iPad Mini pics spied on Twitter

We don’t who Sonny Dickson is - a “tech enthusiast” and “9to5Mac researcher”, apparently - but he’s just posted a small set of iPad Mini pictures on his Twitter feed. Alas, there isn’t a shot of the device working, so the unit on his desk may simply by one of the many mock-ups that have been doing the rounds of late. Certainly …

[Big_Ted]

meh

new ipod maxi

yawn

[Shagbag]

I am, like all other fruity fanbois...

...creaming in my jeans.

I've drained my spuds many times over the prospect of being able to spend £££s on yet another brushed aluminium (aluminum?) product to rub against my bell-end.

[Chris Parsons]

Re: I am, like all other fruity fanbois...

Downvoted for vulgarity and unappealing imagery.

[Anonymous Coward]

Believe the Hype

The Hype says this will be unveiled on the 17th October.

The Hype says invites for the event will be issued on the 10th October.

Today is the 9th.

Taking bets now on this story holding any water.....................

[ItsNotMe]

Hey...if it is from Twitter...

...then it HAS to be true! Everyone knows Twitter is a reliable source. Don't they?

[Kevin Johnston]

What?

I don't get it, I really hope that is a mock-up. Much as I 'meh' Apple these days, if they have gone to the trouble (or put their loyal customer base to the trouble) of a new smaller connector which forces adapting old accessories, then why the hell does it not feature on the iMini....

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: What?

But.....hang on.....erm....what?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: What?

It does feature on this device, be it Mini or mock-up. The larger device is an older big iPad with old-style connector. Look again.

[Anonymous Coward]

Great. Another Apple product to ignore.

[Dave 126]

You obviously need more practice at ignoring, since you posted. A few more iPad Mini rumour articles and you should have the hang if it. You can do it!

[BorkedAgain]

...A few more iPad Mini rumour articles and you should have the hang if it...

Fortunately for you, El Reg is certain to provide you with plenty of fodder. Happy practising!

[Electric Panda]

Looks small and quite sleek, but you bet your life the price of the thing won't follow suit.

[eSeM]

16:9

Looks like they may finally have got the shape right ....

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: 16:9

Right for videos. But yeah, if the whole point of a smaller form factor is make it fit in coat pockets, and the limiting dimension is width not height, then a 16:9 makes more sense than the screen ratio of the existing iPad.

I don't enjoy reading websites on low resolution 16:9 netbooks, but on a device that can be rotated through 90º its okay.

[Anonymous Coward]

so is the screen so ugly ...

that we can't see it? Nice one sonny :-P

[Jon Pain]

Sound Holes

Look at the speaker grill, mainly on the top picture. There is a slight reflection over it, and also compare it to that in the bigger iPad below.

It just doesn't look like actual holes to me, just an image on the case.

Anyone else see it?

[Anonymous Coward]

Mini

It needs to be circular, not rectangular.

Or maybe, hexagonal - that would loook cool!

[Anonymous Coward]

This is how big the iPhone 5 should have been to tempt some of those massive screen loving Samsung users.

[BorkedAgain]

Aha ha ha ha!

You're a funny, funny person! I bet everyone says so, don't they? All your friend?

[Anonymous Coward]

I would never have guessed

I looks like a regular iPad, but smaller!

[ukgnome]

I'm only interested if it's apple crumble.

[I ain't Spartacus]

Apple crumble's no good, unless there is custard. Apple crumble + custard = food of the Gods!

[Bluenose]

A Kindle...

by any other name should be so sweet

(to misquote and bastardize Shakespeare) which is what Apple has done to the Etch a Sketch.

[Anonymous Coward]

Anyone care?

I mean the 32GB Nexus7 is coming at £199 in the next couple of weeks, and the 16GB and 8GB Nexus7's will be dropping in price accordingly..

All of them better and cheaper than this Apple shite.

[Andy Farley]

The edge

looks rounded, rather than curved as in the iPad, IOW the edge will go out, then come in to the glass.

Seems...crap. The large iPad (maxi-pad?) is nicely designed and the edge of it is one of the most signature bit. Seems an odd thing to change.

Still, I reckon they'll fly off the shelves.

[Justice]

Meh!

Who cares?

Paris because only the brain dead will buy one.

[the-it-slayer]

Re: Meh!

...or people who want a tablet that is just above 7 inches and not cursed with that awful fandroid stuff. even as an iPhone/iPad/iMac owner, it's the worst thing Apple have done to concede into a form factor that doesn't work.

[John 104]

A standard port?

is that a standard USB mini or micro i see on the bottom?

[ThomH]

Re: A standard port?

Sadly not. It's one of Apple's new lightning ports. They're technically better because the meaning of the pins is configured by a chip in the cable, allowing it to support arbitrary connectors at the other end, but practically worse than a micro-USB or traditional iPod dock connector as an example of the usual arguments against proprietary ports.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: A standard port?

Micro USB - have you been sleeping - it's a lightning port - basically what micro USB wishes it was - about the same size but more rugged and you can plug it in either way up (nice).

[Anonymous Coward]

Lightning Port

either the connector isn't plugged in properly or the connector looks a bad fit for the port..... hmmm maybe it _IS_ genuine!

[Anonymous Coward]

I need more hands - Macbook, iPad (regular size), iPhone and now this...

[Mort]

But what are they calling it?

"iPad", then "iPad2", then "New iPad". The printing on the back of the mini just says iPad without seeming to differentiate it by name.

Will it be the "Newish iPad", or maybe it should be all lower case "ipad" coz, you know, it's smaller.

[Lunatik]

Re: But what are they calling it?

The back of all iDevices have simply had the vanilla name, no sub-branding or version number, hence the mini iPad will have 'iPad' on the back if that is what the device is called.

[Egons Proton Pack]

I'll wait

I'll wait till it's been released and I can have a look before making a judgement.

I have an IPAD 2 and a cheapo bluetooth keyboard and I use it daily, It works for the things I wish to do on it.

(Although the battery life seems to have decreased since IOS 6 which can be annoying)

The change of dock connector though is annoying.