iPad Air Revealed At Apple Launch Event

Apple has unveiled a slimmed-down version of its iPad tablet, but will charge customers up to £739 to get their hands on one.

New versions of the iPad unveiled

According to "Skynews.com". The fifth generation of the device will be known as the iPad Air and will be available from November 1.

The tablet, which was launched at an event in San Francisco, weighs around 470g, is 20% thinner than its predecessor and comes in three colours - white, silver and black.

It will run iOS 7 and features a 9.7-inch Retina display, as well as a more powerful processor, although the fingerprint scanner included with the iPhone 5S does not replace the home button.

The cheapest wifi-only model, which comes with 16GB of storage, will be priced at £399, while the 128GB version will cost £639.

thinner than its predecessor

Customers will have to spend between £499 and £739 for an iPad Air capable of connecting to a mobile network.

The launch came on the day Nokia revealed its first ever tablet, the Lumia 2520.

It follows the release of cut-price gadgets including Tesco's £119 Hudl and the £99 MyTablet, which is available at Argos.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said although some experts doubted the

iPad's potential when it launched more than three years ago, the product had gone from strength to strength.
"We really believed in our vision, and iPad has gone on to become one of the most successful products in Apple's history and one of the most successful in the industry," he said.

The iPad Air is lighter

"Now everyone seems to be making a tablet, even some of the doubters."
As well as the iPad Air, Apple also announced that its newest iPad mini, which features a 7.9-inch Retina display, will be priced at £319.
 Will Findlater, the global online editor of Stuff magazine, said: "There is no doubt that within the field of tablets, Apple is going to remain the market leader."The new iPads are largely as we were expecting, but there are some surprises - the fact that the iPad mini hasn't just got an improved screen, but it also has Apple's latest A7 chip, as the iPad Air does, which is a massive step up in power from the previous capability.

"It's become a more serious device and will appeal to a wider audience."

An update to Apple's OS X operating system, known as Mavericks, as well as improvements to its iWork and iLife suites of programmes, will be available free of charge.

The OS X update overhauls the iBooks service, offers a revamped Calendar and adds Maps to desktop and laptop devices for the first time.

The iPad will be more expensive than new cut-price rivals

Apple claims the software will improve the battery life and speed of its desktop and laptop devices.

It also unveiled a new range of MacBooks, starting at £849 for the 11-inch Air, up to £2,199 for the 15-inch Pro.

A new Mac Pro desktop computer will be available later this year, priced at up to £3,299.

Stuart Mills of gadget website Pocket Lint said: "The iPads are going to be big sellers for Christmas, especially as many customers work in a two-year cycle.

"The iPad is a market-leader for a reason, and it's going to sell bucketloads."