iPad mini goes on sale in Singapore on Nov 2

Apple not planning to get into price war yet on 7-inch tablets, says expert

Apple's new iPad mini will go on sale here on Nov 2 as the company goes on the offensive against rivals with similar-sized tablets.

It is also raising the stakes in the bigger-tablet market which it pioneered with its roll-out of its fourth-generation 9.7-inch iPad on the same day.

All three local telcos said they will be selling the iPad mini - with a 7.9-inch multi-touch display - but cannot confirm yet if they will sell both the Wi-Fi and 4G versions. The 4G version will ship a couple of weeks after the Wi-Fi models, according to Apple.

The iPad mini is about 3mm thinner, 40g lighter and has a slightly bigger screen than Google's 7-inch Nexus 7 which is on sale here. But the Nexus 7 has a higher-resolution screen.