The iPad Mini has yet to be announced but we’ve already got an estimated arrival date: November 2 2012.
Yesterday Apple sent out invites to a special event for October 23rd. This leaves a ten-day span between both events, which is on par with most Apple unveilings. We won’t find out the official date, or details until the official unveiling.
In the meantime, we can further speculate what to expect from the iPad Mini. It’s reported that this tablet will measure seven inches, have front and rear cameras, and a lightening connector. Obviously, Apple won’t design the smaller iPad to replace the larger version, so we know this device will lack some key features. It’s speculated that those key features could be 4G LTE or 3G.
It’s also predicted that Apple will unveil a 13 inch MacBook Pro on the same day the iPad Mini is unveiled. Thanks to a fresh new crop of products including the iPhone 5 and range of iPods, this could be a huge holiday season for Apple. Although we don’t have any holiday sale predictions yet for Apple, I think it’s safe to say that this could be their best quarter yet.
Apple isn’t the only tech company releasing a new tablet computer for the upcoming holiday season. Microsoft is gearing up for the release of their line of Surface tablets, which includes two different versions: Windows RT and Windows Pro. Both tablets feature front facing cameras, full HD display, and a multi-touch screen. Windows Surface Tablet starts at $499, which makes it competitively priced with the large iPad. Amazon and Barnes & Noble also recently released updated versions of their popular tablet computers. Both tablets are budget-friendly and feature the Android operating system. The iPad Mini is poised to compete with Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble’s Nook.
