iPad Mini Rumors, iPad Mini Release Date, iPad Mini Price: LIVE Apple Coverage

Culture

Attention, Apple customers: your favorite tech company has a little more to show you.

On Tuesday, the company is hosting a follow-up event after the unveiling of the iPhone 5 last month. This time, the company is expected to release details about its much-hyped tablet, the iPad Mini. Details about the iPad Mini were expected to be leaked on October 17, but eager Apple fans have had to wait until today for any firm details. 

To watch the event live, click here and make sure to have up-to-date Safari, QuickTime, or Apple TV.

Many speculate that iPad Mini is meant to make Apple competitive with other tablet producers, like Google (the Nexus 7), Amazon (Kindle Fire), and Barnes & Noble (the NOOK). And this competition may be working: the gadget buy-back firm Gazelle reports that many are ditching their old tablets before Apple's official announcement.

Of course, no one knows that much about the iPad Mini — if that's even what it's called. The tablet is rumored to be 7.85" in size, significantly smaller than the normal iPad. It is expected to offer 3G and 4G service in addition to WiFi. The Mini may, however, not have as crystal-clear a display as the Retina screen for the iPhone 5, so don't expect too much.

Customers eager to buy should expect a price anywhere between $329 and $249, depending on the sources you trust.

Apple's latest proclamation to its eager public will take place at 10:00 a.m. PT/ 1:00 pm ET live from the California Theatre in San Jose, California. 

PolicyMic will be live blogging the event, so join us on October 23 for all the details as they're announced! Bookmark and refresh this page for the most recent updates. 

UPDATES:

1:08 pm: A lot of talking from Tim Cook right now. 

1 pm: It looks like Apple may be adding a 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro to its laptop lineup, as Mashable reports. Leaked specs show three different options for the computer:

2.5 GHz, 128GB of Flash storage, 8GB of RAM 2.5 GHz, 256 GB of Flash storage, 8GB of RAM 2.9 GHz, 512GB of Flash storage, 8GB of RAM

Apple announced its first MacBook Pro with a Retina screen, a 15-inch device, in June of this year during its World Wide Developer’s Conference (WWDC). During the announcement, Apple CEO Tim Cook called it “the most beautiful computer we’ve ever made.”

According to 9to5 Mac the 13-inch MacBook Pro will be available after Tuesday’s Apple event where the company is expected to announce the iPad Mini.

Previous rumors have had the computer priced $500 higher than the current MacBook Pro line, which would put the base-line version of the 13-inch Retina Pro at $1699.

12:59 pm: Here we go!

12:50 pm: The stage is set: 

12:42 pm: Why the iPad mini will be as pointless as the iPod Nano: On October 23, Apple will announce yet another gadget on the heels of its recently botched iOS 6 operating system and its much anticipated iPhone 5. 

iPad Mini, a smaller version of Apple's pioneering tablet, will likely hit the shelves in time for the holidays. And though the rumors and prototypes are not as pervasive as the iPhone 5 ones, it is assumed the new gadget will be smaller, thinner and probably with lower resolution and (hopefully) a lower price. 

Far from being a game-changer product a la iPhone, iPad Mini will serve the purpose of expanding Apple's product line the way iPod Nano or iPod touch have done in the past. This, in turn, will help market the highly coveted brand among alternate (i.e. younger and lower income) consumers who otherwise would flock to cheaper alternatives.

However, while iPad Mini might not be a revolutionary gadget in itself, the upcoming Apple product could be very telling as to what's the Cupertino company's strategy during its post-Steve Jobs phase. 

In my opinion, the iOS Maps fiasco highlighted the different kind of leadership style Apple is following during its post-Steve Jobs incarnation. The back and forth between Apple's hard stance against now competitor Google and the way Apple CEO Tim Cook ended up apologizing and suggesting users to download Google Maps was erratic. 

Even more troubling is Apple's seemingly shift from pioneer to follower. While historically the Cupertino company has been known for its innovation, setting the pace in a market where competitors have come across as hopeless Apple wannabes, it is now they who are following their competitors' marketing steps -- as iPad Mini is a response to the positive feedback smaller tablets such as Kindle Fire are getting from the tablet market. Is this the end of Apple as we know it?

12:30 pm: Your guide to all the rumors:

c/o The Atlantic

12:20 pm: More Competition For Apple: Google Chromebook Review: Google Devices Hit the Market, But May Still Not Beat Apple, story by PM Tech Reporter Belinda Moreira: Amid all the chaos and commotion Google’s had with their leaked third-quarter earnings, the company has also announced a game changer for the market. Google has recently announced a new Samsung Chromebook, which will sit alongside its brother, the Chromebook 550. The new, compact device will start at the low price of $249.

The Chromebook is 2.5 pounds, 0.8 inches, has an 11.6-inch screen display, and has 6.5 hours of battery life. This is thanks to the ARM Cortex A15 processor, which allows it to give more battery life between charges. Chromebook will also run on Chrome OS, an operating system based on Google Chrome. It also has no hard drive, and is entirely dependent on the internet. It comes with dual Wi-Fi, which will help make it easier to not only to connect wireless networks, but also to prevent fading or dead spots. Purchasers will also receive 100 GB of Google Drive Cloud Storage.

This is not your traditional PC. Consumers may be wary of buying a Chromebook that has no hard drive. However, the low price, sleek design, automatic updates, and great battery life may change people’s minds.

Google’s announcement is also the first of many new technology products that will be introduced to the market this week. The Chromebook comes days before Apple reveals their new iPod mini and smaller iPad. It is evident that Google came to play this week, but this cutthroat move hasn’t really created the commotion that Google wanted for their new product.

The premature third-quarter reports resulted in Google shares closing down 8% on Thursday. The high expectations for this year’s profits per share were down to $9.03 per share from $9.73. This overshadowed the Chromebook, and may set them behind Apple and Microsoft later this week when their new products are introduced as well.