An Air, a Mini and and a Phablet – welcome to the latest information technology products, each released overnight.
In New York, Apple has just unveiled a slimmer version of its top-selling full-size tablet computer, dubbed the “iPad Air”, along with a revamped iPad Mini with an improved high-definition display.
In Abu Dhabi, Nokia, once a giant of the mobile phone industry, entered the tablet computer business by releasing a large screen smartphone it calls a “phablet’.
Apple’s new iPad Air is 43 per cent thinner than the version it replaces, weighs just 450 grams, and is “screaming fast”, Apple vice president Phil Schiller said at an unveiling on Tuesday night.
Apple also showed an upgraded iPad Mini, which has high-definition “retina” display along with faster computing power and graphics.
The two new iPads will be sold alongside the existing versions, starting November 1 in a number of countries.
The iPad Air will start at $US499 ($A518) and the new Mini version at $US399 for US customers. Apple will cut the prices of the older iPad versions.
The new iPads feature the Apple-designed A7 chip with 64-bit “desktop-class architecture”, Apple said.
“iPad created an entirely new mobile computing experience, and the new iPad Air is another big leap ahead. It is so thin, light and powerful, once you hold one in your hand you will understand what a tremendous advancement this is,” said Schiller.
The new iPads come on the same day Microsoft began selling an upgraded version of its Surface tablet, and as Nokia unveiled its own tablet computer.
The iPad remains the largest-selling tablet, according to surveys, but its market share is being eroded by rivals using the Google Android operating system.
Nokia, whose handset division is to be acquired by Microsoft, launched its first-ever tablet computer, aiming for a stake in a fast expanding sector.
The Windows 10-inch screen tablet, Lumia 2520, was one of six new devices unveiled, including two so-called “phablets” – large screen smartphones.
The Nokia Lumia 2520, available in red and white in a glossy finish as well as cyan and black in matte, is to go on sale in the US at an estimated price of $US499 ($A518) by the end of the year.
“Initial roll out is to begin broadly in the US as well as the UK and Finland, with additional countries to follow shortly after,” the company said in a statement.
“The award-winning design, the breakthrough imaging innovation, and the new experiences that we have brought to you with the Lumia smartphones we are bringing them to the tablet,” Stephen Elop, executive vice president at Nokia Devices & Services, told reporters.
The device has a 6.7 MegaPixel camera and Zeiss optics.
Industry tracker Gartner this week forecast that global tablet shipments will reach 184 million units this year, in a massive 53.4 per cent rise from last year.
The Nokia phablets, Lumia 1520 and a less-expensive Lumia 1320, have a six-inch screen.
The Nokia Lumia 1520 “delivers a brilliant image experience,” said Elop. “It has optical image stabilisation. It has the latest technology to capture more details in every picture you take.”
The Lumia 1520, available in yellow, white, black and glossy red, will first be released in the US, Hong Kong, China, Singapore as well as European markets with an estimated price of $US749.
The 1320 version, to be available in orange, yellow, white, and black, will sell for around $US339 and first go sale in China and Vietnam, followed by other Asian markets and Europe.
Three new low-cost smartphones – Nokia Asha 500, Asha 502 and Asha 503 – are mainly targeted at developing markets in Asia and Africa.
The Asha 503, which includes a five MegaPixel camera and comes with a dual SIM option, is most expensive among the three costing around $US99.
Microsoft, which is trying to refocus the company around “devices and services” after missing out on the transition to mobile computing, announced in September it will buy Nokia’s mobile phone division.
The deal worth $US7.2 billion gives Microsoft Nokia’s mobile phone operations along with an array of patents and licences to help compete with rivals Google and Apple, as well as Samsung.
