Early skinny on the iPad Mini

Yes, that's what Apple is calling its new tablet, although the $329-to-$659 price tag doesn't seem all that mini. You can start ordering on Friday. The device weighs 0.68 pounds, half as much as the full-size iPad. From Reuters:

The 7.9 inch "iPad mini" marks Apple's first foray into the smaller-tablet segment. Apple also announced a fourth-generation full-sized iPad with improvements in graphics and processing speeds, just two days before Microsoft is due to show off its own "Surface" tablet. Apple hopes to beat back their charge onto its home turf of consumer electronics hardware, while safeguarding its lead in the larger 10-inch tablet space that even deep-pocketed rivals like Samsung Electronics have found tough to penetrate.

From Bloomberg:

Apple has sold more than 100 million iPads since co-founder Steve Jobs introduced the device in January 2010, creating a market among consumers, businesses and schools seeking a gadget that blends features of a laptop with the mobility of a handheld phone. By adding another model at a different price, Apple is mimicking the multigadget strategy it used to make iPod the top- selling media player.

Business Insider notes that Apple stock fell $8 the moment the price of the Mini was announced.