computer.
Invites were expected to be issued by Apple on Wednesday (October 10) for a launch event a week later for the so-called iPad Mini, but that proved incorrect, leading some to question whether the new product was coming at all.
However, AllThingsD has now reported that "people familiar with Apple's plans" have said that the iPad Mini will actually be announced on October 23 at an "invitation-only event".

If correct, the launch would fall on a Tuesday rather than a Wednesday, the day on which Apple typically likes to announce new hardware products. But it would come just three days before Microsoft rolls out its new Surface line of tablets, which will compete with Apple's iPad.
AllThingsD feels that the iPad Mini launch would be a more "intimate" affair than the blockbuster unveiling of Apple's latest iPhone 5 smartphone last month, which was held at the Yerba Buena Arts Centre in San Francisco and closed with a performance by the Foo Fighters.
Whilst the website has been unable to ascertain the exact location of the iPad Mini launch event, it feels that it may be held at Apple's Town Hall Auditorium, where the firm has previously announced products such as OS X Lion, a next-generation MacBook Air and the iPhone 4S.

According to reports, "mass production" of the new Apple iPad Mini device got under way around a month ago, and the device could either go on sale in late October or early November.
Steve Jobs, the late Apple co-founder, was famously opposed to tablets with a smaller screen size than the iPad's 9.7 inches, but documents in Apple's recent patent trial against Samsung revealed that he may have warmed to the idea almost two years ago.
Taking into account the previous leaks and statements from 'industry sources', it appears that the new iPad Mini will have a screen size of 7.85 inches on the diagonal. This would make it larger than its biggest competitors, Amazon's Kindle Fire and Google's Nexus 7, which both have 7-inch displays.
To match the competition, Apple is widely expected to fit the device with a fast processor, decent camera and long-lasting battery. It is also likely that the iPad Mini will come with Apple's new smaller Lightning dock connector for charging and connecting accessories, as well as the EarPod headphones. 

The original iPad kickstarted the tablet computer market when it launched in 2010, but the iPad Mini would arrive with lots of competition.
Alongside Amazon's popular Kindle Fire range (coming to the UK this autumn) and Google's established Nexus 7, there are other 7-inch-screen tablets competing for customers' attention from Barnes & Noble and Apple's big rival Samsung.
Sources have suggested that Apple will price the entry-level iPad Mini at around £180 to 200, compared with around £159 for the base Kindle Fire and Nexus 7.
Apple could differentiate its small iPad by offering it with 3G, as other models don't support mobile broadband connectivity. But it is now thought that cost issues will prompt Apple to just launch a WiFi-only iPad Mini.
We could, however, see at the launch event a refresh of the new iPad that was launched in March. This may include the announcement of a 4G version coming to the UK on the Everything Everywhere 4G network that will go live on October 30. 

Apple in 2012: 10 things to expect

It's that time of year where we dust off the ol' crystal ball and try to figure out where Apple's heading over the next 12 months.
Although the company lobs the odd curveball, its releases to date, along with scrutinising subtler trends, point to the following ten things arriving from the Cupertino giant over the coming year.

1. iPad 3

You can barely swing a digital cat on the internet without nastily cracking its head on a ton of iPad 3 rumours. Reports suggest anyone wanting a higher-resolution iPad screen might be in luck, but we recommend taking rumours about major changes in form factor (such as a 7-inch iPad) with a fistful of salt. Less fanciful rumours we're hoping come true are that the device will have more storage and some kind of Thunderbolt support.

2. iPhone 5

Roughly eleven seconds after the iPhone 4S was revealed, the tech corner of the internet exploded. Steve Jobs had barely touched a 4S, claimed frenzied tech conspiracy theorists, because he was working on the iPhone 4's true successor: the iPhone 5! Right. All we really know for sure is we'll see another iPhone revision next year, and it'll almost certainly pack more power and a few new features. Beyond that, one unicorn-shaped rumour's just as shiny as another.

