Apple has at last unveiled the long-awaited (at least among tech watchers) iPad mini, which is 23 per cent smaller – a 7.9-inch display – and 53 per cent lighter – at 308 grams – than the third generation iPad.

The crowd watching the live event were more surprised to hear the announcement of the iPad 4, just six months after the previous version. It has an A6X chip – making it twice as fast – and is fully compatible with the iPhone 5. It also comes with an SD card reader, as well as HDMI and VGA connectors.

“iPad mini features the same number of pixels as the original iPad and iPad 2, so you can run more than 275,000 apps designed specifically for iPad,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing.

The screen resolution is 1024 x 768 pixels, the same as the iPad 2, and a quarter of the resolution of the iPad 3. It comes in black with a slate back or white with silver. Both the new devices will last for 10 hours and come with the Lightning connectors that debuted on the iPhone 5.

“It is as thin as a pencil and as light as a pad of paper, yet packs a fast A5 chip, FaceTime HD and 5 megapixel iSight cameras and ultrafast wireless – all while delivering up to 10 hours of battery life,” said Schiller.

Pricing

The iPad mini with Wi-Fi models will be available from 2 November, for a suggested retail price of £269 for the 16GB model, £349 for the 32GB model, and £429 for the 64GB model. The SIM-equipped versions will go on sale a couple of weeks later, with a £100 premium over the corresponding wi-fi-only model.

The fourth generation iPad with Wi-fi models will also go on sale on 2 November in black or white, for a suggested retail price of £399 (16GB), £479 (32GB), and £559 (64GB). Similarly, the SIM-equipped versions will sell for £100 more, and will be available a couple of weeks later.

Customers can begin pre-ordering all models of iPad mini and all models of the fourth generation iPad from 26 October through the Apple Online Store in 26 countries.

The industry responds

Fred Huet, MD at Greenwich Consulting, believes the launch of the iPad mini could prove to be a pivotal moment in disrupting the 7-inch media tablet space, an area that Android vendors have largely operated in alone, up until this point. He said: “While mini in size, this device is set to throw one almighty punch in the direction of all competitors, who have for so long now had a torrid time competing against the 10-inch iPad. The iPad mini is a clear warning shot to all competitors that the world’s most valuable company is not willing to share any of its 70 per cent market share in the tablet industry, at least not without a strong fight.”

Julien Blin, directing analyst of consumer electronics and mobile broadband at Infonetics, said: “Back in 2010, Steve Jobs famously said the 7-inch Android tabs will be dead on arrival and he did not believe in this market. [Apple CEO Tim] Cook likely wants to mark the beginning of the post-Steve Jobs era through the launch of the mini iPad.

“Most importantly, the mini iPad is likely to force select OEMs to exit the tablet market in the coming years, as we expect Apple to drop the price of the iPad1 to $200 next year.

“The mini iPad will also be a significant driver for Apple to further gain traction in the education sector, where it has already sold 2m tablets. In 2013, we expect a war between Apple and Amazon for domination in the education market.”

Weighing up

Cook said at the event that 2,500 schools in the US were already using iPads. 80 per cent of the US core curriculum is already live with iBooks Textbooks, and iBooks author, a free download, has been improved for custom textbook production.

Schiller made a direct comparison with the Nexus 7, Googles own 7-inch tablet, saying it uses plastic, is thicker and heavier, even though the iPad mini has 35 per cent more screen. Which his audience on Twitter didnt find very Apple-like…

But when the company has sold 100m new products in a newly created market in just two and a half years, I dont think theyd be too bothered.