{"id":24878,"date":"2012-10-23T20:25:29","date_gmt":"2012-10-23T18:25:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=24878"},"modified":"2012-10-24T09:17:18","modified_gmt":"2012-10-24T07:17:18","slug":"ipad-mini-arrives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/hardware\/24878\/ipad-mini-arrives\/","title":{"rendered":"iPad Mini arrives"},"content":{"rendered":"

Apple Inc<\/a> took the wraps off an 8-inch tablet on Tuesday in its biggest product move since the debut of the iPad two years ago, launching a smaller version of the gadget into a market staked out by Amazon.com Inc<\/a> and Google Inc<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The 7.9 inch “iPad mini” marks Apple’s first foray into the smaller-tablet segment. Apple also announced a fourth-generation full-sized iPad with improvements in graphics and processing speeds, just two days before Microsoft<\/a> is due to show off its own “Surface” tablet.<\/p>\n

Apple hopes to beat back their charge onto its home turf of consumer electronics hardware, while safeguarding its lead in the larger 10-inch tablet space that even deep-pocketed rivals like Samsung Electronics<\/a> have found tough to penetrate.<\/p>\n

Chief Executive Tim Cook<\/a> kicked off Tuesday’s event, held at the opulent California Theater in San Jose, by touting the just-launched iPhone 5 as the fastest-selling smartphone in history. He added that there are now 200 million devices running iOS<\/a> 6, the fastest upgrade rate he has seen since the mobile software was launched about a month ago.<\/p>\n

Amazon’s Kindle and Google’s Nexus 7 have grabbed a chunk of the lower end of the tablet market and proved demand for a pocket-sized slate exists. That has forced Apple into a space it has avoided and at times derided, analysts say.<\/p>\n

A smaller tablet would mark the first device to be added to Apple’s compact portfolio under Cook, who took over from co-founder Steve Jobs just before his death.<\/p>\n

“Apple sensed early that they had a real winner with the iPad and that has proven to be correct,” said Lars Albright, co-founder of mobile advertising startup SessionM and a former Apple ad executive. “They have a large market share, and to protect that market share they have got to be innovative.”<\/p>\n

In a rarity for a company that tightly controls events, Apple live-streamed its invitation-only presentation – where it is expected to unveil the mini tablet – to Apple devices such as the iPad and Macintosh computers.<\/p>\n

Wall Street analysts have said for months that Apple was planning a less expensive version of the iPad to take on cheaper competing devices, a move they say might hurt its margins but prevent its rivals from dominating an increasingly important segment.<\/p>\n

Related Articles<\/h3>\n

iPad Mini 7.9-inch Apple tablet PC announced<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Apple 13-inch MacBook Pro with retina display<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

iPad 4 with global LTE support<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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