First Cellular iPad mini Orders to Arrive November 23

The first customers who opted for the Wi-Fi + Cellular version of the iPad mini are being notified by Apple that their orders will be fulfilled on November 23. Apple’s online store still cites mid-November delivery for orders placed now.

Coincidentally falling on Black Friday, the shopping-spree day following Thanksgiving in the United States, the first iPad mini shipments will arrive on November 23 according to customers speaking to 9to5mac.

Apple’s advertising on store.apple.com still lists Mid November as the estimated shipping date for cellular-capable models, including for the revamped fourth-generation iPad.

The Cupertino giant is facing supply shortages for the 16GB version of its new iPad mini, as reported earlier today. Both the White & Silver and the Black & Slate models have been snagged off Apple’s virtual shelves in less than two days.

iPad mini model A1454 boasts GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz) and LTE bands 4 and 17.

Model A1455 features CDMA EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B (800, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); and LTE bands 1, 3, 5, 13, and 25.

The tablet features a 7.9-inch multi-touch display which, according to Apple, should deliver the same iPad experience users have come to expect in a smaller, more comfortable design.

The display actually has 35 percent more real estate compared to competing 7-inch tablets, and up to 67 percent more usable viewing area for web browsing, Apple’s marketing materials say.

The device is powered by a dual-core A5 chip with advanced graphics and low-power consumption.

According to Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, “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 Schiller on the day Apple introduced the new device to the world.