According to a report from the generally-reliable 9to5Mac, the entry-level model of the upcoming iPad Mini will cost $329. Given the purported specification of the device, the price point was always going to be dramatically lower than that of the main iPad, and although it’s not as cheap as the Nexus 7, it’s still, one suspects, cheap enough to potentially command huge sales.
Recent evidence suggests there will be twelve models in total available, in two different colors (presumably black and white). Of the twelve models, there will be four different storage quotas (8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB), which leaves three variations of each capacity. Of those variations, we’re seeing GOOD, BETTER and BEST, and having seen this kind of thing before, it’s looking as though the descriptions point to the Wi-Fi, 3G, and 4G LTE models respectively.
The cellular version is priced significantly higher than its Wi-Fi counterpart, and with the iPad Mini said to be a very education-focused device, it’s likely the Wi-Fi iteration will sell in considerably higher numbers as students congregate around their school’s hotspots. Moreover, with the iPhone – and most other smartphones – offering some form of tethering option, more and more folk are simply sharing their handset’s cellular connection for tablet connectivity on the fly.
Although we certainly cannot take the prices as certain at this point – particularly remembering this is an Apple product – sources independent of 9to5Mac’s have also indicated the slate would begin in the $300 to $330 price bracket. As we discovered a few days back, German retail outlet Media Markt’s internal systems pointed to a €249 pricing of the 8GB Wi-Fi model, which at the current exchange rate, works out at around $323.
The iPad Mini is almost certain to be announced by Apple next week, on October 23rd with a retail date following some ten days later on November 2nd. Aside from details already mentioned, it’s expected to pack in Apple’s A5, dual-core processor, and will also feature the redesigned nano-SIM tray (for the cellular models only, of course), and the scaled-down Lightning dock.
Perhaps, this time around, Apple will also include a dock adapted to the new, proprietary dock connection – as opposed to leaving consumers to make their own.
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