“With a starting price tag of $329 Apple’s new iPad mini may be too expensive to attract budget-conscious consumers drawn to Google’s Nexus 7 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire, which, at $249 and $199, are significantly cheaper,” John Paczkowski reports for AllThingsD. “But it will almost certainly resonate with others looking for a smaller, best-in-class tablet. And, honestly, when has Apple ever played at the bottom of the pricing barrel?”

“The company’s M.O. has always been to build premium products that command premium prices and offer great margins,” Paczkowski reports. “As Mike McGuire, research vice president at Gartner, told AllThingsD, ‘Apple didn’t need to come down to $200; they’ve never done products to hit competitors’ price points.’”

Paczkowski reports, “‘iPad mini will likely pull sales from Other 7-8″ tablet for consumers looking for a cheaper iPad but not the cheapest tablet or where form factor was a key purchase factor,’ Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg told AllThingsD. ‘Apple has never made a race to the bottom in pricing as part of their strategy leaving the lowest price (and lowest margin) sectors for players in that space to battle each other. ‘Said J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz, ‘Should Amazon and Google be worried? Yes, they should be worried.’”

Read more in the full article here.

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