Apple iPad mini: What analysts feel?

Apple Inc announced a new, smaller iPad tablet priced from $329 on Tuesday, well above the price of competing devices from Amazon.com and Google Inc. Its shares were down more than 2 percent in afternoon trading.

Here is instant reaction from analysts and investors.

Shannon Cross, Analyst, Cross Research
"Definitely think they have another hit on their hands."

"Blanketing all price points with very compelling products and not leaving a pricing umbrella for the competition. Keep in mind, if you run through iPod Touch through the portable Macs, there's clearly a price point for pretty much everyone, especially into the holiday season."

Alex Gauna, Analyst, JMP Securities
"The pricing isn't a surprise, and that's a bad thing for the stock right now. It's coming in the range that most were grumbling about and that quite frankly we're a little bit concerned about."

"It's a tricky pricing tier. It's a little confusing at this juncture to try and figure out how it fits into the line-up. Is it going to cannibalize the more expensive iPad? Is it not going to sell well because it's not differentiated enough than the iPod touch?. It's also quite a bit more expensive than the subsidized alternatives out there."

"It is worth noting that there are zero margin products out there competing with them now, the (Samsung) Galaxy, (Google)Nexus 7 and the (Amazon.com) Kindle Fire HD, and that is presenting some challenges to Apple, which at least at this juncture, Wall Street has some concerns about."

© Thomson Reuters 2012

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