The iPad Mini was unveiled yesterday by Apple, and we learned a lot about the new smaller iPad during the course of their special event. For starters, we learned that while it’s substantially smaller than the standard iPad it’s also quite a bit bigger than some of the currently popular small tablets on the market. It offers a nearly 8 inch display (7.9 inches) as opposed to the 7 inch screens of the Kindle Fire and Google Nexus 7 devices, and Apple says that gives it a 35% larger total screen size when totaling up square inches.

We also learned that the iPad Mini will have a non-retina 1024X768 display, and it has an overall set of specs that matches and in several places beats those of the iPad 2, it has expanded LTE coverage for its WiFi + cellular models, the same great iPad battery life as its bigger siblings, and Apple’s new Lightning cable, among other notable features.

It also boast two other significant features that have been much less talked about so far – one that is already established and very effective and one brand new one which will hopefully be as good as Apple says it is.

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Along with its unveiling of the iPad Mini today, Apple announced details for when the smaller iPad will be available to purchase. The important points and dates to note if you’re in the market for an iPad Mini are these:

— Pre-orders start on October 26. Generally with big Apple releases this means that pre-orders will begin at midnight Pacific time on that date – and if this new smaller iPad proves anywhere near as popular as previous models you can expect Apple’s online servers to be slammed and pre-orders to sell out relatively quickly.

— The iPad Mini launch day, when it will be available to buy at Apple stores and other approved outlets, is November 2 – for the iPad Mini WiFi models. November 2 is the release day in 34 countries: the US, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

— The iPad Mini WiFi + cellular models are expected to be released around two weeks later.

— The base level 16GB WiFi only iPad Mini is priced at $329. Models go up $100 for each doubling up of storage capacity (so $429 for the 32GB WiFi only for example) and $130 for the addition of cellular capability. See my earlier post for full iPad Mini pricing details.

Image Source: The Verge

One of the key points Apple is emphasizing about the iPad Mini is that it’s still ‘every inch an iPad’ – in fact that’s the strapline on the Apple product page for the new smaller iPad. In the Features section for the iPad Mini there’s another similar tagline:

At their event today and throughout the iPad Mini product pages, a lot of emphasis is put on how Apple wanted to deliver the smallest possible iPad while still delivering ‘the full iPad experience’. In one of the promo videos shown during the event Sir Johny Ive describes the process as a concentration rather than a reduction – making the case that it is far from just a downsized iPad.

Here are a few of the examples offered up by Apple to back this argument:

— The iPad Mini has a single-cell battery that’s the thinnest ever made by Apple, but it still lasts just as long (10 hours).

— The iSight camera in the iPad Mini is smaller, but still takes 5 megapixel photos and 1080p HD video.

— The iPad Mini has the same 1024X768 display resolution as the iPad 2 – and Apple says it also has 35% more screen area than a 7 inch tablet. Apple also touts the fact that although the screen is smaller it’s ‘even more prominent’ – due to the reduced width of the bezel on two sides of it. And it offers this slick sounding feature that will be important given that reduction in the bezel size:

iPad mini intelligently recognizes whether your thumb is simply resting on the display or whether you’re intentionally interacting with it.

I’m still digesting what I saw and heard at the Apple event earlier and making my way through all the details on the iPad Mini. Lots more to come today and the rest of this week.

Apple has just announced the new iPad Mini. Phil Schiller held it up on stage just a few minutes ago.

As expected, it’s a nearly 8 inch tablet (7.9) – larger than the Kindle Fire or Google’s Nexus 7, but a fair bit smaller than the standard-sized iPad.

It has an XGA 1024X768 display resolution.

Image Source: Gdgt

More soon.