Apple iPad Mini Announced, 7.9-inch Display, Dual-core A5 CPU, and iOS 6

Apple’s worst-kept secret ever has finally landed. The iPad Mini was Apple’s answer to the huge success of Amazon Kindle Fire and Google Nexus 7 and to the emerging mid-range tablet market. It has the same resolution and ratio as the iPad 2 so the apps and games will run just fine because it doesn’t need to be resized.

The actual announcement was done yesterday at 1:00AM (Philippine time) and tons of tech geeks stayed awake all night just to witness the unveiling of this smaller iPad. It was pitted against the Nexus 7 and they demonstrated iPad Mini’s 0.9-inch advantage over the Asus and Google tablet collaboration which gives an extra 35% display area. Watch this video about the iPad Mini courtesy of Apple.

http://youtu.be/qL0UlqpfuQc

The iPad Mini is noticeably thin measuring at only 7.2mm and light weight at 0.68 pounds. If you’re expecting that this new iPad Mini will sport the same specifications as the iPad 3, then get ready to read some bad news. The iPad Mini doesn’t possess the “resolutionary” Retina display of the New iPad. However, it inherited the one from the iPad 2 which is not really bad at all.

The processor embedded in is a dual-core A5 unlike the newer chip on the iPhone 5. In terms of battery life, Apple claims that the iPad Mini can last up to 10 hours of usage. Check out the complete specs of iPad Mini below.

Display

• Height:7.87 inches (200 mm)
• Width:5.3 inches (134.7 mm)
• Depth:0.28 inch (7.2 mm)
• Weight:0.68 pound (308 g)

Processor

• Dual-core A5 Processor

RAM

• 512MB RAM

Storage

• 16GB, 32GB, 64GB

Connectivity

Wi-Fi Only

• 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n 2.4GHz and 5GHz)
• Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology

Wi-Fi + Cellular

• Model A1454*
  • GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
  • UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz)
  • LTE (Bands 4 and 17)
• Model A1455*
  • CDMA EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B (800, 1900, 2100 MHz)
  • GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
  • UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz)
  • LTE (Bands 1, 3, 5, 13, 25)
• Data only³
• 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n 2.4GHz and 5GHz)
• Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology

Multimedia Features

Facetime HD Camera

• 1.2MP photos
• 720p HD video
• FaceTime video calling over Wi-Fi or cellular⁴
• Face detection
• Backside illumination
• Tap to control exposure for video or still images
• Photo and video geotagging

iSight Camera

• 5MP photos
• Autofocus
• Face detection
• Backside illumination
• Five-element lens
• Hybrid IR filter
• ƒ/2.4 aperture
• Tap to focus video or still images
• Tap to control exposure for video or still images
• Photo and video geotagging

Video Recording

• 1080p HD video recording
• Video stabilization
• Face detection
• Tap to focus while recording
• Backside illumination

Audio Playback

• Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
• Audio formats supported: AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
• User-configurable maximum volume limit

TV and Video

• AirPlay Mirroring to Apple TV (2nd and 3rd generation) at 720p
• AirPlay video streaming to Apple TV (3rd generation) at up to 1080p and Apple TV (2nd generation) at up to 720p
• Video mirroring and video out support: Up to 720p through Lightning Digital AV Adapter and Lightning to VGA Adapter; video playback up to 1080p (sold separately)
• Video formats supported: H.264 video up to 1080p, 30 frames per second, High Profile level 4.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format

Location

Wi-Fi only

• Wi-Fi
• Digital compass

Wi-Fi + Cellular

• Wi-Fi
• Digital compass
• Assisted GPS and GLONASS
• Cellular

Input and Output

• Lightning connector
• 3.5-mm stereo headphone minijack
• Built-in speaker
• Microphone
• Nano-SIM card tray

Battery and Power Capacity

• Built-in 16.3-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery
• Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music
• Up to 9 hours of surfing the web using cellular data network
• Charging via power adapter or USB to computer system

What’s in the Box?

• iPad mini
• Lightning to USB Cable
• USB Power Adapter

The real asset of the iPad Mini against other affordable tablets is its LTE connectivity. However, since LTE is still on the rise in our country, we cannot enjoy the fast connection just yet. The Wi-Fi plus cellular feature will cost you a huge amount of cash though. I’ve listed their US prices together with the direct conversion to peso (multiplied to Php42, without tax and other fees).

Apple iPad Mini Price in the Philippines

iPad Mini Wi-Fi Only

• $329 – Php13,818
• $429 – Php18,018
• $519 – Php21,798