14 DAY TRIAL // A well-connected Apple investor is telling Fortune that Tim Cook & Co are preparing to send out the invitations to the company’s second fall event this year, for the unveiling of the much-hyped iPad mini.
Apple this year is widely expected to unveil a new version of the iPad boasting a 7.85-inch display and a smaller overall form factor. The tablet would mostly be made up of iPad 2 parts, allowing Apple to save millions on manufacturing costs.
The screen resolution is said to be identical to that of the iPad 2, with the actual graphical output being sharper thanks to smaller pixels.
Priced attractively, the tablet would act as the final nail in the coffin for competing companies struggling to take home a piece of the pie from the tablet marketplace.
Multiple sources are now telling a “major Apple investor” that “The press […] can expect invitations to go out on Oct. 10,” according to Fortune.
Should the rumor hold water, Apple pundit Philip Elmer-DeWitt calculates that the event should go down no later than October 17, which would put it in a position to launch the device physically on Friday, November 2nd.
The reasoning here is to have enough time for customers to buy the tablet to put it under the tree.
Countless iPad mini mockups have emerged on the Internet in the past few months, the latest of which seeming to confirm an aluminum enclosure and a less tapered design compared to the iPad 2 and third-generation iPad.
The tablet reportedly also has a camera built in, and the new mini dock connector introduced with the iPhone 5.
According to one photograph floating around the web, the mini tablet also borrows the speaker grills from the iPhone 5.
Geared towards media consumption, the iPad mini would actually go against Apple’s initial plan with the tablet business, because of the reduced screen size.
