This years special iPad event ‘finally’ put all rumours and speculations at rest as Apple announced second gen iPad mini with Retina Display.

Apple entered into a new product category with a smaller version of the full size tablet. The purpose of iPad mini was to make the device even more portable. It was aimed at those of us who want to hold the device for long hours to read books, browse the web and want something that fits in a small bag without adding any extra weight. In 2012 when all iOS devices were already supporting high resolution display Apple announced iPad mini with the same resolution as iPad 2 with 1024×768 pixels.

Since its introduction many started speculating that the next gen 7.9 inch tablet will certainly feature retina display. However, some reports and bloggers expressed concerns about battery and weight of the device. John Gruber of Daring Fireball also remained sceptical about iPad mini going retina in 2013 and said, “we demand magic — a retina iPad Mini with no decrease in battery life, but no increase in thickness, weight, or price. And they need to produce at least 20 million of them by Christmas. Something has to give.”

Apple has made iPad mini with retina display a reality this year with the same 10 hour long battery performance. The display features 2048×1536 resolution  which is the same as iPad Air at 326 pixels per inch. With the new retina screen the hardware saw an increase of 0.01 inches in thickness and 23 grams (0.06 pounds) in weight. The fact that the device continues to provide battery for a full days worth of use even with retina certainly makes it worth the negligible thickness and weight.

iPad mini with retina display also features the 64-bit A7 chip and M7 coprocessor introduced in the iPhone 5s. This boost the performance of the new tablet upto 4 times in CPU and upto 8 times in GPU performance.

The 5MP rear camera and 1.2MP FaceTime HD camera remain the same even in the new model. Apple has added support for even more LTE bands in this new device and also delivers twice the Wi-Fi performance than before.

If reading and browsing the web are the primary tasks that you use the iPad mini for, then upgrading to the latest model is certainly worth considering. High resolution screen makes the text crisp without any fuzziness and each pixel in the photos deliver fantastic detail.

Apple will continue to sell the original iPad mini with 16GB storage at $299 for the WiFi and $429 for WiFi + Cellular. iPad mini with retina display will be available in 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 128GB. The WiFi models start at $399 while cellular version starts at $529 and each model gets $100 expensive for more storage.

Will you be buying the new iPad mini this holiday season? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) began selling its new iPad mini and the 4th generation iPad just last week and has already sold a record three million iPads in three days. According to Apple, this number is double the previous first weekend record of 1.5 million Wi-Fi models sold for the third generation iPad this past March.

Apple noted in the press release for the record announcement that the WiFi+Cellular versions of the iPad mini and the 4th generation iPad would be available in several weeks, in the US and numerous other countries. Apple CEO Tim Cook seemed optimistic about the new iPad mini and commented on the sale of the iPad mini and fourth generation iPad.

Customers around the world love the new iPad mini and fourth generation iPad. We set a new launch weekend record and practically sold out of iPad minis. We’re working hard to build more quickly to meet the incredible demand.

The iPad mini, with a new 7.9 inch screen, FsceTime HD camera and LTE wireless is setting up to be a big hit for Apple in the market, and the company will likely continue to sell more in volume as the holiday season approaches. Apple retail stores and the online store have been trying to keep up with demand for the iPad mini for the past several days, and will likely continue to sell them in record numbers for several months until the demand evens with the supply.

{Via Apple PR}

On Tuesday, alongside the announcement of the new iPad mini and the 4th generation iPad, Apple Inc. (AAPL) also went ahead to introduce a thinner, lighter 13 inch MacBook Pro with a Retina Display. The new MacBook Pro is only 0.75 inches and 3.57 pounds in weight, making nearly 20% thinner than its predecessor and about a pound lighter and also has a FaceTime HD camera, dual microphones, improved speakers, faster 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and a MagSafe 2 charging port.

With the newest addition to the MacBook lineup, AAPL has made nearly all of its products into portable machines. The 13 inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display does not have an optical drive as with most of Apple’s Mac products, and instead sports a slimmer form factor with a Retina Display that has 227 pixels per inch and flash storage that is faster upon startup.

With the transition to flash storage, Apple can produce thinner and lighter machines that start up and run programs much faster than the last generation. The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is now one of Apple’s base models, with a 2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of memory and 128GB of flash storage starting at only US$1,699. Users then have the option to configure their machines with 256GB of flash storage coming in at US$1,999.

The 13 inch and 15 inch MacBook Pros with Retina Display are on sale in Apple Stores and online with free shipping.

Are you planning to buy the MacBook Pro with Retina Display? Do you think it is worth the upgrade?

