iPad Mini Oddities ⇥ guardian.co.uk

With all these crazy rumours going around, it must be time for a new Apple product. First up is 9to5 Mac researcher Sonny Dickson has posted convincing photos of an iPad mini to Instagram. It’s worth noting that he hasn’t posted any photos of the front of the device he’s obtained, which leads me to believe that it’s some sort of mockup device. Also, the model number on the back, A1416, is the current model number for the 10-inch iPad, and I doubt Apple would carry that model number over to a new line.

Charles Arthur of the Guardian has some significantly more likely information, aside from this:

Industry sources indicated to the Guardian that they do not expect to see 3G-capable versions of the iPad mini. That would allow Apple to produce it comparatively cheaply and to limit the top price of the product, while retaining mobile broadband connectivity for its pricier iPad line.

I would be extremely surprised if Apple doesn’t offer a cellular-capable version of this new iPad eventually. Perhaps they won’t offer it initially, similar to the approach they took with the first-generation iPad, but I’d expect one soon.

Arthur also wrote up this interesting rumour:

Sources also indicated that they expect Apple to refresh the iPad line by following up the introduction of the iPhone 5, which is 4G-capable in the UK through Everything Everywhere’s 1800MHz network – and from next September with Three – with revised versions using the same 1800MHz 4G chip and the new connector.

This might answer my speculation regarding a refresh of the currently-available iPad lineup. I wrote:

A new iPad has also showed up in a developer’s logs with an A6 chip. This is, I believe, the next generation of 10-inch iPad, but its “3,6″ designator suggests that it’s a relatively minor update. Like I said, I doubt they’d update the 10-inch at the same event with an A6 chip and Lightning connector, but it’s possible.

And, with the Guardian‘s report, it seems more likely now than when I wrote that on the weekend.