iPad mini - page 24

Starting November 2nd, Apple fans will finally be able to buy themselves an iPad mini, Apple’s diminutive new 7.9-inch tablet with an A5 chip, a 1024 x 768 display, a 5MP camera and that comes in the usual flavors of between 16 and 64 gigabytes and in white or black.

So which iPad mini is right for you?

We’ll make it easy for you. Across the board, for almost everyone, the cheapest iPad mini — the $329 Wi-Fi only model in black — is the one most worth considering. There are some exceptions worth considering though. Here’s why.

Apple has just released iOS 6.0.1 for all compatible devices (including the new fourth-generation iPad and iPad mini). Right now, you can get it using the direct download links below, or OTA using Software Update on your iOS device (if you have an iPhone 5, you will have to update your Software Update first by going to General > Software Update, which will install a new Software Update app to your homescreen).

The change log isn’t online yet, but will eventually be here. Improvements include numerous bug fixes, including an issue that prevents the iPhone 5 from updating itself over-the-air, a bug where horizontal lines are shown on the keyboard, sporadic issues with camera flashes, improvements with Wi-Fi reliability for iPhone 5 and 2012 iPod touch, and more.

The changelog and direct download links can be found below:

Although Hurricane Sandy passed through the Northeastern United States on Monday, the aftermath is still being felt three days later. Not only is New York City still flooded and thousands still without power and electricity in many states, but FedEx and UPS are still experiencing disruptions to their delivery services.

What does this mean? If you live in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, D.C., or West VirginiaJersey, there’s a chance your iPad mini preorder won’t get delivered to you tomorrow. And if you live in New York or New Jersey? It’s pretty much a certainty you won’t get it.

Apple is going to sell a holy-crap-ton of iPad minis at Apple Stores everywhere tomorrow, except in New York City. After getting ravaged by hurricane Sandy, NYC is still trying to recover from the damage the storm has inflicted on them, and many people won’t be able to make it to the Apple Store for the launch.

The damage from hurricane Sandy will probably mean that the iPad mini launch at the 5th Avenue Apple Store will be much more subdued than past launches. 

So you didn’t pre-order your iPad mini, huh? It’s ok. Even though online orders aren’t shipping for 2 – 3 weeks now you can still get an iPad mini tomorrow if you gear up and go brave the launch line

Yes, it’s a huge time investment, and no one really wants to sit outside an Apple Store for a couple of hours before the break of dawn, but we’re here to help you make the most of your iPad mini launch line waiting experience. In fact, this could even be a lot of fun. Just follow this guide and you’ll be in and out of the store and cradling your iPad mini in no time.

This is odd: when you receive your iPad mini, a stated software requirement listed on the box is that you will have a PC with iTunes 11 installed.

The only problem? While iTunes 11 was originally slated for an October release, it’s now been pushed back to November.

It’s not a big deal: if you plug in an iPad mini into the latest version of iTunes, it works just fine, albeit without an iPad mini icon. To me, that implies that we’ll probably see a small update to iTunes drop later today.

Source: iGen

Path, the popular “personal network” exclusive to smartphones and tablets, has today made its debut on the iPad. With a new interface designed to take full advantage of the iPad’s larger display, Path for iPad “allows for larger moments” and lets you see more of your family and friends on one screen.

It turns out that the iPad Mini is the first Apple mobile device to ship with stereo speakers. Although Apple’s product page only mentions a “built-in speaker,” the two grilles on the new iPad’s bottom edge do in fact contain separate stereo speakers.

With the official launch of the iPad mini fast approaching this Friday, Amazon put an anti-iPad mini ad on their homepage praising the specs of the Kindle Fire HD against those found in the iPad mini.

The Kindle Fire HD is undoubtedly cheaper, and a good buy, but the move seemed a bit uncharacteristic of Amazon, who usually doesn’t engage in product comparisons. Amazon has since pulled the ad and it’s nowhere to be found on their website.

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The iPad mini is slated for release on Friday, and reactions are mixed: some see it as the device that finally takes the iPad line to iPhone-like mainstream popularity, while others see it as a shrunken down iPad 2 that can’t really compete with the competition in either specs or price.

So which will it be? To help predict, it might help to go back to the first “mini” sized iDevice Apple released: the iPod mini. Before that, there was just the iPod, shipping 1.5 million in a year. In 2004? The iPod mini helped increase the number of iPods sold by five times as many.

Even though the news that Apple fired Scott Forstall and John Browett was released on Monday, investors didn’t have an opportunity to react to the new changes in management thanks the the stock markets being closed due to hurricane Sandy.

The markets opened today for the first time all week and investors showed that they’re not feeling incredibly optimistic about Apple right now. Apple’s stock price dropped about 2.4% and was trading at $589.60 this morning, which is the lowest price the stock has seen since July.

The Kindle Fire/Fire HD and Nexus 7 have given birth to a small, yet powerful, sub-category of affordable 7-inch tablets. One that has been slowly eating away at a market that has been dominated by the much larger Apple iPad. To battle this growing trend, Apple decided to break down — after vowing to never to make a 7-inch tablet — and create a smaller version of their highly successful iPad line. Apple’s iPad Mini may not be a 7-inch tablet (it’s 7.9-inches), but it’s clear Apple’s intentions are to disrupt the sales of those pesky 7-inch competitors out there who keep chipping away at their market share.

If you preordered an iPad mini directly from Apple.com, you have probably noticed that you have yet to receive a shipping confirmation from Apple… and it’s getting close to the wire.

Considering the fact that Apple is guaranteeing a Friday, November 2nd delivery for initial preorders, and that Apple usually ships out new products directly from the factories in China, that might have you concerned.

There’s no reason to panic. Your iPad mini has, in all likelihood, already shipped, and is right now sitting in a delivery center in the United States, just waiting for Apple to give the okay to have it delivered to your door.

Here’s how to check on your iPad mini, even if Apple hasn’t sent you a shipping reference yet.

Every launch of a new Apple product, some lucky S.O.B. slips through Apple’s steadfast delivery net and gets their new gadget early.

This time, that S.O.B. is a customer in France who ordered his white iPad mini from French reseller Darty, and received his shipment today.

During its iPad mini unveiling last week, Apple showed off an awesome video from the iPhone 5 launch day on September 22. The clip featured an uplifting soundtrack by The Rival, and lots of happy customers who had just picked up Apple’s latest smartphone.

If you didn’t see it during the keynote, you can now watch it online; Apple’s posted the video to the iPhone 5 page of its website, but you can see it below.

iPad mini reviews are upon us. Apple’s embargo recently lifted and handpicked publications have exposed their early reviews for all to see. Apple has already sold out of initial pre-order stock, and the company’s smallest tablet will be available in limited supply at retail stores this weekend. The mini is expected to rock Apple’s bottom line this holiday season, and reviewers are gushing about how the bar has been set higher for the rest of the tablet market (again).

We’ve scoured the internet to find early reviews of the iPad mini, and they have been collected below for your viewing pleasure. Cult of Mac’s official review will be published soon.

The first iPad Mini and iPad 4 new iPad pre-orders are set to arrive in customers’ homes on November 2, but Apple has posted the official firmware for both the iPad Mini and its larger brethren early.

It stuck around for more than four days, but the initial supply of Apple’s fourth-generation iPad has now sold out, causing shipping delays for the device to increase to one week across the U.S. and international stores. The delay applies to both the black and white models, regardless of which storage option you choose.

Shortly before unveiling the iPad mini last week, Apple announced a new fourth-generation iPad — just 7 months after it released the third-generation iPad. In addition to an improved FaceTime camera, faster Wi-Fi, and Apple’s new Lightning connector, the device comes with the latest A6X processor. But is it a worthy upgrade over its predecessor?

Well, if performance is important to you, then yes, it is.

Today, Google announced two new Nexus tablets — the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 — which will go head-to-head with more established competitors like the iPad, the iPad mini and the Kindle Fire HD. But how do they stack up?

Despite apparently record sales of the 7-inch Kindle Fire the day after Apple debuted the iPad mini, Amazon is taking to the low-road in order to direct shoppers on its website away from Cupertino’s new mini-sized tablet.

How? They’ve posted a comparison chart to the front page of Amazon.com showing how the Kindle Fire HD and iPad mini stack up, spec-for-spec.

We’re surprised it has taken this long. When the iPad mini initially became available for preorder on Friday morning, it took just twenty minutes for the white iPad mini + Wi-Fi to sell out, but the other models (especially the black) continued to be available for November 2nd delivery.

Apple doesn’t keep new products in stop indefinitely, though. As of this morning, the iPad mini doesn’t ship for another two weeks if you preorder it today. Still, it’s amazing it took this long for Apple to sell out of the much anticipated new product: either Apple made plenty of them ahead of time, or demand for the mini isn’t yet quite what it is for the iPhone or iPad.

Source: Apple Store

Microsoft’s new Surface RT tablet made its debut today, just three days after Apple announced the new fourth-generation iPad and iPad mini. If you’re not completely dedicated to iOS, you’re probably having a hard time decided which tablet to go for.

To help you make your decision, we’ve put together a handy chart that compares the Surface RT with some of the most popular tablets on sale right now, including the new iPads, the Amazon Kindle Fire HD, the Google Nexus 7, and more.

While the iPad mini looks like a terrific little tablet, that’s sure to make millions for Apple, we’ve learned over the past few days that some people are unhappy with its price tag. Thanks to the rumors, the majority of us expected the device to be priced around $249. But as it turns out, it’s $80 more than that.

According to Microsoft’s Windows boss, Steven Sinofsky, that’s a lot to pay for a “recreational tablet” when you can get a new Windows 8 laptop for $279.

When Apple began accepting pre-orders for the iPad mini at 12 a.m. Pacific, I visited the store a few times to see how quickly it sold out. I didn’t buy one; I have a third-generation iPad and decided I don’t need another one. But I was curious.

To my surprise, at 12:03 a.m. Pacific, the white iPad mini had already sold out in the United Kingdom. Only the black model was available for November 2 delivery. And just over ten minutes later, it was a similar story for Apple’s U.S. online store.