Media event

Ahead of the iPhone media event taking place at 10AM PST, the Apple Store is down for updates. The expectation is that Apple will announce two new phones at the event, a first for the company, dubbed the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C, with both models being available in new colour variations. As always, the Store will return after the event is over, with new pages featuring the newly announced hardware.

In preparation for the event, you can read our roundup of what we expect to be announced from yesterday, as well as a roundtable of our staff’s opinions — on a much more speculative basis — from August.

Naturally, 9to5Mac will have full coverage of all the announcements from the event.

Apple just updated its website following the iPad mini media event with some new videos for the device as well as specs and updated product pages for the new 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro and other products. You can also now view a video of the keynote speech via a link from the Apple.com homepage.

Apple also put its store back online with many of the new products it just unveiled, and it appears to have tweaked its online store with a slightly new design.
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Apple plans to launch the iBookstore in Brazil ahead of its media event tomorrow, according to a new report by BlogDoiPhone (translated).

The store is not currently live (update below), but screenshots of its existence are above and below. BlogDoiPhone noted a few books have begun to appear in Brazilian Portuguese when doing a search. “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams, for instance, now has a live link.

Many rumors indicate Apple will have a strong focus on education at its media event tomorrow, and recent leaks on iBooks 3.0, coupled with today’s news about the iBookstore rolling out to Brazil, seems to back those reports.

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Techie-Buzz grabbed some shots of the California Theater where Apple is holding its new iPads/Macs event tomorrow. The venue looks a lot bigger on the inside (below).
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Smartphone parts supplier ETrade Supply just posted alleged leaked OEM parts of the iPad mini’s nearly 8-inch LCD screen and 4490mAh battery.

Apple’s much-discussed iPad mini is set to unveil at the company’s media event next Tuesday, and today’s parts pictures possibly confirm earlier reports and give a sneak peak as to what to expect from the folks in Cupertino.

The device’s display is “about 162mm in length and 124mm in width,” according to ETrade Supply, with a ratio of 4:3. Labeling on the back also indicates LG Display manufactures the part.

Image gallery is below.

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While the press has not received any invites to an Apple media event, AllThingsD writer John Paczkowski is claiming today that the invite-only iPad mini event is still scheduled for this month. According to the report, the event will likely be held in Apple’s Town Hall auditorium later this month on Oct. 23:

Apple will hold a special event this month at which it will showcase a new, smaller iPad. People familiar with Apple’s plans tell us that the company will unveil the so-called “iPad mini” on October 23 at an invitation-only event… Sources declined to specify where the event is to be held, and I’ve not been able to confirm a location.

That would put the launch just two days before Apple is set to announce its earnings for Q4, and it is only three days before Microsoft is expected to launch its new Surface tablet. It would also be a Tuesday, rather than a Wednesday, but Paczkowski seems quite confident of the date.

Well, details are slim. Sources say the iPad’s diminutive sibling will feature a 7.85-inch liquid-crystal display and a Lightning connector. It will also probably be thinner. And that’s about it… But we’ll know more soon. On October 23.

As expected, both The Loop and iMore later agreed with the date.

Fortune does a nice look back on how long Apple has waited from announcement (which seems to be October 4th at this point) and actual launch of the iPhones and iPads. Initial launch windows are huge because there weren’t really competitors in the space quite yet.

Importantly, the general trend is towards a smaller window.

Ten days out, October 14th, seems like a reasonable projection, doesn’t it?

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