Hasta La Gadget!

Apple finally seems to be ready to show off a new iPad mini to the world, according to invites it sent out to members of the media today. The invitations are likely for the unveiling of a smaller tablet device, set for announcement on October 23 in San Jose at the California Theater at a 10 AM PT event.

The iPad mini is rumored to have a number of different characteristics, including an aluminum design with two color options like the latest iPhone 5, cellular network connectivity, a display that may not provide true Retina resolution in order to keep costs down, and an estimated delivery date of late October or early November. There are also rumors that Apple will introduce a slightly refreshed full-sized iPad at this event, with a Lightning dock connector and slightly improved specs. Price will be the big wildcard here, for the iPad mini especially: estimates range from as low as $249 to around $399 as a starting price for the new tablet.

Earlier today, we also saw rumors that could indicate a variety of model options for the iPad mini, including different wireless connectivity options or display specs. If Apple does go in for a large number of configuration options, this could be one of the most significant divergences from its existing product launch strategies to date.

Here’s about all we do really know about the iPad mini: It’s smaller (probably around 7.85-inches) – and that’s about it. Apple will go into detail about screen resolution, how it will work for developers, battery life and camera capabilities next week, so stay tuned as we bring you the news live. And look out for news about refreshed Macs, too, including possibly a new 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro and a refreshed iMac design.

Apple has just invited members of the press to attend a product launch on October 23rd, where we assume the long-rumored iPad mini will be unveiled. The event will go down merely weeks after Apple took the wraps off of the iPhone 5 (and strangely enough, the Foo Fighters played their last show for the foreseeable future). It’s quite unlike Apple to throw two product parties in the fall, but if an entirely new iPad is being revealed, it may be a scenario that becomes more familiar in years to come. At this point, we’re left with far more questions than answers: will the iPad mini really ship with a Lightning port, while the Retina iPad — which was only introduced in March — continues to ship with the “old” Dock Connector? Will Apple really continue to refresh its two iPad products at different intervals? Will the (presumed) AT&T iPad mini actually include mobile hotspot functionality?

And while we’re at it, is Apple really going to throw a “one more thing” into the mix by bumping its 13-inch MacBook Pro into Retina territory? After all, tossing “little” into the invite could allude to a smaller iPad and an update to an already-small laptop. We’ll be there to bring you the blow-by-blow as it happens, so feel free to go ahead and take next Tuesday off. We’ll sign the approval form.

Filed under: Laptops, Tablets, Apple

Apple announces ‘Special Event’ for October 23rd — we’ll be there live! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A new Kickstarter project launching today wants to be the first officially licensed iPhone 5 dock, and possibly the last one you’ll ever need for Lightning-bearing. The solid steel Dock+ comes with Lightning support built in, has an application in with Apple’s MFI program and has been engineered from the ground-up to meet Apple’s requirements for its authorized hardware partners. Apple has no plans to ship a dock of its own, so the race to create a definitive third-party solution is on, and Dock+ co-creator David Wurtz believes his product has what it takes.

The Dock+ has a number of benefits over other solutions, according to Wurtz. Unlike the CompleteDock or the newly announced adapter solution for the Elevation Dock, the Dock+ doesn’t just use a pass-through cable solution; instead, it’ll boast its own Lightning connector, so long as it makes it through Apple’s MFI program. That allows it to build a lightning plug that both flexes back and forth for easier removal, and depresses slightly, meaning you can use it with cases and bumpers as well as with a naked iPhone 5.

But other than the clever bit of hardware engineering around the actual Lightning tip itself, Wurtz says the emphasis with Dock+ was always on making something as uncomplicated as possible, without extra ports or features, in order to simplify the manufacturing process and ensure the ability to ramp up to high volume shipments quickly. That’s why Wurtz is very confident they’ll meet their ambitious projected March 2013 ship date – I told him that, in my experience, the Kickstarter project that makes its first projected ship date is very, very rare, but he still seems confident. Really, Wurtz said the main thing that could hold them up would be any hiccups in the MFI approval process.

The Dock+ itself is designed with function as the utmost concern. It’s made of solid steel, and as you can see in the video, that means it won’t budge from the desk or table when you take your iPhone on or off. It also comes in three different colors (natural steel, black and white), and uses readily-available micro USB cables to supply power and syncing, meaning you can fit your own from your existing collection, or choose either a 3- or 6-foot version shipped with the Dock+ itself. Optionally, users can also get a power brick for their wall outlet, or they can supply their own.

Thanks to the shelf design, Wurtz says the Dock+ should work with any changes in hardware design of the iPhone, so long as it retains the lightning connectors (which Apple exec Phil Schiller is here to stay for a while at least). The team has also tested it with the iPad, in the expectation that the next one will have a lightning connector, and it works well. It should also be a perfect fit for the iPad mini, Wurtz says, so long as that device matches the early leaked hardware design.

I never believed I was a dock guy, but it turns out I am, and my time with the iPhone 5 has been sadly dockless so far. Dock+ is a promising new accessory in that regard, and it has a relatively modest goal of $75,000 with 60 days to reach it. Pre-orders start at $49 for early backers, and you can check out the Dock+ in action in the video below.

Welcome back to Monday everyone – we’ve got a heaping helping of news to recap, so let’s dive right in. Today we found out that Apple’s manufacturing partnership with Samsung may not last much longer, and that the Google Nexus 7 might just be the best-selling Android tablet ever (which, given its immense popularity, doesn’t surprise us in the least). One Walmart store has its shelves fully stocked with copies of Windows 8, and this afternoon, we have reason to believe that a new, slimmer iMac may be in the pipeline.

