back to article Photos of 'iPad mini' body stir rumor pot

Photos have surfaced of what's said to be the metal back of Apple's oft-rumored "iPad mini" – and, yes, despite what the late Steve Jobs said about the deficiencies of small-sized fondleslabs, it's of the about-seven-inch variety. The photos appear in an article on the Chinese-language website tech.163.com that credits its …

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  1. JoshOvki

    more commonly know...

    As an iPod!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      This

      This old chestnut again.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Trollface

        Re: This old chestnut again.

        Doesn't make it any less accurate.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: This old chestnut again.

          iPod touch.

          With the 3G version of the iPad mini being a renamed iPhone?

          (in before the fanbois downvote me for speaking out against dear apple. I used to like apple. I have a Plus, Classic, LC475 and G3. Before they went all "trendy" and the became the audi of the computing world)

          1. Not That Andrew

            Hipster?

            So you're admitting to be a hipster, then?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Obviously

      That is spray painted plastic, Apple would never lower itself to use such cheap material.

  2. Joerg
    Stop

    There is no iPad Mini being mass produced right now.

    So no iPad Mini coming.

    And no iPad Mini currently planned for next months either. And it would be a terrible mistake for Apple to release an iPad Mini either now or next years.

    iPad4 is all that Apple needs next year like every year since the first iPad. No iPad Mini.

    1. dssf

      Re: There is no iPad Mini being mass produced right now.

      I'll say it will be a terrible mistake, hahahha. They could not bear a resurrection or hi-res erection of imaxi ipad or imini ipad with wings stories dripping out of the tech rags anytime too soon.

      Recall imaxi ipad with wings stories a few years ago, maybe less than 2 years ago....

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

      2. Ted Treen
        Headmaster

        To dssf

        Any chance of a re-post in English?

    2. This post has been deleted by its author

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Seems solid, good luck to them-but:

    For once Apple seem behind in this market compared to Surface, Nexus 7 etc. I'm wondering what the USP (besides that it runs iPad apps, which is a biggie) will be. Can they think of something besides 'cheaper'?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Seems solid, good luck to them-but:

      The Daring Fireball guy speculated that Apple could put an 8" screen in a device the same size as its 7" competition. Make the device thinner and lighter ("iPad Air"?) and with the same build quality as current Apple portables and it could be a pretty desirable device.

      1. mr_splodge

        Re: Seems solid, good luck to them-but:

        You need a bit of a edge on a 7" tab to be able to hold it comfortably and not accidentally touch the edge of the screen.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Seems solid, good luck to them-but:

      70% marketshare is behind?

      1. Velv
        FAIL

        Re: Seems solid, good luck to them-but:

        @AC "70% marketshare is behind?"

        err, FAIL. Apple has ZERO PERCENT of the 7" market. Apple may have 70% of the total tablet market, but the 7" form factor is on target to be around 20% of the total market in 2012, and is expected to be nearer 33% of it in 2013.

        So Apple are very much behind!

    3. Velv
      Flame

      Re: Seems solid, good luck to them-but:

      "For once Apple seem behind in this market"

      Apple copying the competition?

      Tsk, tsk!

      1. SuccessCase

        Re: Seems solid, good luck to them-but:

        Can we please have no more comments about anyone copying anyone about any company or being done too any company. Anyone still making these comments please be informed - IT'S BORING. There was once a time when the discussion had some interest. However every atom of juice has been wrung from the discussion, pissed out, drunk again, pissed out again, drunk again and pissed out again. The piss is now so stale you wouldn't consider it if 100 miles from the nearest water in the middle of the Sahara, with no supplies or transport.

        So to the following remarks should also henceforth instantly label the utterer a terminal bore:

        "I'm off to patent air"

        Any remark with the word "rectangle" and "rounded corner" in it at the same time.

        Any Remark about a Far Eastern company not being capable of original design.

        This declaration is not motivated by any position for or against any company. It simply has to do with my desire to preserve sanity and continue to read tech comments. This may be an impossible task.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Seems solid, good luck to them-but:

          Sorry, could you repeat that? I didn't quite catch it. I was just out patenting unoriginal far-eastern rounded rectangles.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Can we please have no more comments

          You mean you want us to forget how evil Apple is?

