German site Mobile Geeks has
posted a screen cap of the inventory system of an online retailer that reveals purported prices of the iPad mini.
As per the screen cap, iPad mini will start with 8GB Wi-Fi only variants in black or white that will cost €249. You can double the capacity or add cellular networking to the same capacity for an additional €100. In other words, the 16GB Wi-Fi iPad mini will cost €349, as will the 8GB iPad mini with cellular networking. The trend continues with the top end model with 64GB storage and cellular networking priced at €649.
Given Apple's current pricing strategy, US prices are likely to be the same i.e. between $249-$649, rather than exchange rate equivalents of their Euro counterparts.
A $249 price tag for the 8GB iPad mini will make it $50 more expensive than
Google Nexus 7, the tablet that has seen plenty of success and brought the smaller tablet space into focus. Many believe a $50 iPad premium is something most customers will be willing to pay to get their hands on an Apple product instead of something from the competition.
The fact that the Nexus 7 is available in only a few countries as of date will only help the iPad mini, given Apple sticks to the rollout schedule it followed with the new iPad. The 7-inch Kindle Fire HD from Amazon boasts of better specs at the same price as Nexus 7, but it does even worse than Google's tablet in terms of global availability. (See:
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7" vs Google Nexus 7, Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, Kindle Fire)
Google Nexus 7 in pictures