Apple has officially launched the iPad Mini, this pint size iPad is 7.9 inches like we expected with the same 4:3 ratio as its big brother. The 7.9-inch iPad mini has a 1024 x 768 display resolution like the earlier-generation 9.7-inch iPads. It is a very svelt 7.2mm-thick aluminum shell, which makes it 53 percent lighter and significantly thinner than the 4th generation iPad.

The iPad mini comes with a dual-core Apple A5 processor, LTE, a 5-megapixel iSight camera, 802.11n Wi-Fi, the new Lightning connector, and a claimed 10-hour battery life.

Taking a look at the other players in the space Barnes & Noble’s new NOOK HD tablet has a full-colour, 7-inch screen boasting a resolution of 1440×900, while the Nexus 7 and the new Kindle Fire HD 7-inch both have 1280×800 displays. It’s behind the curve in terms of screen resolution, but the spent a lot of time explaining that they get more screen real estate when it comes to surfing the web because of the 4:3 ratio.

The 3G and WiFi 16GB iPad Mini is priced at $329 LTE versions will start at $459, pre-order starts this Friday with shipments happening 2 weeks later.

Update:

Here is a hands on video from The Verge

Here are the photos from the live stream for you to check out.

The new tablet from Apple is running on iOS 6 we’ve got a video review below if you’ve missed its debut onto the market last month.