(By Balaseshan) Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is gearing up for a special event on October 23 with the invitation quoting "We've got a little more to show you" that is speculated to be the most-anticipated smaller iPad -- dubbed iPad Mini.
According to media reports, the event will be held at the California Theatre in San Jose. It is expected that iPad Mini will make Apple to face 7-inch tablet rivals Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Samsung in the tablet market.
In the recent weeks, rumors about the smaller version of the iPad have gained intensity with the launch of Apple's iPhone 5 last month. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that Apple has started building a smaller iPad with a 7.85-inch LCD display with a possible launch this quarter.
If speculation are to be believed, then iPad Mini will feature a 7.85-inch display at 1024 x 768 pixel resolution and will be a thinner model. According to MacRumors, the smaller iPad will be powered by a different version of the A5 processor, which powers the iPad 2, rather than the A6 chip found in iPhone 5.
Let's take a look at the rumored features of iPad Mini:
Design: Apple, which is best known for its beautiful design, is expected to adopt a teardrop design for iPad Mini that is supposed to be thinner than previous models with an aluminum plate casing. It is speculated that Apple is adopting a uniform design across all of its devices.
Display: iPad Mini is rumored to come with a 7.85-inch HD Retina display at 1024 x 768 pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch. It is also expected to have fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating in the display of the tablet.
Operating System: Apple's iPad 2 comes with iOS 5 and the new iPad comes with iOS 6. It is speculated that iPad Mini might come with the same iOS 6 but market analysts were expecting Apple to introduce a different OS for the iPad Mini. Some tech enthusiasts even anticipated the tech giant to introduce OS X Mountain Lion for the smaller tablet.
Hardware: iPad 2 comes with a A5 chipset while the new iPad comes with a A5X chip. According to MacRumors, iPad Mini may come with a different version of the A5 processor rather than the A6 chip found in iPhone 5. It is also rumored that Apple may come out with a new A6X chipset for the iPad Mini.
Camera: iPad 2 has 0.7 megapixel camera with 720-pixel video capture capabilities, while the new iPad comes with a 5 megapixel camera with 1080p video capture. Both the tablets have a secondary VGA camera for video chat. It is speculated that iPad Mini will come with a 5 megapixel camera with 1080p video capture and a 2 megapixel front-facing one.
Connector: Similar to iPhone 5, iPad Mini is also speculated to come with lightning connector which replaced the 30-pin connector.
Siri: iPad Mini is speculated to come with the latest voice command technology, Siri, but with an upgraded version. Siri is a voice-command intelligent personal assistant that helps a user get things done just by asking. It is also predicted that the upgraded version will have additional languages too.
Pricing: According to a leaked screenshot of an inventory system containing the various sizes and prices of iPad Mini, the base price starts at $249 for the 8GB WiFi version and the most expensive model -- 64GB version -- is priced $649. It is also speculated that iPad Mini will come in 8 different versions.
AAPL is trading up 2.24% at $648.98 on Tuesday. The stock has been trading between $363.32 and $705.07 for the past 52 weeks.