Apple Unveils iPad Mini

Apple unveiled the new iPad mini today at a press event in San Diego, California, along with a new full-size iPad and iMac mini, Reuters reports. The new iPad mini comes with a 7.9-inch screen, has a base price of $329 and will ship on November 2nd.

"Apple sensed early that they had a real winner with the iPad and that has proven to be correct," Lars Albright, co-founder of mobile advertising startup SessionM and a past Apple ad executive, told Reuters. "They have a large market share, and to protect that market share, they have got to be innovative."

Apple remains dominant in the tech market for larger tablets, but the iPad mini marks a new effort to compete with pocket-sized devices such as the Amazon Kindle and Google's Nexus Seven. The iPad mini also marks a milestone for Apple: it is the first new device to be added to the company's compact portfolio since Tim Cook took over as Chief Executive shortly before Steve Jobs died.

The press conference also touched on Apple's improvements to the fourth-generation iPad, including better graphics and processing speeds. Its iPad mini announcement was the focus of the day, however, and comes just two days before Microsoft is set to unveil their new Surface tablet.