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Tablet mania: The battle of the mini tablets Apple unveiled the iPad mini Oct. 23, making it the latest company to add a device to the ever-growing mini-tablet market. Here’s a look at some of the competition the diminutive Apple tablet faces.
iPad mini
Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller announces the iPad mini during Apple's special event at the California Theatre in San Jose on Oct. 23, 2012.
Kimihiro Hoshino
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AFP/Getty Images
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iPad mini
Comparing the iPad mini with Google’s Nexus 7, Schiller said that Apple’s mini screen is more than one-third larger than the 7-inch diagonal screen of the Nexus 7, making for better Web browsing.
Robert Galbraith
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Reuters
iPad mini
The device boasts a 7.9-inch screen diagonally, compared with the 9.7-inch screen of the current iPad.
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Via Bloomberg News
iPad mini
The iPad mini is as “thin as a pencil,” Schiller said, and is more than 53 percent lighter than the full-size iPad. By comparison, he said, it’s as “light as a pad of paper.” The iPad mini will cost $329, which is far more than the competitors’ price point of $199.
Noah Berger
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Bloomberg News
Kindle Fire HD
Amazon.com shook up the tablet world when it released the seven-inch Kindle Fire late last year. The company, equipped with a massive library of movies, books and music, offered the tablet at less than half the price of the iPad. Because of its vast arsenal, Amazon is seen as a serious threat to Apple’s dominance. And in September, Amazon turned up the heat by moving into the higher end of the market with its Kindle Fire HD.
Joe Klamar
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AFP/Getty Images
Kindle Fire HD
Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos holds up the seven-inch Kindle Fire HD and the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD. Starting at $199, the seven-inch tablet comes in 16 GB and 32 GB models with dual-WiFi antennas and speakers.
Gus Ruelas
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Reuters
Galaxy Tab 2 7.0
No stranger to the mini-tablet space is Apple’s legal sparring partner, Samsung, which released its first seven-incher in November 2010. The South Korean company’s latest contender in this market is the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, which has a 1 GHz dual-core processor, a three-megapixel rear-facing camera and a front-facing camera for video chat. The Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 runs Android 4.0, a.k.a. Ice Cream Sandwich, and is available as a 8 GB model with 4G LTE and as an 8 GB version with WiFi only. The starting price for the tablet is $199.99.
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Samsung
Nexus 7
In June, Google entered the arena when it took the wraps off its first tablet, the Nexus 7. Priced competitively with the Kindle Fire, the $199 device has a Tegra 3 quad-core processor and runs the latest Android operating system, Jelly Bean or Android 4.1.
Tomohiro Ohsumi
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Bloomberg News
Nexus 7
Unlike the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, the Nexus 7 doesn’t have expandable memory. Among early reviewers, there was nearly universal agreement that to compete in the seven-inch tablet game, Google must build out its media store. So far, the Nexus 7 has had some success. In July, Google announced that its 16 GB model had sold out on the Google Play store.
Tomohiro Ohsumi
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Bloomberg News
Galaxy Tab 7.7
Samsung's Galaxy Tab 7.7 tablet is in the higher end of the seven-inch tablet market. Retailing for $399.99, the Galaxy Tab 7.7 has a 3.2-megapixel rear camera, two-megapixel front-facing camera and a 1.4 GHz dual-core processor. It is equipped with 4G technology.
Sean Gallup
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Getty Images
Excite 7.7
This year, Toshiba decided to cater to the higher end of the mini-tablet market with the release of the Excite 7.7. The tablet, which starts at $499.99, is available as two models: a 16 GB version and a 32 GB version. Both run Android 4.0 and have a Tegra 3 quad-core processor.
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Toshiba
BlackBerry Playbook
Research In Motion was an early mover into this space, but its tablet, the PlayBook, has been a sore point for the company. Launched in May 2011, the tablet debuted to lukewarm reviews, and sales have been slow. In February, RIM tried to revive its seven-inch tablet by adding features including a native e-mail client and more ways for BlackBerry phones and the PlayBook to interact. The tablet has 1 GB of RAM and can easily multi-task. RIM calls it "the first professional-grade tablet."
Robyn Beck
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AFP/Getty Images
Kindle Paperwhite
Amazon also unveiled its enhanced e-reader, the Kindle Paperwhite, in September. The Paperwhite features a six-inch, monochrome e-ink screen rather than vivid color displays used in pricier tablets such as the Fire HD and iPad. It sells for $119.
David Paul Morris
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Bloomberg News
Iconia Tab A110
Upping the ante in the mini-tablet space, Acer announced Oct. 18 that its Iconia Tab A110 tablet will hit stores this month. The multi-touch tablet runs Android 4.1 and sports a Tegra 3 quad-core processor. The price tag for the Acer device? $229.99.
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Acer
Nook HD
William Lynch, chief executive of Barnes & Noble, displays the new Nook HD+, left, and the Nook HD tablet. Barnes & Noble took another swing at Amazon in the seven-inch space when it unveiled its Nook HD in September.
Michelle McLoughlin
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Newscast via Bloomberg News
Nook HD
The 8 GB Nook HD model costs $199 — the price of the Kindle Fire HD and the Nexus 7. The tablet will have an e-mail service, access to the company’s app store and a 1.3 GHz dual-core processor. It will hit stores in November.
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Barnes & Noble
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