In fact, sources close to Asian component suppliers have information that Apple is preparing an upgraded tablet with a 7.9-inch Retina display. According to Chinese newspaper Donews the iPad mini screen manufacturer AU Optronics, is working on a display with a resolution of 2048x1536 dedicated to the next generation iPad Mini. If this information is correct, then the future iPad Mini will have the same resolution as the third and fourth generation of the "regular" iPad with a screen diagonal of 9.7 inches and will have more than 300 dots per inch, compared to a density of 264 dots per inch on the "ordinary" iPad.

However the iPad Mini version with a high-resolution screen is not expected in the market soon. From the information available it should be available next year, probably in the second half. Weather this will be enough for the iPad Mini to justify its spicy price, especially when they have such a huge competition in the Nook HD and Kindle Fire HD that cost significantly less it is yet to be seen. Of course we can’t forget about the Apple fanboy factor, since some people will buy it solely because of the bitten apple on the back. But let’s not forget about the good side of the iPad Mini, it has both front and rear cameras, while Kindle Fire HD only has front-facing one and Nook HD has none. Also Apple's app store is certainly a huge plus for them since it overcomes the number of apps for Kindle and Nook by far.

[Ed – Apple’s new strategy of pushing out updates to products in the way they are is going to hurt them in the long run. Many people will not justify a $300 7-inch tablet when they can get a 10-inch for the same price. On top of that there is now the appearance that Apple intentionally sold the current model below the available hardware level just to have a market for upgrades and follow on products. It is something that Steve Jobs would never have allowed.]

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