14 DAY TRIAL // Apple’s web store has been taken down for maintenance ahead of the iPad mini pre-order kickoff. The upgraded fourth-generation iPad will also be available for pre-order starting today.
Earlier this week, Apple confirmed that customers will be able to pre-order all new-generation iPad models starting Friday, October 26 through the Apple online store.
The tablet will be available in the US, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
Customers in all these territories are currently unable to place an order through store.apple.com because of the aforementioned maintenance outage. Apple’s software engineers are now updating the web store’s backend to include new iPad listings, model selectors, and more.
The iPad mini starts at $329 in the US, £269 in the UK, and €329 across the rest of Europe. iPad 4 starts at $499 in the US, which translates into about €385 (but the actual price is higher).
“iPad mini is every inch an iPad. With its gorgeous 7.9-inch display, iPad mini features the same number of pixels as the original iPad and iPad 2, so you can run more than 275,000 apps designed specifically for iPad,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.
“iPad mini is as thin as a pencil and as light as a pad of paper, yet packs a fast A5 chip, FaceTime HD and 5 megapixel iSight cameras and ultrafast wireless―all while delivering up to 10 hours of battery life,” added Schiller.
While the iPad mini uses the A5 dual-core processor originating in the iPad 2, the fourth-generation iPad launched alongside the diminutive tablet packs Apple’s latest A6X chip for screaming performance.
Just like its bigger siblings, iPad mini comes in Wi-Fi and cellular models, and features dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi support for speeds up to 150 Mbps – twice the ones of previous iPad models. The same goes for the iPad 4. Other enhancements can be found in the camera department and connectivity.
Update: store now up and running; pre-orders now available for iPad mini and iPad 4.