Apple's iPad Mini may only be available in a Wi-Fi version, according to industry sources that spoke to the Guardian newspaper.
The Guardian cites unnamed industry sources that say will be Wi-Fi only. These are the same sources that talked about a revised 4G LTE iPad for the UK's Everything Everywhere network. Though it may seem like an odd decision, the omission of 3G or 4G makes sense if Apple is seriously considering launching a device into the more affordable segment of the tablet market. After all, Google's Nexus 7 was launched as a cheap-as-chips competitor to Amazon's Kindle Fire, and it was WiFi-only, too.
October 17 is the alleged date the iPad Mini will be announced, with the device's production commencing in preparation for a fourth quarter release.
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Zak Islam is a freelance writer focusing on security, networking, and general computing. His work also appears at Digital Trends and Tom's Guide.
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kawininjazx UVB076Don't we already have that? Isn't it called a "iPod Touch"?Reply
It's an iPod Touch XL -
guess who Does not make sense at all. More portable but worse connectivity? Should be the other way around.Reply -
rebel1280 hmm not sure how i feel about this... on a side note, any news on W8 7 or 8 inch tablet?Reply -
teh_chem I wouldn't be surprised if this were a wifi-only device. I think a lot of people are turned off of "large" tablets, but are okay sacrificing if they get a data connection. Offering a "fully loaded" mini ipad could potentially cannibalize their standard (and more pricey) ipad sales.Reply
I'm sincerely interested in how this (alleged) device is going to fit into Apple's device and price-point logistics. Joking aside, this does sound just like a large ipod touch. But being that the large ipads start at $499, and the ipod touch starts at $299 (and capping out at $399), there doesn't seem to be a huge price-point gap in their lineup where the 7" ipad makes a whole lot of sense. -
UVB076 To be honest, they should do it like the original iPad, a wifi only model and a 4G model.Reply