    4. Lallabalalla
      Thumb Up

      Re: Seems solid, good luck to them-but:

      Cheaper maybe, compared to iPad

      Smaller and lighter means more portable and usable one-handed while commuting.

      Compatible with all your existing apps & content.

      That's 4 things, plus nothing new to learn or be disappointed by - works the same with appstore, iTunes etc

      Enough, already. I'll have one :)

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Doubtful

    Where is the Apple cutout for the wifi antenna?

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Lack of a SIM slot would not be surprising

    It would be a secondary method by which to segment the market between the 7.85" and 9.7" devices. Coupled with a single standard memory configuration (16GB, at a guess) it would provide a single product with a single price. Then you don't get hung up with price lists where high configurations of the small tablet overlap with low configurations of the large tablet.

    You end up with $499 for the latest and greatest iPad (plus more if you want 4G and/or more memory) $399 for the previous generation iPad and $299 (my guess) for the little one. Apple likes things neat and clean like that.

    1. SuccessCase

      Re: Lack of a SIM slot would not be surprising

      That may of course be the case for the WiFi only version and there may also be a 3G/4G version. Though, having said that, Apple do prefer to keep their product line-up/proposition simple, so I think it quite likely there will only be a WiFi version.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Oh, gosh!

    I'm getting all giddy-up just thinking about it. Less than a week to go... I can hardly wait. I just might get two!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Oh, gosh!

      I really hope my up-vote - on the basis the previous poster bravely trusted his own powers of expression, avoided clunky sarcasm tags and hence risked readers missing his true feelings - was in fact on the right basis.

  7. eSeM

    Cant be, nobody makes half inch thick tablets any more ....... do they?

    It is also the wrong shape for a tablet, 4:3 does not work in 7"

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Hmmm...

    Perhaps, but this close to launch I'd have expected pictures of a more complete product, maybe this is for April next year?

    Meanwhile:

    http://www.dealextreme.com/p/stylish-protective-silicone-back-case-for-iphone-5-black-149764

    Jumping the gun or just mislabeled?

  9. jubtastic1

    Looks like billet aluminium to me

    Ridiculously detailed and with milled out overhangs, I'd say it's legit.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    In other news

    Staff working at the Apples head quarters Cupertino were today asked that who ever it was; for the prankster who thought it would be amusing to remove the side from the canteen microwave to now please return it.

    1. dssf
      Joke

      Re: In other news... ummm

      Ummm, did you really mean "head quarters", or did you mean "headquarters"? (yeh, yeh, contextual joke)....

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    iPad mini?

    So that would be the Fisher-Price version of the iPhone, without the phone? Meh.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Is this a satire on fake photos? These are the worst fake photos I have ever seen, look at the "iPad" lettering, the angle and perspective are laughably poor.

    1. Mike Brown
      Stop

      agreed

      the "ipad" lettering is squint.

    2. killakrust

      I can tell by the pixels!!

      I'm astonished this even made it to an article on the reg. That chassis in the first image is obviously being held sideways, yet they have shopped the apple logo and dock connection as if the displayed edge was the bottom.

      Try harder next time: 3/10

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Also, in the first picture, there is more space to the left of the Apple logo than to the right!

      Unless the bottom left of the picture has been photoshopped, we are expected to believe that Apple will release a device with an off-centre logo.

      And if the picture has been photoshopped, that already calls into question its authenticity.

  13. Sam 41
    Angel

    On the other hand..

    Thats a lovely Thinkpad X61 in the background - stunning piece of engineering.

    Infinitely more interesting than an iPad Mini

  14. Haku

    Looks like a baking tray...

    Apple pie, anyone?

  15. chiller

    "PHOTOS OF 'IPAD MINI' BODY STIR RUMOR POT"

    Really? Some people need to get out more.

  16. IGnatius T Foobar
    Meh

    missing features

    Regardless of what Apple's next tablet looks like, it will probably be missing the one feature that makes a portable device desirable: ANDROID. They'll almost certainly go with that cut-rate iOS that they put on all of their devices.

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