iPad Mini: What we expect

Ben Uzor Jr

Will a new, smaller iPad make its debut this fall? If it does, here’s what we think it’ll have. There have been rumours of a smaller 7-inch iPad since...well, since there was an iPad. The iPad Mini, as it’s being called lately, initially seemed to some like a silly idea:

why would you need a smaller iPad? It’s actually a logical idea: make an iPad even more portable and more affordable than before. The only question is...when will such a product finally exist?

On September 12, there was a new iPhone. There may or may not be an iPad Mini. Either way, here’s what we expect from this more mythical but increasingly likely piece of Apple hardware.

A 7-inch screen with the same aspect ratio and screen resolution as the iPad 2

Rumours say the iPad Mini could end up having a 7.8-inch display, making for a larger tablet than other 7-inchers. The iPad Mini needs to run iPad apps seamlessly out of the box, and keeping to the iPad 2’s 1024 x 768 resolution makes the most sense. Depending on the screen size, it shouldn’t interfere with the ability to easily use apps. The third-gen iPad’s 2,048 x 1,536 Retina Display is likely to be the key difference between it and the Mini, similar to the difference between the Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD.

A smaller bezel
A smaller tablet wouldn’t necessarily require the same-size bezel to hold it. Mock-ups and rumours (hardly anything to hang your hat on) suggest a more iPod Touch-like design. The best reference would be other 7-inch tablets, which don’t have extra-large bezels.

A fall debut...but after the iPhone 5
Expectations are sky-high for a fall launch of the iPad Mini. My own personal feeling is that yearly iPad debuts make the most sense, but various new iPod lines were launched mid-year and off-schedule in the past. An October launch after iPhone 5 madness has settled is most likely, and would be good timing going up against the October 26 debut of Windows 8.

An affordable price
$299 seems like the perfect target for a smaller iPad. That price would compete directly against tablets like the Kindle Fire HD and Google Nexus 7. It would be more expensive, but less than the $399 price of a 16GB iPad 2. In standard Apple pricing math, expect the price of the highest-configured iPad Mini to come close or overlap with the price of the third-gen iPad.

A camera
The iPod Touch has a camera. The iPhone has a camera. Alleged cases have shown a camera, too. We’d expect rear and front-facing cameras for FaceTime, considering the ever-more-affordable iPhone 4 includes the same.
The absence of a few features seen on the larger iPad

If the iPad Mini were everything the larger iPad was but smaller and less expensive, who would buy the larger iPad? An iPad Mini will have to satisfy a certain audience while maintaining a different feature set, just like the iPod Nano and Mini did with the larger iPod. Storage capacity could be part of that equation: maybe the iPad Mini doesn’t have a 64GB version. Maybe the smaller screen and lack of a higher-res Retina display could be enough. It would be hard to believe that the smaller iPad would lack 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) or 3G wireless, but that’s a possibility.

A smaller dock connector
It makes complete sense that a new, smaller connector port would debut not only on the next iPhone, but on all iOS devices thereafter. This would give the iPad Mini a feature the third-gen iPad lacks, but it makes total sense: a smaller connector port would help the iPad Mini be even more compact.

A use case for the iPad Mini as a second iPad
There’s a question many might ask: why make a smaller iPad? Well, why make a larger Kindle Fire? Why make different iPods? A lower-priced, smaller iPad feels positioned as a secondary iPad, or an iPad best suited for kids. Expect Apple to clearly explain what an iPad Mini is best used for, and why it’s a compelling device in its own right. Will it even be called the iPad Mini? That’s just one of the uncertainties surrounding this mystery device. Stay tuned for more details.

Culled from CNET