By now, you’ve probably heard plenty of iPad Mini rumors, but today we found out that Apple may reveal a new Mac Mini alongside the bite-sized tablet. Today we saw some pictures that appear to have been snapped by the camera on the yet-unannounced Nexus 4, and Apple has managed to bring former Amazon executive William Stasior on to oversee the continuing development of Siri. Android 4.1.2 was sent out to eager Galaxy Nexus owners today, and just in case you missed Felix Baumgartner’s death-defying jump over the weekend, you can see the highlights again today – complete with terrifying shots from his helmet cam.

LG delivered its Jelly Bean update schedule for a few of its devices today, and speaking of LG, AT&T announced that the Optimus G goes up for pre-order tomorrow with a price tag of $200. We heard that Windows 8 is getting an underwhelming response from vendors today, and Nintendo dropped the price of the original Wii down to just $130 in anticipation of the holiday rush. A new study is claiming that file sharers actually buy more music than people who don’t partake in that rather controversial activity, and Microsoft released a brand new Windows 8 ad today.

Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition players found out that they’re in for a treat tomorrow, while Notch was busy showing off new footage from his upcoming game 0x10c and Microsoft was handing out Xbox Live bans to Halo 4 pirates. Activision announced today that Call of Duty Elite will be free with Black Ops II, and we were told that the Wii U gamepad boasts a latency of only 1/60 of a second. Google is in trouble in Europe over privacy concerns again, and we got to take a look at a new robotic wheelchair that can actually walk up stairs. How cool is that?

Finally tonight, we have quite a few original articles for you to have a look at. Chris Burns puts the Optimus G through its gaming paces with Wild Blood, and we pit Xbox Music, Spotify, iTunes, and Google Music against one another to see the strengths and weaknesses of all four. We’ve got a new review of the Huawei Ascend D1 quad XL by Chris Burns, and a review of the Motorola Electrify 2 by your humble wrapper-upper. That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, enjoy the rest of your night folks!

SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: October 15, 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Rumors around the iPad mini are understandably reaching a fever pitch now that an announcement seems very likely for October 23, and a new one over the weekend claims to have a full breakdown of iPad mini unit pricing. While it seems unlikely that Apple would release pricing info to retail partners ahead of a new product launch, it isn’t entirely unprecedented. But the real question is, how do the rumored prices stack up with Apple’s famed commitment to high profit margins on device sales?

According to German blog Schimanke, the iPad mini pricing will start at €249 (around $323 U.S.), and come in eight different configurations (16 if you count different colors) ranging in storage capacity from 8GB to 64GB, with both Wi-Fi-only and cellular wireless capabilities, running to €649 ($841 U.S.) at the top end. There’s some debate as to whether this would include VAT or not, the European value added tax on the purchase prices of some goods, is included in those figures. If it is, it would drop the entry-level price of the iPad mini to around $270 U.S.

Given that we’ve seen estimates and rumors putting prices starting between $199 and $349, this seems like a logical enough pricing breakdown for the iPad mini, whether or not we look at these prices as VAT inclusive or not. But looking at the latest iPad’s bill of materials cost, we get a better idea of what kind of margins Apple might enjoy on a smaller tablet, and how that figures with the above pricing details.

The iPad mini reportedly starts at $316.05 for BOM and manufacturing cost per unit, and is sold for $499, giving a rough margin of $182.95. At the top end, the margin jumps considerably, with the $829 64GB Wi-Fi+LTE iPad apparently carrying a manufacturing cost of $408.70, parts included, for a difference of $420.30. For another point of reference, consider that the latest iPod touch probably costs somewhere around $150 to make (an estimate based on the BOM of past iterations), and retails for $299, providing a margin of roughly $150.

Amazon and others may be fine with taking a bath on hardware in order to encourage media content sales, but that’s not how Apple has become the most profitable gadget maker in the world. For it to retail an iPad mini, the numbers would have to be in keeping with its commitment to high margins. So looking at an estimated entry price of around $270 U.S., is that possible?

Display and battery are going to be key factors affecting price, and so there does appear to be room to maneuver the price down relative to the larger newest iPad. Its display and touchscreen together cost an estimated $127; a smaller screen means lowering those costs, and if rumors proven true and we don’t see Retina resolution on this device, that could get costs down even lower. The iPhone 5 has a total display/touchscreen cost of $44 – a non-Retina 7.85-inch screen could then theoretically come in around the $50 mark. Likewise, the latest iPad’s battery is a $32 expenditure, while the iPhone 5′s is around $5, so that’s another place a smaller device with a smaller screen could save precious dollars. Also, the price of NAND flash has dropped significantly from latest iPad to iPhone 5, meaning an iPad mini could pack a 16GB module for around $10 instead of nearly $17.

Despite all those potential cost-cutting areas, pricing still seems much more likely to hit $300 or higher U.S., since anywhere under starts to approach some of the lowest margins Apple hardware would have seen in a while. Is that worth a foothold in the emerging small tablet market, one that arguably could halt the advance of the Kindle Fire, Google Nexus 7 and other Android tablets? Maybe so, but Apple isn’t one to limbo just for the sake of it, and at around $300, an iPad mini would still be very competitive with the rest of the field.