Apple unveils 7.9 inch iPad Mini at dollar 329

Apple on Tuesday unveiled iPad Mini, a smaller version of the original iPad, with a 7.9-inch touchscreen and Retina display technology, starting at $329.

iPad Mini runs on dual-core A5 processor, FaceTime HD camera and 5MP iSight camera (with1080p recording). This tablet will compete with the likes of Google Nexus 7, SamsungGalaxy Tab 7.7 and Amazon Kindle Fire HD.

The company also refreshed the regular iPad, launched in March this year and made it faster and added the new 8-pin Lightening dock, which was introduced in September with iPhone 5.

The tablet now also runs on a brand new A6X processor, which provides it with twice the CPU and graphics processing capabilities. It can now work on 4G LTE networks and Wi-Fi, and still offers the same 10 hours of promised battery life.

The new iPad Mini runs on iOS 6 and features the 8-pin Lightning dock. Battery back-up of the all-new Apple iPad Mini will be 10 hours, same as that of the full-sized iPad.

According to Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, iPad Mini has 35% extra screen space than routine 7-inch tablets, its current rivals. Since iPad Mini has the same screen resolution, all existing apps for iPad will run smoothly.

Apple is offering the Wi-Fi only iPad Mini in 16, 32 and 64GB capacities at $329, $429 and $519 respectively. For the 4G-compatible versions of the device, users will have to shell out an additional $130 for each variant. iPad mini and ipad 4G will be up for pre-orders on Oct 26. The Wi-Fi versions will start shipping on November 2, while the cellular-enabled models will hit the shelves two weeks later.

Apple also refreshed its computer line-up today by unveiling new versions of iMac, 13-inch MacBook Pro and Mac mini.

Before his death, Apple founder Steve Jobs had in 2010 vehemently opposed the idea of a smaller iteration of the Apple's tablet, though company documents have revealed that he warmed up to the idea later on.

However, 7-inch tablets have done well in the market and gained traction worldwide, specially at lower price points. In India, the market for budget tablets is booming and many companies have 7-inch Android tablets priced at under Rs 10,000.

The launch of iPad Mini indicates that Apple is changing its strategy with respect to lower-priced Android tablets. Samsung tab Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 is the highest priced tablet among the competitors of iPad Mini and costs approximately Rs 28,000, a price point that Apple's small tablet is unlikely to hit. It is positioned in the $350 segment, where the 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 is at present. If Apple maintains this pricing for India, then it would be offering a new, technologically up-to-date product to consumers at a lower price than its bitter rival.

Another challenger for Apple iPad Mini is Google Nexus 7, which is expected to cost less than Rs 20,000 in India. Apple iPad Mini might lose some customers to Google due to its higher pricing, which would put the iPad Mini out of reach of the segment that prefers lower-priced tablets. But with its cutting edge features, the iPad Mini may entice a new segment of buyer that prefers iPad.