Phil Schiller: iPad mini is not too expensive

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Apple's Phil Schiller has rejected suggestions the new iPad mini is too expensive to compete with rivals like the Google Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire series.

The senior vice president of worldwide marketing unveiled the 7.9-inch tablet at Tuesday's launch event, which the company has slapped with a $329 (£269) price-tag.

Apple's competition, and some would say reason for launching the iPad mini, are the aforementioned Android-powered tablets, which come in at under $200 (£159 for the cheapest Nexus 7).

As a result it has been questioned whether Apple's pricing is low enough to lure those potential buyers seeking a lower-cost, yet high-powered, well-built solution.

Disdain for Android tablets

Naturally Schiller, who was full of disdain for the 7-inch Android tablets during the keynote claiming they had "failed miserably", is convinced.

In fact, he says customers are already picking the $399 (£329) iPad 2 over the Google and Amazon-made tablets, and the new launch will only increase the number of buyers opting for Apple.

He told Reuters: "The iPad is far and away the most successful product in its category. The most affordable product we've made so far was $399 and people were choosing that over those devices.

"And now you can get a device that's even more affordable at $329 in this great new form, and I think a lot of customers are going to be very excited about that."

Bravado

Regardless of Schiller's bravado, the industry consensus appears to be that the iPad mini will cost a little more than expected, but premium pricing has never been a problem for the company's loyal supporters.

Ultimately, Christmas shoppers will be the judge of whether Apple has made a pricing misstep.

Are you in the market for a mid-sized tablet? Will you be willing to pay the extra dinero for an iPad mini? Let us know in the comments section below.