Apple unveils iPad Air as Nokia launches phablets

Apple has unveiled a new, thinner tablet called the iPad Air along with a number of new Macs ahead of the Christmas season as it faces growing competition from rival gadget makers.

The company also said that its latest computer operating system, Mavericks, is available free of charge.

The iPad Air weighs just 0.45kg, compared with 0.64kg for the previous version. Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller called the tablet a “screaming fast iPad”. He said it is eight times faster than the first iPad, which came out in 2010.

The iPad Air will go on sale on Nov 1 and start at $499 (€362) for a model with 16 gigabytes of memory, while the iPad 2 will continue selling at $399.

Mr Cook said that despite initial doubters when the product launched more than three years ago, it has 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.

“Now everyone seems to be making a tablet — even some of the doubters.”

Meanwhile, Nokia hailed a “generation of innovation” as it launched a raft of new products including its first Windows tablet device and two large-screen smartphones, or “phablets”.

The new Lumia 2520 tablet, designed to “work anywhere” and give users greater mobility, was unveiled at a news conference in Abu Dhabi. Two new 6in screen phablets were also unveiled, as wel as upgrades to the Asha smartphone.