It’s only been 6 months since the introduction of the third generation iPad, and Apple has already introduced a new version of it. On Tuesday, alongside the announcement of the iPad mini, Apple introduced the refreshed iPad, calling it the 4th gen iPad instead.

The 4th generation iPad has been updated with the new Lightning connector currently on the iPhone 5, 4th gen iPod touch, and the new iPad mini as well as a new A6X processor as previously predicted, and FaceTime HD.

Until now, the FaceTime camera on the iPad was the same basic VGA camera that shipped on the iPhone 4, 4S and iPad 2. According to Phil Schiller, SVP of Product Marketing, the 4th generation iPad has expanded LTE support for more carriers around the world as well as faster WiFi speeds, twice as fast as on the third generation iPad.

Pricing for the 4th generation iPad remains the same $499/$599/$699 for the same 16GB/32GB/64GB capacities. WiFi+Cellular versions of the 4th generation iPad also remain the same, coming in at $629/$729/$829 for 16GB/32GB/64GB respectively. The 4th generation iPad will be available in stores and online for sale on November 2nd and is currently available for Pre-Order.

It’s finally here! On Tuesday, Apple introduced the iPad mini during a media event at the California Theatre in San Jose, California. The iPad Mini has been a rumor around the web for several months now, and several weeks prior to announcement, parts began to leak. The iPad Mini is only 7.2-mm thin, down from the full sized iPad’s 9.4 mm and sports a 7.9 inch screen.

This is a drastic reduction from Apple’s full sized iPad, which sports a 9.7 inch Retina Display. The iPad mini, although much lighter and thinner resembles more an iPhone then an iPad and houses the same internals as the 4th generation iPod touch, including the 5MP iSight Camera for images and video, as well as the FaceTime HD camera for video calls, and the A5 chip. 4G LTE will also be available on the Cellular model of the mini.

The iPad mini also has the same resolution as the iPad 2 at 1024 by 768 pixels and weighs only 0.68 pounds, half the weight of a full sized iPad. Even with these lower than full sized specs, Apple is introducing a thinner, lighter, and powerful product to the tablet market, which has recently seen an increase in 6-8 inch devices. Amazon’s Kindle has dominated the e-reader market, and Apple is getting a leg-up by introducing a product that, when paired with iBooks can compete directly.

It is yet unknown whether the iPad mini will cannibalize sales of the iPod touch, which carries the same technical specs and now has a 4 inch screen. The iPad mini is priced at $329, as predicted for a base WiFi model and adds on another $130 for WiFi+Cellular. It will be available for Pe-Order on October 26 and will go on sale on November 02.

{Image Credit: Fox News}

Apple’s next gen iPad rumored to be called “iPad 3″ is expected to receive a 2048×1536 Retina display, a quad-core A6 system-on-a-chip, and possibly 4G LTE networking. Apple is consistently changing product cycle for the announcement of their next generation products, which was seen during the release of the iPhone 4S and the iPod refresh in 2011.

There have been many conflicting reports as to whether Apple will be retaining the current Apple A5 SoC, or switching to Quad Core A6 chip, which is almost double the power and would be able to handle a significant amount of usage and provide more RAM for applications.

Another interesting move by Apple could be 4G LTE networking, which is most notably available on Verizon and AT&T’s networks, which would allow the iPad to surf, download and upload at significantly faster than the current 3G speeds. However, many reports also deny that Apple will make the change to 4G LTE, with the high speed network still being in infancy and still being tested. It would be very un-Apple like to move to 4G LTE, which is a very risky move as it hasn’t been available for too long, making it very likely that Apple won’t be moving to LTE networks until the iPhone 5 at least.

As for the iPad 3’s cameras, rumors from iLounge suggest that Apple is looking to include a 5 or 8 megapixel rear camera and a FaceTime HD front camera. While the 5 megapixel camera seems more realistic for the iPad 3, an HD FaceTime camera seems unlikely.

Speculations of hardware additions for the iPad 3 have been circulating over the past few weeks, suggesting that the device is around the corner. Expect more rumors to surface in the coming weeks and around the first week of March.

As 9to5Mac points out, it’s possible the new feature could come to iPhone 5, iPad 2 and iPod touches in the future although the current iPhone 4 and iPod touches couldn’t provide the resolution needed via their front cameras.

With Apple set to announce the iPad 2 on the 2nd of March and the new MacBooks possibly even earlier than that, it shouldn’t be too long before we know for sure.

Is HD video enough to help FaceTime? The main complaint levelled at the service at the moment is the inability to make FaceTime calls over 3G, and it’s debatable as to whether any video calling will take off until that limitation is removed.

Still, everyone likes those two magical (and revolutionary) letters: HD!