Well, I already got one thing right, and that was calling for a late October iPad mini event. So I start off on a good note. Nowhere to go but down.

“iPad mini”

The headline attraction of this event will be a 7 inch tablet. It will be offered both in Wi-Fi and cellular versions, including a version for Sprint customers. It will be available in black and white, and in three different memory sizes. So, much like the existing iPad arrangement.

First off, yes, I do think it will be called “iPad mini.” Either that or “iPad jr.”

It will have a retina resolution display, to better appeal to readers. Apple is positioning this tablet up against book reader tablets, and they’ll sell it on the quality of the display. I also think Apple might try something different with the screen lighting, to make it easier on the eyes. There’s something about the iPad lighting which makes reading very slightly strained, at least to my eyes. This would also make the smaller battery last longer, when reading.

The pricing will be $199, 299 and 399. I believe Apple wants to be very aggressive in this area, and leave no prisoners. With the Kindle and the Nook and other 7-inch Android devices becoming very cheap, Apple can’t afford to have people buy into a competitors ecosystem and be locked into that platform, lured by low hardware prices. They want to control the book reader market, and they’ll price to beat the competition.

The iPad mini will ship by Nov. 2nd.

That reference to a “iPad jr.” was a joke, by the way. Sarcasm never works in text form.

Retina 13-inch MacBook Pro

Well, I guess this is inevitable, to have the smaller version of the already-introduced 15 inch retina. Although this isn’t the best time of the year to introduce a portable computer. That usually happens in the spring.

I don’t expect anything significantly different from the 15 inch retina MacBook Pro, so figure on similar specs minus a port or two. The prices should start at $1499.

Next Generation iMac

We should also see the introduction of the next generation of the iMac computer. For the first time in a few years, we will have a revised case design. As has been the trend for the last several introductions of the iMac, I expect it to be thinner, but still holding to the same general design concept we’ve seen since 2004. It will be made of aluminum and sit on the same bent leg as the current version. There is a good chance that the optical drive will disappear. Maybe we’ll even lose the “chin.”

I also expect that the standard configuration of the iMac will include a 128 GB solid-state drive. The performance benefit is just too massive to not include a solid-state drive in Apple’s flagship desktop product.

We may also see a larger screen size than the 27 inch, as ungainly as that sounds, to make the iMac into a near TV-sized device. Hint. Hint. The 21.5 inch may bump up in size, too. At some point, it becomes more expensive to manufacture some sizes of display, and the 21.5 may be out of sync with the screen-manufacturing industry.

I do not expect to see retina displays in the new iMacs, because there are number of technical hurdles yet to be overcome. Bluetooth 4.0 will also be included.

It goes without saying that this new version will be faster than previous versions. I haven’t been keeping up with what the Intel processors are clocking right now, but if I were, I could probably predict what those speeds and chips were going to be. Configurations and pricing should be very similar to the current lineup.

Mac mini speed bump

Whatever processors go in to the new iMac, they’ll also show up in a refresh of the Mac mini. No other major changes here.

Apple TV

One omission from the September iPod event was an update to the Apple TV, or at least to the software. At the very least, the Apple TV should be running iOS 6, even if the interface doesn’t change much. Also, don’t forget that a new version of iTunes is also due out. Why would they wait until now to release it?

And one less thing…

There’s also been some speculation that we’ll see a revised version of the current iPad, but I’ve had a hard time figuring out why. The only reason I can think that Apple would revise an iPad would be to include a version that works on the Sprint network. So, I’m thinking that the talk of the revised iPad is really just a Sprint iPad, and little else. No A6 processor, or anything of that sort.

So I think the stuff we will see on stage will be the new iMac, the new 13 inch retina MacBook Pro, and the iPad mini. The rest will be stealth upgrades.

Addendum 10/21

If the rumors of a revised iPad 3rd generation are true, would Apple reduce the price or up the memory to beat the Surface? Just a thought.