iPad Air is TWICE as fast, 20% thinner,Weighs 1lb

Apple's got it wrapped up for Christmas! iPad Air is TWICE as fast, 20% thinner,Weighs 1lb:-

Apple has barely had time to restock the shelves since its latest iPhone launch but that hasn't stopped the tech giant unveiling its latest iPad - renamed the iPad Air.

The announcement has added serious fuel to the fire in the battle of the tablets in the run up to Christmas and comes just hours after Nokia entered the tablet market with its Lumia 2520 and Microsoft started selling its new Surface devices. 

The iPad Air is thinner, lighter, more powerful than ever before.

• It has 9.7-inch Retina display with a smaller bezel.
• 43 per cent thinner than the previous model.
• 5MP camera and dual microphones.
• device will become available in mid-December in four colours - silver, white, 'space grey' and black.
• Prices will start from $499 for a 16GB model.
• The tablet is 7.5mm thick and weighs just 1lb,making it the 'lightest full size tablet in the world'
• The tablet also has Apple's A7 chip, that was just launched in the iPhone 5S and is twice as fast as before.
• 10 hours of battery life
• improved wi-fi and better LTE support.
• The original iPad mini, which previously cost $329, will now cost $299 - 'the lowest price for an iPad yet.'

Speaking to the crowd at San Francisco’s Yuerba Buena Center for the Arts, he said: ‘You’re going to see some amazing products this morning.’The new model will cost from $399 in the U.S. and £319 in the UK, and will also become available in November, although a precise date is yet to be announced.The original iPad mini, which previously cost $329, will now cost $299 - 'the lowest price for an iPad yet.'He said: 'Now everybody seems to be making a tablet, even some of the doubters iPad is used more than any of the rest. iPad is used over FOUR times more than all of those other tablets put together.'

Experts had predicted that the iPad mini would be launched in a number of bright colours and would also feature a camera upgrade from 5MP to 8MP or even 12MP - to make it a market leader.

In recent weeks, high-street retailers Tesco and Argos have both released tablet devices and just this morning Nokia announced its first tablet computer, the Lumia 2520.

Nokia's device starts at $499 in the U.S. and £309 in the UK, has a 10.1-inch screen and runs Windows RT.  It comes in red, blue, white and black and its screen has a pixel density of 218.

The tablet contains a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor, 2GB Ram and a 800mAH battery.

Microsoft announced its Surface 2 tablets last month and they officially went on sale today. 

Reports in July suggested Microsoft lost around $900m due to poor sales of its original Surface devices.

Called the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2, the latest tablets run the latest Windows 8.1 operating system.

The Surface Pro 2 has the same ClearType HD display as its predecessor. It is said to be 20 per cent faster, and Microsoft has added 75 per cent to its battery life.

The Surface 2 runs Windows 8.1 RT version - a scaled-down version of the full operating system that has been designed specifically for mobile devices which Microsoft was forced to pull from it store earlier this week after reports claimed it caused tablets to freeze. 

Additionally, the Surface 2 comes with a 3.5MP front-facing camera, and a 5MP rear camera, while the Surface Pro has just a 1MP rear-facing and HD 720p front-facing camera. 

Surface 2 is available in 32GB and 64GB models and starts at £359, while the Surface Pro 2 comes in 64GB and 128GB versions and starts at £719.

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