An in-depth look at iPad mini's display found the 7.9-inch panel to be wanting in many areas where Apple usually excels, such as color gamut, and is surpassed by competing devices from Google and Amazon.
Following the announcement that 3 million units were sold over the launch weekend for the iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad, market watchers reacted positively and said the numbers exceeded their expectations.
Belkin on Monday announced two new accessories designed for Apple's Lightning connector — the first two official third-party accessories designed for the new iDevice port.
Sales of the new iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad reached 3 million total units over their launch weekend, Apple announced on Monday.
A survey of Apple retail stores over the launch weekend of the iPad mini has found that most completely sold out of the device, while the entry-level 16-gigabyte model was the most popular option.
With Apple's initial batch of iPad minis sold out online as well as brick-and-mortar Apple Stores, the company has initiated online reservations for the new tablet that allows interested customers to purchase a unit online for next-day in-store pickup.
In a teardown of Apple's new iPad mini over the weekend, IHS iSuppli analysts found the base 16GB Wi-Fi only model to cost about $188 to build, meaning the device could yield a gross profit margin of 43 percent, depending on variable factors like shipping costs.
An informal drop test performed by a third-party warranty firm found that despite having an extremely thin bezel, Apple's new iPad mini outperformed both Google's Nexus 7 and the third-generation iPad.
Apple's new iPad mini takes the company's blockbuster tablet and reduces it down, giving it a more natural weight and size for carrying around.
As the first iPad mini preorders are being delivered and the tablet hits shelves at brick-and-mortar retailers, shipment forecasts are already being released, with one analyst estimating a total of 850,000 units will go out to consumers over the device's first week of sales.
A repair firm on Friday put the screens of Apple's new iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad under the microscope to illustrate the difference in size between the two tablets' pixels, and expectedly found the 7.9-inch device to fit between the iPad 2 and the Retina display iPad.
Alongside the iPad mini, Apple on Friday introduced the Lightning to micro USB adapter, a tiny dongle first available in Europe, to the U.S. market.
iPad mini buyers surveyed by Piper Jaffray indicate more than half already have an iPad, and three quarters of them plan to keep their full size model alongside their new smaller model.
Friday's launch of the iPad mini has been eagerly awaited by physicians who are particularly excited that the device easily can fit inside a lab coat.
Apple on Friday launched two new iPad models in a total of 34 countries, making it the largest product launch yet for the company.
While not included in the 34 countries participating in the iPad mini launch, Thailand's Online Apple Store has apparently started taking preorders for the device, with ship dates quoted at two weeks.
It was confirmed on Thursday that iPad mini is using the same A5 processor found in the fifth-generation iPod touch, meaning the SoC is built on Samsung's 32nm process first introduced in the refreshed iPad 2 and third-generation Apple TV.
Apple's iPad mini is predicted to be the source of much strife for competing tablet makers during the upcoming holiday shopping season, and one analyst believes the 7.9-inch device will cut into sales of newly-released Windows 8 products.
Apple's iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad are now available in New Zealand, the first country to start sales of the long-awaited 7.9-inch tablet that was unveiled at the end of October.
The iPad mini is forecast to get off to a strong but modest start this weekend with sales of up to 1.5 million units, but over time Apple's 7.9-inch tablet is expected to gain popularity.
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Mikey Campbell
Neil Hughes
Sam Oliver
AppleInsider Staff
Daniel Eran Dilger
Mikey Mikey