3. The last-ever Mac Pro

During Apple's last earnings call of 2011, it revealed that the minority of its revenue (22 per cent) comes from Macs, and of that, 74 per cent comes from notebook sales. Of the desktop sales, iMacs take the lion's share. This means, increasingly, that the Mac Pro is a luxury—a niche within a niche (desktop machines) within an area of Apple's business that's no longer its strongest (Macs). Given the power of modern iMacs and Apple's development of Thunderbolt, it's no surprise rumours have appeared about Apple questioning its tower's future (AppleInsider). We reckon it has one more update in it: 2012 will see the last new Mac Pro.

APPLE iTV?: This is the kind of Apple TV we want to see in 2012, albeit with a more powerful chip and able to output full HD quality

6. iPad to dominate

It's quite amusing watching analysts backtrack over market-share figures for the iPad. It wasn't long ago they were claiming Android tablets would (collectively) overtake the iPad during 2011. Then it would happen in 2012. Then it became a moving point in the future, at some random time before the heat death of the universe.
On the sluggishness of Android sales, Gary Marshall noted in October: "iPads sell on the basis of what you can do; Android ones are sold on the basis of what they are". Even Ice Cream Sandwich doesn't seem to be making changes there. So while the iPad's share will probably fall in 2012 (in part due to the Kindle Fire), it'll still be dominant until this time next year at the very least.

7. Bye bye, optical media and HDDs

Remember when Apple ditched the floppy drive and everyone had a huge hissy fit, bought an external USB floppy drive, and then realised that, honestly, they didn't use floppy disks all that much any more and wished they hadn't bothered? That's Apple, next year, with the rest of its notebook line—and possibly even the iMac—joining the MacBook Air and Mac mini in phasing out optical media. Also on borrowed time: HDDs. There's a shortage and Apple's been pushing flash storage across its line. Don't be surprised if the company uses every excuse it can to set flash storage as the default option in more of its machines.

NO OPTICAL: Look, ma, no optical drive! Expect more of this from Apple in 2012

8. Bigger Mac App Store names

With Lion and Snow Leopard, Mac users now have a Mac App Store icon in the dock and are being trained, like iOS users, to go shopping for new apps. For new users, this will become second-nature; buying boxed copies or software from websites won't. Increasingly, to succeed, you'll need to have your app on the Mac App Store—and there are currently some notable products that are absent. Expect some of them to appear over the next year, including a version of Microsoft Office and perhaps some pro-level Adobe apps.

9. Death of the iPod Classic

Frankly, we're surprised the iPod Classic—the 'truck' of the line—survives, but we can't imagine its luck's going to continue for another twelve months. The device looks long-in-the-tooth when up against Apple's iOS line-up, and there are reasons to expect its disappearance: worldwide hard-drive shortages that could impact on Apple's bottom line; Apple's shift to the cloud regarding music; and its increasing focus on iOS. All it needs is for a drop in flash memory prices along with a swift update to the high-end iPod touch and the iPod Classic will be history.

FINAL CLASSIC: Party like it's whatever year it was before iOS devices arrived with this thick and chunky hard-drive iPod! Until Apple cancels it next year, natch

10. Doomsayers rebuffed (again)

We said the doomsayers would be rebuffed last year, and we were right. Apple had many sales successes, opened new stores, and generally had a very strong year.
Still, 2012 will be different, according to some pundits. Steve Jobs is gone. Android is kicking bottom in smartphone market-share (even if iOS is sucking up most of the profits, like some kind of giant money vacuum cleaner).
Fifty million new Android tablets are due out, and at least one of them will be that ever-elusive 'iPad killer'. And there's the possibility Jony Ive will go nuts, make an iPod made from bees, leading to Beegate and Apple being sued into oblivion by animal welfare groups.
Or perhaps what's undoubtedly our easiest prediction will come to pass: Apple, in 2012, will enjoy another successful year, selling tons of kit, occasionally confounding expectations, and almost certainly not making any iOS devices likely to sting your face off.