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iPad Mini Features, Release Date & Price Announced

After several years of rumors and speculations, Apple has finally unveiled the smaller and cheaper version of the full-sized iPad called iPad Mini to compete with cheaper Android based tablets like Google Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire.

iPad mini features a 7.9-inch screen with 1024x768 resolution, front and back facing camera, powered by Apple's dual-core processor and support for 4G LTE networks.

Design/Form Factor:

iPad mini looks exactly like the smaller sibling of the third generation iPad with the aluminum casing, but it's more beautiful with the diamond cut edges and sleek metallic finishes.

As rumored, the smaller iPad comes with thinner bezels along the sides in portrait mode like the iPod touch. It is 23 percent thinner and 53 percent lighter than the full-sized iPad. It is only 7.2 mm thick, whereas as iPad 3 is 9.4mm thick.

It also weighs only 308 grams, making it significantly lighter than iPad 3, which weighs 652 g.

Display:

iPad mini comes with a 7.9-inch display with 1024x768 resolution, not that much smaller than the full-sized iPad's 9.7-inch display. As expected, the smaller iPad doesn't come with Retina Display. It comes with a pixel density of 163 ppi, the same pixel density as the original iPhone.

It has the same resolution as the iPad 2, so you will be able to use all the apps that are available for the original and 2nd generation iPad.

Processor:

iPad mini is powered by the dual-core A5 chip, which powers iPad 2 and the fifth generation iPod touch and not iPad 3's A5X chip or iPad 4's A6X chip.

Camera:

iPad mini comes with front and back facing camera. The back-facing iSight camera is a 5-megapixel camera and the front-facing FaceTime camera is an HD camera, which will allow users to take 1.2-megapixel photos and record 720p HD videos.

Battery Life:

iPad mini comes with the same battery life as the full-sized iPad, which is amazing. It offers up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music.

Ultrafast Wireless:

iPad mini will also support 4G LTE networks around the world. It also supports HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA. It can also connect to Wi-Fi networks on 2.4ghz and 5ghz on 802.11n.

Lightning Connector:

As expected, iPad mini comes with Apple's new Lightning connector like the iPhone 5, 5th generation iPod touch and 7th generation iPod nano.

Siri:

iPad mini comes with Siri - Apple's personal assistant feature.

Storage Capacities:

iPad mini will be available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB storage capacities.

Colors:

It will be available in two colors: Black & Slate and White & Silver.

Pricing:

iPad mini will be available for $329 for the 16GB model, $429 for the 32GB model and $529 for the 64GB model.

Apple is also offering 4G LTE versions of the iPad for a premium of $130.

Availability:

It will be available for pre-order on Friday, October 26th in the US, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK.