Apple Showcases iPad Mini ... And More

Here It Is

In its eagerly anticipated "OCTOBER Surprise" showcase -- where everyone expected the debut of a smaller-sized iPAD, APPLE presented quite a bit more. True, it did unveil the iPAD Mini. But at the same time, they also announced a surprised fourth generation fill-sized iPAD and a new line if iMACs.

As for the iPAD Mini, it'll come in black and white, weigh .68 pounds (half as light as a latest iPAD), and is 7.2mm thick, which is one-fourth thicker -- about as thin as a pencil.

In a presentation held at the CALIFORNIA THEATRE in SAN JOSE, APPLE's PHIL SCHILLER compared the new version to the iPAD 2 -- the iPAD 2 is 9.7 inches, iPAD mini is 7.9, with the exact same resolution: 1,024 x 768.  The .9 inch increase on the diagonal offers 35% more display area, which turns into 49% more content since there are no on-screen controls.

In comparison to the ANDROID, the iPAD Mini has a thinner bezel and metal design, but is thinner and lighter than the NEXUS. Battery life is still 10 hours.

The new Mini comes in five colors, available for SmartCovers, plus a Product RED model. The 16GB is priced at $329, the 32GB Mini is $429, the 64GB for $519, with $130 for each additional LTE connectivity.

iPad 4 In The House, Too

What wasn't expected was APPLE CEO TIM COOK announcing a fourth-generation iPAD just six months after launching iPAD 3. The new version has a twice-as-fast processor, a better camera, the ability to work on more "LTE" wireless data networks around the world and the smaller "Lightning" connector that's now in the IPHONE 5.

The Mini and 4th gen iPAD are up for pre-order on the 26th. WiFi versions ship on NOVEMBER 2nd.

As Well As iMacs And MacBooks...

The first APPLE product showcased was a new 13-inch MACBOOK Pro, which is 20 percent thinner than the previous generation, and a pound lighter. Boasting a 2.5-GHz Intel processor, a high-resolution Retina display with over 4 million pixels, and a solid-state drive rather than a spinning disk, the new PRO will start at $1,700.

The  MAC Mini boasts four USB 3.0 ports, and SD card reader, HDMI and various sizes of GB, with prices ranging from $599 to $999. The Minis and MacBooks are shipping TODAY.

The new iMAC, also thinner with a bevy of improvements, will start at $1,299 -- and starts shipping next month.

You can read a live-blog report on the showcase, courtesy of ENGADGET, here.

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