Apple has unveiled its new iPad Mini tablet running on iOS 6 at a packed media event in San Jose, California. Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller, unveiled the device, opening with the observation that it's small enough for users to hold it in just one hand.

"This isn't just a shrunken down iPad. There's nothing as amazing as this," said Schiller.

Apple iPad Mini UK price and release date:

The iPad Mini goes on sale November 2nd in the UK, and its recommended retail price starts at £269 for the 16GB model. The 32GB and 64Gb models have a suggested retail price of £349 and £428 respectively. Customers can start pre-ordering their iPad Minis and the 4th generation iPads from October 26th.

Apple iPad Mini specs:

The new iPad Mini comes in black and white and is just 7.2mm thick, around a quarter thinner than the 4th generation of iPads. The device weighs just 0.68 lbs. "It's as light as a pad of paper," said Schiller. "We were going to say book, but books are heavier!"

The iPad Mini has the same screen resolution as the iPad 2, but it's screen size is 1024 x 768 with a 7.9 inch multi-touch display. The iPad Mini delivers the same iPad experience users have come to expect in a design that has 35 percent more screen real estate than 7-inch tablets.

Schiller said that all of the software made for the iPad works on the new iPad Mini. "It's great for reading your email, surfing the web, managing your photos," said Schiller.

Schiller said the iPad Mini comes with a Lightning connector with A5, LTE versions, FaceTime HD camera, boasting a 5MP iSight camera around back, which can record 1080p HD video.

The iPad mini features dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi support for speeds up to 150 Mbps, which is twice the Wi-Fi performance compared to previous iPad models. The iPad mini will be made available in Wi-Fi and 3G/4G models with built-in support for ultrafast wireless standards, including LTE and DC-HSDPA. Schiller said that battery life on the device lasts all day.

Apple iPad Mini vs Google Nexus 7:

Schiller then proceeded to demo the iPad next to one of its closest Android competitors, what looked to be the recently launched Google Nexus 7 showing that the iPad Mini's display area is nearly 50 per cent larger and users have up 67 percent more usable viewing area when browsing the web.