iPad mini shipments pushed back by 2 weeks

At the event hosted by Apple last week, one of the products launched was the iPad mini. Apple announced that the 7.9-inch tablet would be up for pre-order in a range of countries from Friday this week. There is no word on the number of devices sold or pre-ordered. It appears that the shipments of the Wi-Fi version of the iPad mini have already been pushed back by a couple of weeks.

As per a report on Cnet, the author Don Reisinger states, “Apple's store currently lists all iPad Minis with Wi-Fi as shipping in two weeks. Preorders on the tablet kicked off Friday and promised a November 2 shipment. But very quickly, the white iPad Mini showed a two-week delay for new orders. The black models were still available at the time. But now all models are listed as shipping in two weeks.”

The price point is no deterrent for those who pre-ordered

As of now, only the Wi-Fi version is up for pre-order and will be launched in retail stores in the listed countries from Friday, November 2, 2012, and is priced at $329. The iPad mini with Wi-Fi and LTE will be available from the latter half of next month. From the looks of it, the Wi-Fi only version is a success, but we don’t have the number of units shipped in the first lot yet.

The iPad mini has an aluminium and glass design 7.2mm thick, and weighs only 0.68 pounds. As per an official statement by Apple, the iPad mini has 35 percent more screen real estate than 7-inch tablets, and up to 67 percent more usable viewing area when browsing the web. The dual-core A5 chip on the iPad mini allows for responsive graphics and a multi-touch experience that Apple believes to be both, fast and fluid while still providing all-day battery life.

The iPad mini features a front-facing FaceTime HD camera and a 5-megapixel iSight camera at the back, which allows for recording full 1080p HD video. The iSight camera includes video image stabilisation and both cameras feature backside illumination, which Apple claims will allow users to capture great pictures in low light. The iPad mini also allows easy sharing of photos with friends and family using iCloud’s Shared Photo Streams.

The iPad mini features dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi support for speeds up to 150Mbps, which Apple says is twice the Wi-Fi performance compared to previous the iPad models. The iPad mini is available in a Wi-Fi version and a cellular one, which are world-ready with built-in support for most wireless standards, including LTE and DC-HSDPA. The iPad mini data plans will be available sans contract; so users will be only required to sign up and activate service directly from their iPad. Using the Personal Hotspot feature you can share a fast cellular data connection via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or USB with up to five other devices such as the MacBook Pro, the iPod touch or another iPad.

The iPad mini and the fourth generation iPad both feature support for the Lightning connector, which Apple states is smaller, smarter, and more durable than the 30-pin connector. Lightning connector accessories are available to support cameras, SD cards, and VGA or HDMI digital video. Existing iPad Smart Covers and the iPad Smart Case are compatible with the fourth generation iPad, and new polyurethane Smart Covers custom-designed for the iPad mini are available in pink, green, blue, light gray, dark grey, and red for $39.
 
Apple announced that the Wi-Fi model will be available from November 2, for a suggested retail price of $329 for the 16GB model, $429 for the 32GB model, and $529 for the 64GB model in the US. It will be available in two colour options -- black and slate, and white and silver.

As of yet, there is no word on the availability of the iPad mini in India. However, if you are eager to get your hands on a 16GB Wi-Fi only version, then hit the link here to know more.