Let the iPad ogling commence

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 20:57:00 +0000

Apple reveals iPad Mini

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 18:38:00 +0000

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Apple Inc. is refusing to stoop to the level of its rivals in the tablet market -- it's pricing its new, smaller iPad well above the competition.

On Tuesday, the company revealed the iPad Mini, with a screen that's about two-thirds the size of the full-size model, and said it will cost $329 and up.

Apple starts taking orders for the new model on Friday, Oct. 26, said marketing chief Phil Schiller at an event in San Jose, Calif. Wi-Fi-only models on Nov. 2. Later, the company will add models capable of accessing "LTE" wireless data networks.

The price fits into the Apple product lineup between the iPad 2 at $399 and the latest version of the iPod touch at $299. But company watchers had been expecting Apple to price the iPad Mini at $250 to $300 to counter the threat of less expensive tablets like Amazon's Kindle Fire, which starts at $159.

Apple shares fell $14.83, or 2.3 percent, to $619.20 when the price was announced. Shares of Amazon.com Inc. were down 12 cents, or less than 0.1 percent, at $233.66 while the rest of the stock market was in retreat.

The iPad mini weighs 0.68 pounds, half as much as the full-size iPad, and is as thin as a pencil, Schiller said.

Salon.com > Tablet

Let the iPad ogling commence

Apple reveals iPad Mini