Apple is widely speculated to be announcing the new iPad Mini on Oct. 17 and could be hitting stores as soon as Friday Nov. 2 just ahead of the holiday shopping, according to a "major Apple investor."
The Wall Street Journal is reporting Asian suppliers have begun mass production of the tech giant's smaller tablet, citing executives at companies that make components for the devices.
The iPad mini will be unveiled on Wednesday, Oct. 17, with a launch day of Friday Nov. 2, according to the report. The smaller tablet will feature a 7.85 inch screen, a little bit smaller than Apple's 9.7 inch screen on the current iPad model.
Apple has increased competition in the tablet market since it first rolled out the iPad. Google launched its Nexus 7, which features a 7-inch screen in July and retails for $199. Meanwhile, Amazon introduced its latest version of the Kindle Fire HD in September for $159. Amazon's new tablet is offered in 8.9-inch and 7-inch models.
The iPad Mini will be slightly larger than that on the Kindle Fire or NOOK HD and would cost significantly less than the full-fledged iPad. Analysts think it will be price-tagged at somewhere between $250 and $350.
A Ukrainian iPhone blog has also claimed to have leaked parts to the iPad Mini, with some new details. In the photo, you can see that the iPad Mini has an anodized black aluminum backplate.
In terms of display, the WSJ reports that the iPad Mini will have a "lower resolution" than the most recent full-sized iPad, which implies no retina display. Apple first introduced the Retina Display with the iPhone 4 in 2010. The iPhone 4, 4S, and 5 all have screens with resolutions higher than 320 pixels per inch, which is dense enough that spotting individual pixels is difficult. The result is that images look crisp and text is clear.
